R
by EVAN AAML
Summary: This single letter has plagued the world for years. Ash and his friends are part of a rebel force trying to bring down Team Rocket from global control. Can they do it? AAML and others.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello everyone, and welcome to the much anticipated story "R". This story of mine has been in the thought process for quite some time, and I only recently began to put it into writing. But for this one, I knew that I alone could not do it. As you know, this kind of theme has been used often in the Pokemon fan-fiction world. I want to make mine memorable. But to do this, I needed help, and alot of it. So I asked around to my closest fan-fic friends and authors for their support. And as such, I have been lucky enough to have the following authors help me by giving me a OC of their own creation for use in "R"...**

**(in no particular order, please feel free to read their stories and/or become friends with them!)**

**-prettygirl17  
-lulu halulu  
-Kefka VI  
-Xtreme ****Gamer  
-Twinkie TUTUS**

**I have also been lucky enough to have AshK help with an OC (who is still currently working on his), and the younger brother of prettygirl17, a non fan-fic writer who asked to help as well. Thank you all. I too will have my own personal OC in this story, along with many minor OCs of my own creation. Depending on how the story plays out, I may need more OCs for later on. When this time comes, I will ask for your help as well. When I believe I could use a OC, I will ask for one of my friends on this very site to create their own OC for me to use. I would be forever grateful!**

**Now as for the story, well, it's pretty obvious. Team Rocket has taken over the Pokemon world. Ash and his friends are the head of a rebel force that was created to help bring down Giovanni and his army. Mostly Pokemon trainers from around the world, they fight united to stop the tyranny. I won't give away too much, but hopefully it will be a cliffhanging story that will leave you on the edge of your seats!**

**Now as a warning to some of the younger viewers, this story will be rated M for Mature. Now I know often this rating system is over-rated depending on the story; but due to the death and violence that this story will follow, I had no choice but to rate it extreme. Now some of you authors may have a strict "No M" reading rule. I understand entirely. Rest assured, I do my best to make sure that even the most extreme of scenes is cut down. Although the violence and death will be pretty evident, other themes will not be as prominent. I personally do NOT swear for instance, so I find it odd to write it as well. So although people will swear, it will not be shown as much as it could be. I also will not have anything pornographic in the story, so no worries there. However, there will be the use of guns and knives in this story as weapons. I will try to level it down for the younger viewers, but I cannot make promises. If there are other concerns, feel free to ask, or simply ready another story. I highly recommend my other stories and the stories of the authors presented in "R".**

**This will definitely be my longest story ever written and hopefully my greatest. I wanted to write this after the success of "Eternal Darkness" because readers felt that, although romantic comedies are my thing, I did a good job at showing the dark side as well. But after reading "Eternal Darkness" for myself, I felt that there was alot more I could of done with it. The same could be said for all of my stories. So I wanted to write another dark story, but one more relatable. That's where Team Rocket comes into mind. I have always been a fan of this evil corporation, but felt that they never did enough in the t.v. series, especially after the Johto season, where other groups like Magma, Aqua, and Galactic came about. So in this one, I have made them a much more powerful group. This will be easier to think of since the previous groups mentioned are disbanded in the series.**

**Now I can't give away TOO much, but if you have any questions over ANYTHING AT ALL, please, feel free to send me a message or review. I have no problem answering them. But please, no hate mail. I have received some since my return and it was not appreciated. I will answer this one now however...I will place the first chapter of "R" hopefully sometime this week, depending on how college and my real life affect me. And YES, this DOES count as the first chapter of "R", I did NOT create this just for telling you what I will post. So DON'T flag! The chapters WILL be posted onto this story. **

**Thank you, and hope you will enjoy!**

**sincerely,  
evan, a fan of aaml -EVAN AAML**


	2. Chapter 2

**Well, I guess the time has come to begin the story. Hope you all enjoy it as much as I will! Let's not get off tangent this time and just get started, shall we?**

**-EVAN AAML**

"I have to escape! I can't let them catch me!"

She was scratched on her legs and arms, and her breathing was hard and repetitive, but she kept running. She was afraid to look back, knowing that _they _weren't far behind. It has been years since Team Rocket took over, years since their oppressive reign began. She couldn't even remember when there was a time when you were free to do what you wanted; without fear of being watched twenty four seven or taken prisoner by their grunts. She jumped over a rock and ducked under a tree branch. Her sundress was slightly torn at different spots and her boots were covered in mud. She ran behind a tree and bent over, feeling like she was going to throw up. She panted heavily, her hands on her dirty knees. Sweat and a small trace of blood cascaded down her face and to her chin; where it dripped down to the grass below. She turned around, peeking behind the tree she was hiding behind. It was silent. No one was visible. Had she lost them this easily? No, impossible. These weren't high level grunts, but even they should be able to catch up to a twelve year old. She kept panting, but kept a careful eye to where they should be appearing from. The sunlight sparkled above, although it was hard to enjoy the little bit of rays that made it through the heavy forest. She knew that to stay still, was to die.

"Where are they..."

There! She heard it, it was barely noticeable from the forest sounds, but she knew what that sound was. A Pokeball opening.

"Run"

She sprinted away from where she was, not looking back, only ahead. She ran faster than she did before, she had to now. The grunts had aid now. She didn't know what they released, but considering how _their _Pokemon have changed, it didn't matter. She dodged trees and branches, ducking and jumping when needed. She made quick turns, hoping to lose them. Not likely. She heard the sound of pounding feet behind her. It was too light to be the grunts, it was their Pokemon. They were behind, but they'd catch up soon enough. Her only help was to find someone who could help. But she knew that wouldn't happen. Not now, not ever. She could see the end of the forest. It didn't mean she was safe, but at least she would know where she was going. She sprinted more, perhaps too much. She tripped over a small dirt mound and fell to the ground. Her dress skidding on the dirt, cutting it up. Her hair tie that held her long hair was about to fall out. She quickly got up, knowing that her hands and knees were now cut and probably bleeding. She turned around, and saw them. Figures that grunts would have a Houndoom and Scyther. She stood up and began to run again, but her knees were slowing her down. It would be a miracle if she made it out of the forest, let alone away from the grunts and their Pokemon. She tried to run, but it was pointless, she wasn't going to escape their grasp. She fell again, too hurt and exhausted. Before she knew it, she could see Houndoom and Scyther standing only meters away from her. She sat up, terror in her eyes. The grunts soon appeared, laughing in a cocky manner. Were they even tired?

"Wow, a kid? We were worried about a kid? What are you? Ten?", the first grunt said. The other one laughed. She couldn't make out their faces too well, only that they were clean shaven and in their mid twenties. Their distinctive outfits on the other hand were more than recognizable. Grey suits, they were ranked. Black suits were for newbies or low level grunts. They were the most common. Grey meant that you at least had experience. No one even knew what anyone higher ranked than that wore, mostly because anyone who did see were dead. The red "R" on their outfit however was the stricking feature, which was their intention. That lone red "R" has tormented her and countless others for what seems like forever.

"I'm twelve", she said. Not that it mattered. They laughed more.

"Oh, twelve, well excuse me then. My friend was mistaken", the second grunt stated. "Now then...how to deal with you".

"You see, you've seen too much. We can't very well just let you go on your way with the information you have, now can we?", the first grunt said. She looked at the Houndoom and Scyther. Both of them have killed before, she could tell. It was in their eyes. No soul. Wasn't their fault, Team Rocket have raised Pokemon like that since before they took over, at least, that's what she heard.

"So then, if you want, we _could_make this quick and painless. You _are _only twelve, and we _are _nice guys after all", the second grunt offered. The first grunt laughed and put a hand on the second one's shoulder.

"But come now, no one's here, and I haven't had fun in awhile!", the first grunt said, obviously enjoying the moment. The second grunt looked at him, and then at her. He smiled.

"Alright, I guess I'll let you have fun _this_ time", the second grunt said. Both of them looked at each other and smiled.

Now was the time to fight...or pray. She stood up, a little shaky at first. Then she looked at the grunts before her. She knew this wouldn't end well. But she had no choice. She didn't want to use her Pokemon, but it was instinct for Rockets to take the Pokemon of their victims. Oh, she meant "prisoners". She at least hoped that her Pokemon would die along with her, it would be better that way. What the Rockets would do when they got their hands on it would be unbearable, and _far _worse. She reached into her sundress and pulled up a chain around her neck. At the end of a chain was a Pokeball in it's shrunken state. She clicked the center of the ball and it expanded, clicked it again, and it opened. A white light jumped out of the Pokeball and onto the ground. Then it took form. Soon enough, the light disappeared and a Ledyba appeared. The Ledyba immediately saw what was before it and got scared. It then turned around and noticed it's trainer, beaten and bruised. It flew up in the air and hovered near her face. She smiled.

"I'm fine, don't worry about me", she said. Her smiled then disappeared and she gave Ledyba a stern look. "Listen...I think that this is it...we're not gonna make it. But we're going to go out fighting, ok?". Ledyba looked at her with a sad face. But now wasn't the time to give in. Ledyba nodded and became serious. The girl then hugged Ledyba. "I love you", she said. Ledyba replied with a comforting buzz. They then released and looked at their enemies before them. Both grunts chuckled, which sent shivers down the girl's back.

"Really? You're going to take us on with _that! _Oh wow. This is too much!", the first grunt said. He bent down and started laughing. "Hey, you do the first hit, I need a breather". The second grunt nodded with a smile and stepped forward.

"Ok then, Houndoom, Flamethrower", the second grunt ordered. Houndoom growled nastily and then reared it's head back slightly. Then it shot it forward and flames shot out of its mouth.

"Ledyba, dodge!", the girl commanded. Ledyba buzzed around, easily dodging the attack. "Now, Hidden power!". Ledyba grew a white light and shot it at the Houndoom. Direct hit. The Houndoom flew back a few feet and landed on the ground with a thud. But it soon shook it off and growled at Ledyba. The second grunt smirked.

"So, you _do_ know how to fight. Nice", the second grunt stated. By now the first grunt had stopped laughing and was ready.

"Ok Scyther, hack it!", the first grunt ordered. Scyther flew towards Ledyba at great speed. The girl panicked for a moment, but regained her composure.

"Ledyba, Lightscreen!", the girl yelled. Ledyba suddenly created a yellow wall between it and the attacking Scyther. Scyther hacked at the wall, only to bounce back from the protective barrier and crash into the ground, near the Houndoom. The first grunt spat on the ground angrily while the second one scowled

"Alright, enough! Houndoom, Shadowball!", the second grunt commanded. Houndoom immediately shot a large round ball of darkness at the Ledyba. It smashed through the Lightscreen easily, but was thrown off its trajectory and slammed into the ground. It exploded and shot dust around Ledyba and its trainer. The grunts on the other hand, were apparently capable of seeing.

"Scyther, False Swipe!", the first grunt yelled. Before she could tell what happened, she heard a hard hit and a yell before her Ledyba flew into her. The collision sent her flying backwards and onto the ground with a thud. It took a moment for it all to sink in. She sat up and looked at her Ledyba. It was alive, but that False Swipe had taken its toll. There was no way that Ledyba could take anymore.

So this is how it ends. She looked up and saw the grunts approach her, both smiling. Houndoom and Scyther were close by.

"Did you honestly think you could fight us back and win? I mean seriously?", the first grunt asked.

"Alright, I'm done here, do what you want", the second grunt told the first one. The first grunt grew a wicked smile.

"Gladly. Scyther!", the first grunt yelled. The girl closed her eyes and clenched Ledyba, ready for her demise. She just hoped that it would be quick for them. She was waiting for the attack, ready to die. But it didn't happen. Suddenly, she heard some rustling and a loud noise. Another Pokemon.

"!". There was the sound of an attack. The girl opened one eye to see what had happened. She saw that Scyther was on the ground, paralyzed. Yellow static ran around its body. She also saw the shocked and angered faces of the grunts. And in front of her, only a few feet away, was a small yellow tail, in a lightning bolt shape. Connected to this tail was a yellow rodent.

"A...Pikachu?", the girl said confused. Suddenly, she heard a voice.

"Pikachu, Thunder!", the voice yelled. The Pikachu began to spark and it looked at the grunts with anger. Before they could react, Pikachu had blasted Houndoom. The howl from the pain could be heard from all around the forest. When the attack ended, Houndoom fell to the ground, fainted. The grunts grew shocked, and now, scared. The girl looked up to where the voice had come from. In the trees. Suddenly, a body fell from the branches above and landed on the ground near her. This body stood up and towered over her.

"It's over, get out now, or I'll have no choice", the person said. The grunts scowled at this stranger. The grunts returned their respective Pokemon and looked at the trainer.

"If you think this is over, you're sadly mistaken!", the first grunt yelled angrily. Suddenly, both grunts reached for something on their belts and pulled them out. Uzis.

"DIE!", the second grunt yelled. But before they could fire, the stranger prepared.

"Pikachu, Volt Tackle!", the stranger commanded. Pikachu charged up and ran towards the grunts. Because of the close proximity and speed, they were unable to shoot at the quick little rodent. It hit both of them and they flew into the air, and out of sight. The stranger kept his eyes on them until he knew they were gone for good. He then sighed in relief. The Pikachu ran up the stranger's body and sat on his shoulder. "Great job Pikachu!", the stranger said cheerfully. The Pikachu smiled.

"Pika!", the Pikachu responded happily. It then looked at the girl and her Ledyba. The stranger turned around and looked as well. The girl looked up, amazed at her savior. He stood tall and with a sense of pride. But she could tell that he wasn't a mean person. She could still see the innocence in his brown eyes. The stranger smiled and bent down, extending a hand to the girl.

"Lucky I found you when I did. Rockets are trouble", the stranger said, as if they weren't as big a threat as she made them out to be. The girl at first just stared, still in shock from what has happened. But she smiled and grabbed the stranger's hand, allowing him to help her up. He then looked at her Ledyba. "Hmm, she's banged up pretty badly, but I think she'll be just fine after some rest. I'd let her into her Pokeball". The girl nodded and pulled out her Pokeball.

"Thank you Ledyba, return!", the girl said. A red light shot out of the Pokeball and sucked in the ladybug Pokemon. She then clicked the Pokeball to shrink it and placed it back under her dress. The stranger looked at her.

"Hmm, that's a different way to hide your Pokeball", the stranger said.

"Well grunts are more likely to grow suspicious if you have a Pokeball belt. And I only have Ledyba, so I hide it", the girl said. The stranger nodded.

"Smart. You're pretty sly for a ten year old", the stranger said.

"Twelve", the girl stated back. The stranger smiled.

"Sorry, bad judge of age", the stranger explained. "Can you walk?". The girl had nearly forgotten about her injuries due to the rescue. She tried to take a few steps forward, but found it difficult. The stranger quickly grabbed onto her before she could fall. "Don't over-exert yourself, let me help". The stranger bent down and turned around. The girl could tell that he was expecting her to get on his back. Although she did not know who this person was or where he was taking her, she knew he could be trusted. She hoped on and wrapped her arms around the stranger's neck. "There you go, I'm going to take you to my place, you'll be safe there", the stranger explained. The girl nodded.

"Thank you", she replied. The stranger nodded with a smile. He then began to walk down the path that she was running just a few moments earlier. She looked ahead to see the opening that showed the end of the forest. The sun grew much brighter as they approached it due to the lack of trees as they progressed. Soon, she covered her eyes from the light as they stepped out of the forest and onto a grassy hill. She slowly opened her eyes to see a small town ahead of them. Remarkably, it seemed untouched by the rockets, as if the people here were unaware of the devastation elsewhere. This town was situated around many grassy hills and flowers. There many small homes and in the distance a few windmills. She smiled at the sight. "Wow...", the girl said in awe. The stranger smiled.

"Yep, welcome to Pallet Town", the stranger said.

"It looks so peaceful! I can't believe that this place hasn't been torn apart", the girl said. The stranger smiled.

"Luckily the Rockets fail to see the desire to rummage through a small town like Pallet, and we don't have a gym leader so it's even less attention. We try to keep on the down low", the stranger explained. They stood there for a moment, simply enjoying the view, before the little girl turned her head towards the stranger's ear.

"You can put me down now, I think I can walk", the girl said. Although slightly hesitant, the stranger lowered himself and the girl hopped off carefully. She stood there, simply seeing if she could stand. After deciding that she could, she nodded at the stranger and he nodded back. He then stood up. "Hey, what's your name anyway?", the girl asked the stranger. He turned and looked down at the girl with a smile.

"My name...is Ash Ketchum", the stranger answered. Suddenly, his Pikachu hopped onto his shoulder and waved. "And this is my trusted ally and best friend Pikachu". Pikachu responded with a positive "Pika". Ash wore a blue jacket with blue jeans and a white t-shirt underneath the jacket. His head was covered with raven hair and a cap; on it was a Pokeball design. He lifted the tip of the hat. "Pleased to meet you". The girl smiled, although she could tell that the war had taken its toll on the trainer, it did not destroy him. He still smiled as if there was no war. His body looked toned and worn from countless battles, but it didn't bother him. He seemed like a older brother figure, someone you could look up to and be proud to simply know. "And what's your name?", Ash asked. The girl smiled.

"My name's Angel", the girl replied. Ash chuckled slightly.

"Well, Angel is a beautiful name", Ash responded. The girl nodded.

"My parents thought of it immediately. As soon as I was born, they said I was as beautiful as an angel, so it stuck", Angel explained.

"Good logic. And where are your parents?", Ash asked. There was the question. The one she knew was coming. She looked down, her happy expression torn away from her, leaving only sadness. Ash immediately regretted asking it, knowing the answer already. "Oh...I see".

"It happened two years ago. I had just started my Pokemon journey. My parents knew that it was dangerous to do let me go on my own nowadays, but it was still safer then at home. We lived in a nice little town, alot like this. But it was alot closer to the action. We lived not too far from Celadon", Angel explained. Ash nodded. He knew of the dangers that were there all too well. "My dad was a farmer of sorts, he grew Pokemon berries. He brought them to Celadon to sell at their mall. And my mom used to be one of the trainers at the Celadon Gym. But my parents lost their jobs when Team Rocket took over, awhile before I was even born. Because the Rockets always went into our town and caused trouble, my parents felt it was best if I left, and stayed out of trouble. I think they knew what would happen next, because they said goodbye to me, as if they would never see me again. A week later the Rockets came to town. They heard that there were some trainers in town that were saying bad things about them. So they attacked. My parents tried their best to defend themselves, but they were overpowered...I never saw them again". Angel was about to cry, but by now the thought had come to her again and again, she was used to it and was able to suppress it by now. She sniffled and looked up at Ash. "I've been on my own ever since, hiding, running, making sure the Rockets didn't get me". Ash looked down solemnly at the girl before him. He nodded.

"I know how you feel. I've lost alot of friends myself. Too many to count as a matter of fact", Ash explained. He looked at Angel. Despite her rough look from being on the run she looked very young, which is why he thought she was ten. She had long brown hair that reached her mid back, tied by a hair-tie, (which was still dangling at the end of her hair). She wore a bright yellow sundress that reached all the way to her upper knees. The dress was filthy and torn at several spots. Ash imagined that she had on shorts underneath it. On her feet were simple boots, also filthy. Her bright blue eyes and short height made her look like a newbie trainer. Ash didn't want to make the girl more upset than she already was; especially after the grunt attack. So he changed the topic. "So then, how do you feel?", Ash asked. The girl looked up at him.

"I hurt, but I can walk. I could use a rest though...and a bath...and food", the girl said, now realizing just how bad she really was. Ash laughed.

"I'd imagine, come along, I'll bring you to my house. You'll get all that and more", Ash explained. He held his hand out and Angel happily took it. Ash then walked down the hill with Angel in tow. As they walked, Angel took in her surroundings. It was summer, and the breezes that Pallet Town had made her cool and comforted. She noticed that the townspeople were relaxed for some reason, as if they had nothing to worry about. They smiled and waved to Ash and her and went about their way. Angel found it difficult to keep up to Ash's long leg stride, but did it anyway. She looked ahead of her and saw a large building, bigger than any other ine in Pallet. It had alot of windows and a giant windmill. A fence went along the entire area, and Pokemon were scattered all over the fields behind them. Angel wanted to ask what the place was, but decided not to. Soon, she could see another building, only much smaller. This one was a small, quaint looking home; with a garden on the side and a small fence around the front. It looked nice and peaceful, and it brought back memories of her once peaceful home. Ash smiled. "And this is my house, a bit small, but it's only me and my mom", Ash explained. Angel seemed excited and began to walk faster towards it, but still holding onto Ash's hand. They approached the front door and Ash stopped in front of it. Suddenly, Ash knocked on the door, but it a special way. Two knocks, a pause, and then a third knock. Ash then called out. "It's me Mimey", Ash yelled. Suddenly, the door lit up and a wall appeared and then disappeared. Angel looked at it shocked. "Barrier. We have a Mr. Mime inside, my mom's Pokemon. He keeps that up for protection", Ash explained. He then opened the door and stepped to the side. "After you". Angel stepped inside and looked around. To her right were a flight of stairs that led to an upstairs. Ahead of her was a path to what appeared to be a Kitchen. And to her left was a living room, filled with couches, a few small tables, a chimney, and a small t.v. Next to the door was a silly looking Pokemon, who Angel knew was a Mr. Mime. He had a apron on and a smile on his face. "Mom! We have company!", Ash called out. Suddenly, someone stepped out from the Kitchen. She was a tall woman with long brown hair, much like Angel's. She wore a pink shirt and a green apron with blue jeans on. She also wore green slip on shoes. She looked at Angel and gasped. "Mom, this is Angel", Ash said with a smile. Angel smiled and took a bow.

"Pleased to meet you", Angel responded. Ash's mom ran to Angel and looked at her up and down.

"Oh well pleased to meet you Angel, my name's Delia. Oh dear, you look like you've been through alot!", Delia responded.

"Two grunts chased her through the woods from Veridian", Ash explained. Delia gasped.

"Oh no! Well let's get you taken cared of sweetie, you're safe here!", Delia reassured her. Angel smiled.

"Well that's nice...to...know", Angel said. She suddenly yawned and collapsed onto the ground. Ash's eyes grew wide in shock.

"UH OH!", Ash said. He bent down to see how Angel was.

"Oh, poor dear is exhausted! Ash, be a dear and bring her upstairs. She can sleep on my bed. I'll get a meal made for her and find some extra clothes about. I'm sure I have something she can wear", Delia explained. She then rushed off to prepare everything. Pikachu hopped off of Ash's shoulder and landed next to Mr. Mime as Ash bent down and lifted Angel bridal style. He then carefully brought her up the stairs. Pikachu and Mr. Mime looked at each other with a worried, yet thankful expression. They both knew that few people were this lucky to escape Team Rocket. A hour or so passed before Angel even stirred. She fluttered her eyes open for a moment, and then realized that she was somewhere else. Not her usual ground outside. She bolted up and saw that she was in a large bedroom. There was one window that let in a large amount of sunlight; which lit the entire room. There was a small closet that was closed, a table filled with drawers, (probably for clothes and such), and a small side table with a lamp on it by the bed. The room was mostly white, which made it look even brighter. Angel seemed scared at first, but then remembered how she got there and sighed with relief. So it wasn't just a dream after all. She couldn't believe that she found someone who would not only save them from the Rockets, but take her in and make her better. Suddenly, the door to the room slowly creaked open. She glanced over and saw Delia checking in on her. When she noticed that Angel was awake, she walked in. "Oh, you're awake! How do you feel dear?", Delia asked.

"I feel fine thank you", Angel replied politely. Delia smiled.

"Well that's good to hear. Come now, I think you should take a bath. I'll take your dirty clothes and wash them for you", Delia stated. Angel was not used to being mothered like this. It has been awhile since her own mother did the same thing to her. She got of the bed and followed Delia down a hall and into a room only a few feet away from her room. There were two more rooms down the hall, but the doors were closed to them. Angel stepped into the Bathroom. There was a large tub/shower installment at the end of the room with a sink next to it and a toilet close to the door. On the floor was a small foot carpet and on the other side of the room, across from the sink, was a tall set of cabinets. Delia opened them up and pulled out a washcloth, two towels, and shampoo. "There's soap already in the tub. I'll take your clothes now", Delia stated. Angel took out her hair-tie and placed it on the sink. She then took off her necklace, but before she could place it down, Delia held out her hand. "Oh, Ash told me about your Ledyba's battle. If you want, we can have someone look over her. He's a Pokemon Breeder, but he's good at medical too", Delia explained. Angel was slightly hesitant at first. She hardly took the necklace off anyway, let alone let someone take it. But she knew that if Ash could be trusted, so could his mother. She handed her the necklace and Delia placed it in her apron pocket. She then slipped off her boots and handed them to Delia. She was about to lift off her sundress, but hesitated. Delia smiled and laughed very slightly. "A bit shy are you?", Delia asked.

"Hehe, yeah, I guess so", Angel replied.

"It's ok dear, I'm a mother, naked bodies don't bother me", Delia stated. Angel understood what she meant. Mothers for some reason weren't bothered from naked young kids, probably because they're used to bathing them when they're little. She huffed and then lifted the sundress off over her head. She then took off her undergarments and handed them all to Delia. "Alright, I'll get these washed up for you quick. I would of made the bath set for you, but I wasn't sure when you'd wake up. SO let me get it started for you", Delia instructed. She walked over and turned the nozzle, releasing the water. She checked the temperature and turned the nozzle accordingly. "Alright, to stop it, just turn it all the way to the right. If you need anything just holler!". She then walked out of the Bathroom and closed the door behind her. Leaving a naked Angel to herself. It wasn't long before the tub filled with enough water and Angel turned the nozzle off. She slowly stepped in and laid down in the warm water. It has been _ages_since she had a actual bath. Usually she just washed up in a river or pond. She grabbed the shampoo and poured a generous amount on her hands. She then scrubbed her hair as hard as she could. She could feel the dirt, sand, and other filthy particles wash away as the fresh scent of flowers went through her nose. After about five to ten minutes of scrubbing, she held her breath and dunked her head underwater. She shook and scrubbed her hair, making sure the shampoo washed away before popping back up. She breathed heavily and then felt her hair, deciding that enough was out. The water filled with soap and dirt particles that had yet dissolved in the warm water. She could no longer see underneath the surface of the water. Before she started with her body, she leaned back and closed her eyes. She was forever thankful for being treated so nicely. No one else has ever pampered her except her own family. She was lucky to receive breadcrumbs from other people. Everyone was always nervous over helping out a Pokemon trainer. Years ago, everyone did what they could for them, knowing that they travel far and wide and could use a break. But since Pokemon Gyms were almost a thing of the past and the Pokemon League was taken over, many people stopped altogether. Angel herself has never seen a world where anyone could just walk around freely with Pokemon and not be questioned. Only weak trainers could enter the Pokemon League now, ones with Pokemon that Team Rocket deem unworthy. Strong trainers are always confiscated of their Pokemon, for fear of a uprising; or simply because they want their Pokemon. It was because of their particular attention that people were rare to be seen helping out a Pokemon trainer. So why here? Why in this small town is there people so happy and care-free? Why would they go out of their way to make sure she was safe and taken cared of? She wasn't sure. A twelve year old normally wouldn't have to think of things like this, but she was different. Years of running away from grunts and surviving have made her tough, but cautious. She grabbed her washcloth and some soap and began cleaning her entire body. When she was done, she stood up and began draining the water. She then grabbed the shower head and used to to wash off any remaining soap or dirt on her. When the water was gone entirely, she stepped ou of the tub and wrapped one towel around her body and another around her head for her hair. She dried herself off as best she could and then sat on the toilet seat, waiting.

"My clothes aren't done yet...guess I'll just wait here then", Angel said to herself. She then noticed that one of the cabinets was opened. She leaned over to look inside, but could only make out a small basket. She stood up and completely opened the door. The cabinet was entirely empty, save for one small basket. In it was a few feminine items. A few jars of nail polish, cotton balls, nail polish remover, some powder, lipstick, and a smaller basket filled with ear-rings. She smiled. Delia must have purposely gotten these out for her. She had never been able to properly dress up the way she used to. She was always a pretty little girl, her mom would always tell other mothers how proud she was of the way she acted. She wasn't a snooty little girl, but loved to dress up. But since she's been on the run, she never had the time for it. Without hesitation, she took the basket and brought it over to the sink. Over the sink was a large mirror. But it was tilted for some reason. She noticed that the mirror was also a cabinet. She opened it up and found girl razors, girl hair removing products, a Peta stone, and perfume. Delia did it again. She couldn't help but blush slightly. She was getting a typical spa treatment. Being twelve, her style was that of a typical child. She never overdid the makeup or perfume, and she didn't need to shave her legs since she was too young to grow much hair anyway. After she was done, all that was left where the ear-rings. There were only a few pairs in there, probably just old pairs that Delia had. One of them were small butterflies, colored from fake gemstones. These would do just fine. The holes in her ears were mostly filled in since she stopped wearing ear-rings. It was too much of a hassle to care for them in the wild. But she managed to pry the ear-rings in them without blood. She then looked at herself in the mirror. She smiled, finally seeing that familiar looking face. She removed her hair towel and began to brush it with a large brush, also in the mirror's hidden compartment. Before she could finish, someone knocked on the door. Angel looked at it, slightly worried that it could be a boy.

"It's me deary, are you done?", Delia asked. Angel sighed in relief.

"Yes", Angel replied. Delia then opened the door, in her hands were different clothes than she was previously wearing. She smiled when she noticed the now prettied up Angel.

"I see you did find the baskets. Glad you did. I could tell that you weren't one of the typical tomboys. I'm used to one, never was much for dressing up. I treat her like my daughter, but between you and me, I think every mother likes to dress up their daughters like this", Delia responded, whispering the last bit to her. Angel giggled. She understood what she meant. "Well I have to say, you look absolutely darling! For such a young face you really know how to make it shine. I'm guessing you're twelve-ish?". Angel nodded with a smile. Very few people ever got her age right. Puberty hadn't yet hit so it was hard to tell. "Oh, after washing your clothes I noticed that they were a bit torn. So I'm working on making them look new again, I'm used to sewing up Ash's clothes anyway, that boy always gets himself torn up. So here are some clothes you can wear until then". She held up a simple t-shirt with a few designs in them and jeans. She also had the boots and undergarments that Angel wore previously. All cleaned up and new looking. Angel smiled and took the clothes.

"Thank you so much", Angel replied. Delia smiled.

"No problem sweetie", Delia said. She then turned around and made her way to the door. "I have food for you downstairs, more than enough to fill your belly, hurry down before it gets cold!", Delia said. She then closed the Bathroom door. Angel smiled and looked at her temporary outfit.

She had found a second mother.

**Wow, already done with the first chapter! I am amazed at even myself! Well, what did you think? Loved it? Hated it? Be sure to favorite/alert/review! Or as I could now start calling it, F.A.R.! "Angel has finally found people who are willing to help in her time of need, but can they be trusted? Will Team Rocket finally catch up to her? What is in store for Angel? Find out next time on EVAN AAML's "R"!". Thank you all, until next time, this is EVAN AAML!**

**sincerely,  
evan, a fan of aaml -EVAN AAML**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hello ladies and gentleman, I'm back already with an update! I happen to have some free time today, so I figured I'd get some work done. Oh, and some people may have noticed some typing errors in my previous chapter. The reason for this is that for some odd reason, my spell check it acting up. It states that half of a word is wrong while the first half isn't. It also makes me hyphen words that don't need to be. So if you see these kind of mistakes, just ignore them. Anywho, let's get started!**

**-EVAN AAML**

Angel opened the bathroom door and looked outside. There was no one upstairs. She then stepped out and slightly closed the door behind her. She was wearing the clothes that Delia had given her until she could fix Angel's old retire. She imagined that Delia was working on them right now. She turned left and walked down the hall until she could see the stairs. Before walking down them, she peeked over the railing. She couldn't see much down there, but she did notice that Delia was sitting on the couch in the Living room. Next to here was a large basket filled with sewing materials. On her lap was Angel's sundress. She walked down the stairs and stopped when she reached the bottom. Delia turned her head and looked at her with a smile

"Well I'm glad that those clothes fit you. Some of Ash's friends leave some clothes here just in case, I'm sure they won't mind you wearing them. I'm almost done with your dress, why don't you help yourself in the Kitchen?", Delia suggested. Angel turned to see the entrance to the Kitchen. The smell of different types of foods made her salivate slightly. It had been awhile since she had a decent meal. Before she left however, she faced Delia again.

"I was wondering, where's Ledyba?", Angel asked. She was not used to being away from her partner, and Ledyba would probably love to eat as well.

"Oh, Ash took her to Prof. Oak's place down the road. You may have seen it on the way here, it's hard to miss. They're just gonna check up on her and make sure she's not hurt. Ash said he'll bring Ledyba back as soon as he can", Delia explained. Angel smiled. She nodded and then walked into the Kitchen. It was a small Kitchen, not surprising considering the size of the house. The table was immediately in front of her, with six chairs surrounding it. Along the walls were cabinets and drawers. The oven and dish washer were to the far left. Behind the table was a door that led to the backyard. Outside Angel could see Mr. Mime, sweeping away cheerfully with a happy tune. She looked at the table and couldn't believe the spread. There was bread, fruits, berries, steamed vegetables, cooked meats, moo-milk, and even cookies. It was as if Delia made sure to get every portion of the foor pyramid into Angel's belly. She sat down immediately and began to pile up a plate. She would start with whatever was closest to her and then work from there. She shoveled on broccoli, rolls, cheese, and some type of dark meat, possibly Tauros. She then began to devour whatever she could. Manners were something she believed in, but no one was watching her and she had not eaten anything like this in what seemed like forever. She was already half way done with her first plate when suddenly, the porch door opened slightly and then closed again on it's own accord. Angel stopped eating and looked at it. She could see that Mr. Mime was still sweeping, so it couldn't of been him. Maybe the wind? Suddenly, she heard the sound of something hopping on one of the chairs across from her. She looked carefully at it and suddenly noticed two pointy ears perking up above the table. They twitched to the left and right before hiding again under the table. Suddenly, a little head popped up, followed by a pointy tail. It was Pikachu. He looked at the food, and then at Angel and smiled.

"Pikachu!", Pikachu stated cheerfully. Angel smiled back.

"Well hello you, nice to see you again!", Angel said. Pikachu hopped onto the table and scurried over to sit next to Angel. She smiled and rubbed underneath Pikachu's chin. He smiled

"Kaaaaa", Pikachu said, enjoying the feel. Angel giggled.

"You like that huh?", Angel asked. She then stopped. Pikachu looked on the table and found an apple. He picked it up and began to chew on it. "You know, I never actually thanked you for saving me from those Rockets earlier. I owe you big time". Pikachu shook his head, as if to say that she didn't. Angel put some more food in her mouth. "So how long have you and Ash been together?".

"Pika, pikachu. Pikachu, chu, Pikachupi chu", Pikachu said, explaining. Angel listened carefully. She was not sure exactly what Pikachu was saying, very few people understood Pokemon. But she could get a basic idea anyway.

"I see, you're pretty smart...and sooooo strong!", Angel said, petting Pikachu on the head. Pikachu blushed and rubbed his head in embarrassment. After finishing the apple, he picked up one of the cookies. But before he ate it, he looked around on the table for something. Soon, he spotted it. About a foot away was a red bottle with a tomato on it. He picked it up and poured the red sauce on the cookie and ate it happily. Angel sweatdropped. "Huh, a Pikachu who eats ketchup. You have a interesting taste there cutie", Angel said with a smile. Pikachu smiled back and finished the cookie. The two talked and ate for quite awhile before virtually everything on the table was either gone or at least partially eaten. It was quite a mess on the table, crumbs and spills here and there. Angel leaned back in her chair and felt her belly with a smile. "Wow, I haven't eaten that much in...well, ever!", Angel said. Pikachu was also leaning back, sitting on the table.

"Piiiii", Pikachu replied. Suddenly, the porch door opened yet again, and Mr. Mime walked in, carrying with him the broom. He turned to see the group and jumped in shock. The broom fell to the floor and Mr. Mime looked at the Kitchen with horror. Angel and Pikachu sweatdropped and chuckled slightly.

"Uhm...sorry Mr. Mime", Angel replied. Mr. Mime sighed and began getting to work cleaning up the mess. Angel stood up and walked out of the Kitchen, carrying the still full Pikachu in her arms. She walked into the Living room, where Delia was still sewing up her dress. She sat on the end of the big couch, a couple feet away from Delia. Pikachu rested on her lap.

"Well by the sounds of it from the Kitchen you got your fill", Delia said with a giggle. Angel chuckled and looked back towards the Kitchen, hearing the noise of wiping and clatter.

"Yes, it was all delicious! Thank you so much!", Angel said. Delia smiled back.

"No problem my dear, it's what we call "Pallet Hospitality"! Our home is your home", Delia explained. Angel smiled. She then leaned back in her seat and looked at the ground, petting Pikachu's head.

"I just wish other places were like this", Angel said, slightly somber. Delia stopped sewing for a moment and looked at Angel.

"You can't blame them dearie, everyone's in a panic now. It's not like it used to be. Team Rocket's taken control everywhere", Delia said. Angel nodded.

"I know. Back home, everyone was so afraid that they acted like puppets, doing everything and anything the Rockets told them, just to avoid trouble. Alot of people got themselves taken away down there. Celadon was even worse. We had to go there almost every day. The city isn't pretty or anything. Alot of businesses are shut down, poor people are in the streets everywhere, and all of the major places of commence were being watched by grunts everywhere. The mall, the slot machine building, even the Celadon gym!", Angel explained. Delia nodded, understanding completely.

"I know. Pallet town is lucky that it's so small. Rockets only come here to investigate once in awhile. Mostly at Prof. Oak's. The people were are close though, we watch over each other. That's why we're relatively safe. Unlike everywhere else", Delia said, a bit sad over the whole ordeal. Suddenly, the front door was knocked on, in the same way that it was when Angel first arrived. Mr. Mime walked out of the Kitchen and stood by the door, but waited for a response.

"It's me Mimey!", someone hollered. Mr. Mime then snapped his fingers and the front door opened. Ash had walked in, being followed by a stranger to Angel. He was taller than Ash, and a bit older too. His skin was much darker and his eyes were squinted. He had black hair that spiked up, a green vest with a brown shirt, and green pants. He looked tough, but innocent like Ash. This stranger closed the door behind him and Mr. Mime snapped his fingers again, putting the barrier back up. Angel looked at Mr. Mime oddly.

"Wait, how can you not go through the front door when you and Pikachu went through the back door no problem? Doesn't Barrier cover the entire house?", Angel asked. Ash laughed slightly.

"Oh yeah, that's my mom's fault. She wanted the barrier to cover more of the backyard, so it's extended", Ash explained. Delia shook her head.

"Well I'll be damned if those Rockets destroy my garden!...Oh, pardon my language dearie", Delia said, excusing herself. Ash then sat down on the smaller couch while the stranger sat on a recliner chair next to him, leaning forward.

"Well glad to see that you're doing better Angel!", Ash said with a smile. Pikachu hopped off of Angel's lap and onto Ash's.

"Yes, your mom has been taking great care of me", Angel said. Ash smiled.

"Yep, that's mom for you", Ash said. He then realized something. "Oh, I almost forgot. This is my friend Brock, Brock, this is Angel". Brock smiled and waved at Angel.

"Hi, how are you?", Brock asked. Angel bowed slightly.

"I am fine, thank you", Angel replied.

"Brock is the one who I asked to look over your Ledyba", Ash explained. Brock placed his hand into his vest pocket and pulled out Angel's necklace, the Pokeball still attached to it. He then tossed it over gently to Angel, who caught it.

"Ledyba took a bit of a beating, Team Rocket's Pokemon are super strong. Luckily you've raised Ledyba very well, she'll be just fine", Brock explained. Angel smiled and placed the necklace back on.

"Thank you so much! That's great to hear!", Angel said. Brock smiled.

"No problem, always glad to help out", Brock explained.

"So Angel, it's important that we find out about you. What exactly did you do that got the grunts to chase you earlier?", Ash asked in a serious manner. Angel leaned forward and began to recall those horrifying moments.

"Well, I was traveling along this road, not too far from Veridian. I had been on the move alot, because there are alot of grunts in that area. As I was moving, I noticed ahead of me a truck in the middle of the road. It wasn't moving and there were people outside of it. I wasn't sure if it was trouble, so I ran into the forest on the side of the road. I slowly creeped ahead and managed to get close enough to see what was going on. Two grunts were interrogating the driver of the truck. They thought he was carrying illegal items, but what exactly they were I'm not sure. The driver was pretty scared, saying that he would never do something that would displease Giovanni. The grunts tore the truck apart, looking for anything in particular. One of them called to the other one from the back of the truck. Apparently, there was something in the back, but I couldn't make it out. The grunts looked at each other with a wicked smile. I was terrified. They then went to the front of the truck and pulled the driver out of it. They threw him onto the ground and began to kick him and taunt him. The driver begged them to stop, but they wouldn't. I wanted to help, but I was so scared that I couldn't move. They stopped when he began to cough up blood. They looked at him and laughed. Then one of them said that he was in trouble for carrying weapons against their leader. The driver said that there was no such thing in the truck, but they didn't listen. Then...one of them pulled out a small gun...he begged them not to...they laughed...and they shot him. They kept shooting, not stopping, even after he was dead. They were laughing, like monsters. I screamed and they saw me hiding, so I ran. That's when you saved me", Angel explained. She was nearly in tears. Delia moved over and held onto Angel, giving her a hug. Angel hugged back and cried.

"That's just terrible! Seeing that would scare anyone!", Delia said, trying to sooth the young girl. Angel sniffled.

"I should of tried to save him, I could of!", Angel said, crying still. Ash shook his head.

"No, there was nothing you could of done. What you did was right. You couldn't take on two grunts alone, especially if they had guns", Ash said defending her. Brock shook his head.

"They were probably just bored. They flaunt their power everywhere they go, leaving nothing but destruction and death!", Brock said angrily. They were silent for a short moment, letting Angel relax her nerves. After she was done crying, they continued.

"Were there only those two grunts? No one else saw you?", Ash asked. Angel shook her head.

"I don't think so. There were only those two at the truck", Angel answered. Ash nodded.

"That's good, then no one would see you come here. You're probably a wanted fugitive now. You saw them murder someone, they're not gonna want you to be free and tell people what you saw. You're probably gonna have to stay here for awhile", Ash explained. Angel shook her head.

"But I can't! That's putting all of you in danger!", Angel said.

"Don't worry, we're alot stronger than you think", Brock said. This took Angel a bit by surprise. She knew that Ash was at least a decent Pokemon trainer, but that was it. She didn't think Delia could very well protect herself, and she didn't know Brock. Why weren't they afraid?

"What...do you mean?", Angel asked. Ash and Brock looked at each other. Delia looked at them as well, as if she was wondering what they were gonna do. The boys seemed to be reading each other's thoughts. Eventually, they nodded and brought their attention back to Angel.

"Angel...have you ever heard of the PTA?", Ash asked. Angel shook her head.

"PTA?", Angel asked.

"Officially it stands for "Pokemon Trainer Alliance". Technically it's a name that Team Rocket themselves came up with, but that's what they call us", Brock explained.

"You see Angel, we're...rebels. We are a group of Pokemon trainers who fight against Team Rocket, to protect those they oppress, and to try to bring peace back to the world", Ash explained. Angel leaned towards them in awe. She knew that there were rebels around, Team Rocket fought hard to make sure that they were extinguished. But she thought they were just random acts of rebellion, she had no idea it was an organized effort. "We're not nearly as powerful as Team Rocket is, but we have alot of loyal followers, and we're willing to fight to the death to bring peace back. Our base is here in Pallet town. Because of it's small size and lack of attention, it's the perfect location. From here, we communicate with other groups around the world. It's a dangerous task, but so far we've been successful in keeping the Rockets off our tracks", Ash said. Angel looked at them in disbelief. She couldn't believe all that has happened today. She tried to take it all in, thinking of countless questions to ask Ash and Brock. But she wasn't sure which ones to ask first.

"So then...who's your leader? Who would be brave enough to organize this group?", Angel asked. Brock smiled.

"Well, he's sitting right next to me", Brock said. Angel gasped. Ash! _He _was the leader of the PTA! Ash shook his head.

"No, I like to think it's a group effort, no one's officially a _leader_, people just say that I am", Ash explained, blushing slightly at the extra attention.

"How come?", Angel asked.

"Well, to understand that, you'd have to understand how Team Rocket first came into power", Ash said.

"How much do you know about it already?", Brock asked. Angel shrugged.

"Not much. They've been in power for as long as I can remember. Before I was born even", Angel said.

"Well you see, no one _really _knows how or when they were created. They could of been around for decades for all we know. But they've always had a bit of a following here in Kanto. Like a large crime syndicate. They've had some minor control over some things here for awhile. Well, about fifteen years ago or so, they began to purchase the control of several large corporations around Kanto. They were always mysterious about it, never stating the name of the buyers or what their intentions were. But by doing this, they began to make alot more money and have a bit more power. There were rumors of a economic takeover in the works, but I don't think anyone was expecting what was really going on. Giovanni, the creator and leader of Team Rocket, was planning to take over the world for a long time now. And he felt that then was the time to start. First, he purchased groups like Sliph Co. and Pokeball factories. He then had alot of money and resources. After a short time, they suddenly started to get some control over the Pokemon League itself. We think they may of had some people on the inside working for them. They changed some rules over the league, limiting the way trainers entered, and even what Pokemon they were allowed to use. Everyone thought that something was up, but because it wasn't technically dangerous or illegal, no one did anything about it. And because they took over the league, they also gained control over the gyms all over Kanto", Ash explained. Brock nodded.

"I for example, used to be the gym leader in Pewter City. Although at the time of the take over, I wasn't the active leader. My father was. Team Rocket had tried to replace all of the gym leaders with trainers of their own, all higher level Rockets. Their initial plan was to remove from power any powerful Pokemon trainers who could lead a revolt", Brock added.

"What happened to the gym leaders?", Angel asked.

"All of them refused to leave their positions, knowing that something was amiss. Most were arrested, some managed to escape", Brock said. Angel gasped.

"But you said you were a gym leader! What about your family!", Angel asked, worried.

"Well it's times like this that having such a large family isn't a good thing. They tried to arrest my dad but he managed to escape with my mom and my siblings. They stay on the move, they have to. Occasionally they hide here for a bit, but being so big, it's hard to keep on the down low. Right now they're somewhere in Vermilion", Brock answered. Angel sighed in relief.

"That's good. What happened next?", Angel asked.

"By now, people began to realize what they were dealing with. But by then it was too late. With control over the entire league and so many industries, their power began to spread. Soon, they had a complete takeover. Independent gyms from the league, like the fighting dojo in Saffron, were shut down; as were daycare centers, police stations, and even alot of the Pokemon centers. And with control over the league, they had control over those who began trainers on their journeys, namely the Pokemon schools and laboratories", Brock explained.

"They made it illegal for people like Prof. Oak to give trainers their first Pokemon, since the typical starter Pokemon could grow to be powerful. This made the number of trainers dwindle. They also closed down all of the schools made for those who wanted to get into the Indigo Plateau by means of graduation. By doing this, they stopped anyone who had the power or means to fight back. The Elite Four tried to fight back, along with Gym leaders and trainers alike, but they were all destroyed. Their power had increased too much. Soon, they had complete takeover of all of Kanto", Ash said. Angel listened in horror. She never knew the true story of Team Rocket's atrocities. "But they didn't stop there. Giovanni knew very well that other places would fight back to save Kanto, so he began to bring their influence over to them. He first set up stations in the Orange Islands, south from Kanto. Those went relatively easily since the islands were defenseless against their new found power. Now those islands are used as bases for training Rockets and research facilities. Their distance and seclusion makes for great protection. Giovanni completely removed their league, disbanded the island gym leaders, and now most of the islands are abandoned by those who lived there. Johto was next. Since it was connected to Kanto, Team Rocket had already begun getting some influence over the area. But unlike Kanto, Johto was a bit more prepared. They began to fight back. The revolts weren't anything major, but it was still better than the fight that Kanto could produce. But Team Rocket had control over the weapons industries in Kanto _and _Johto, so they made guns, knives, traps, anything and everything that could put an end to rebellion. They didn't stand a chance. Johto's Elite Four, their gym leaders, and practically all of their trainers were wiped out. Now it had become a war. Johto was almost literally wiped off the map, and Hoenn and Sinnoh were now in their sight. They were farther away from Kanto and Johto, so they had time to prepare, but not much. They banded together to fight back. But for some reason, a fight never ensued", Ash said. Angel seemed confused.

"Why is that? Did Team Rocket get scaired?", Angel asked. Brock shook his head.

"Far from it, they were attacking from the inside", Brock stated. Angel listened in.

"You see, Team Rocket had control over Kanto, and Johto had no major crime syndicate, but Hoenn and Sinnoh had their own groups. Hoenn in fact had two, Aqua and Magma. They were much like Team Rocket, but they were involved in a civil war over control of Hoenn. But, like Team Rocket in the past, they were a underground group, so no one knew what was going on, which only helped in making a stealthy invasion. Giovanni knew that they could pose as a threat, and also knew of their war against each other. So instead of fighting, he gave supplies to both sides. He let them weaken each other and then took them both down with one mighty blow. Aqua and Magma even united for a short period to fight them off, but they were weak from their own war, so they were brought down. Giovanni and his Rockets then took control over everything that both Aqua and Magma had, and after using his own influences, took over Hoenn from the inside out; barely a fight. Now all that was left was Sinnoh. And they did a plan similar in Hoenn to Sinnoh's biggest group, Team Galactic. But unlike Rocket, Aqua, and Magma, Galactic was small, and were so distracted by their own plans to properly prepare for a invasion. They didn't know what hit them. So soon enough, Team Rocket had complete control over Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, and Sinnoh. And now we have this world, a world of a dictator bloodthirsty and full of power", Ash explained. Angel was speechless. Team Rocket had become so ruthless over the years, but it never occurred to her just how violent they were willing to get for control. They had power for so long, and so many people were taken prisoner or died under their reign. Just like her parents. She clenched her fists in anger, tears threatening to come down her face.

"How could they...be so evil...they killed countless people...all for power!", Angel said angrily. Ash nodded.

"I know, they're nothing but killers. That's why I stood up", Ash said. Angel subdued her anger for a moment to listen to Ash. "At the time of their takeover, I had just completed my journey through the Sinnoh region. I have fought Team Rocket for years, even before they began their takeover. I knew of their power, but couldn't do anything to stop them. So I escaped, I made it back to Kanto, where I quickly began to think of a way to stop them. I had planned on doing it myself, but knew it would never work. But I refused to let Team Rocket hurt the ones I love, so I began to communicate with my friends around the regions. I made countless allies in my journeys. I asked them to help me in bringing down Team Rocket. Most of them were more than willing. Soon, we became more organized, striking Team Rocket where it hurt. But we were still too little and far apart for major change. So with the help of my friends, I created the rebel force; or as Team Rocket decided to name us, the PTA. And ever since then, we have never stopped trying to bring down Team Rocket's global control", Ash explained. Angel was amazed. One man, one mere trainer on this planet, had the courage and heart to stand up against this group and create Team Rocket's biggest threat. Ash then stood up, allowing Pikachu to quickly jump up to his shoulder. "So Angel, if you want to, would you like to go to Prof. Oak's?", Ash asked. Angel at first thought it was a rather silly question. She would love to see the Pokemon there and learn new things about them; but why change the subject just like that? Until it hit her. Of course! Prof. Oak's lab! It's the biggest place in Pallet Town, that MUST be where their base is! Angel stood up and nodded.

"Yes, let's go!", Angel said. Ash nodded with a smile, as did Brock. Brock stood up himself and the three headed to the front door. Delia smiled. As Mr. Mime removed the barrier she turned to look at Angel.

"I'll be sure to finish your outfit by the time you come back sweetie", Delia said. Angel smiled and took a bow.

"Thank you very much Delia", Angel said. Ash then opened the door and the three of them walked out. Mr. Mime then placed the barrier back up. Ash and Brock walked Angel down the dirt road towards the lab; Angel walking in-between them. "So then, who else is in", before Angel could finish asking the question, Ash poked her in the arm. It wasn't painful, but enough to get her attention towards him. She looked up and saw that Ash was glancing towards her. He very slightly shook his head and brought his attention back to the road ahead. Angel was confused at first, but soon realized her mistake. Whereas they were safe in Ash's house, outside Rockets could be listening in on their conversations. There were many rumors as to how Rockets seem to know everything. It was obvious that they had people in disguise and security cameras in the cities, but some people even believed they had satellites that could pinpoint onto a specific person and watch their every move. While this was never proven to be true, you couldn't take any chances. So Angel remained silent for the short walk to the lab. Eventually, they spotted the large building that Angel saw earlier. She heard of Prof. Oak, but never actually met him before. Radio and television were under constant watch from Team Rocket and people tried not to talk about anything that could possibly get them arrested. No one really knows what exactly happened to the other Professors that were in charge of researching a particular region; although there are rumors. Ivy and Elm were younger and presumed to have been taken into custody to aid in Rocket research. Birch was on the run, although no one knew where, if this was even true. But since Prof. Oak and Prof. Rowan were older, they were considered to not be a threat. Although they still are kept under minimal surveillance, just in case. They all walked up the long driveway to the lab, noticing the Pokemon playing in the fields around the building. The Prof. must take great care of the Pokemon, they seem to ignore the world, no worries over Team Rocket or anything else for that matter. They approached the front doors, where Ash smiled and knocked on the front door. After a few moments, the door opened and a older man appeared. He looked at Ash and Brock and smiled.

"Well you guys weren't gone very long were you?", Prof. Oak said with a smile. Ash smiled and Brock laughed.

"Nope, I guess not", Ash said. Prof. Oak then looked down and noticed Angel.

"Oh, and who might this be?", Prof. Oak asked. Angel wanted to introduce herself, but knew better this time. She doubted that Team Rocket knew her name, but she wasn't going to say it when they could be listening in. Ash seemed to understand this as well and smiled.

"This is a friend of mine, she wanted to see the lab and the Pokemon", Ash said. Ash then looked at Prof. Oak with a serious expression, making sure no one could possibly see it other than him. Prof. Oak nodded in understanding and then smiled again.

"Well then, let's not keep you waiting at the door, come on in!", Prof. Oak said. He stepped to the side and allowed Ash, Brock, and Angel to walk inside. He then closed the door behind him. The inside of the lab was humongous. The entrance alone seemed bigger than Ash's house. Then again, this was to be expected. Labs needed to be big to hold Pokemon and all of the research that accompanied it, and Prof. Oak was definitely well off from his work. The walls seemed to be made entirely of books. Many different types lined the shelves. To the right was another room just as large, and to the left were a spiral staircase that led upstairs. Occasionally, someone in a white lab-coat would walk by, carrying papers or boxes filled with various objects. "So, I hope you enjoy your little visit here, we have plenty of Pokemon all about", Prof. Oak said cheerfully. He then walked in front of the gang. "We have water types, ground types, and even types who have eyes in the sky". He then moved his eyes slightly to his upper left. Angel glanced very slightly to this direction and noticed a security camera hanging on the wall near the entrance to the other room. Team Rocket must keep eye on him twenty four seven. How could the base of the PTA be in a lab with cameras everywhere?

"I'm sure she'll love it, won't you?", Brock asked. Angel snapped out of her thinking trance and nodded with a smile.

"Oh yeah, for sure!", Angel replied. She then stepped forward, closer to Prof. Oak. "Actually, I'm interested in looking at Ghost types, if you have them that is. I love how they can _stay hidden _even in the open. It's like they're _invisible_". She looked at Prof. Oak with a innocent face, but Prof. Oak could tell what she really meant. He smiled and pointed to the other room.

"Just go into that room, Ash and Brock can show you the rest of the way", Prof. Oak said. Angel nodded, keeping her smile.

"Thank you!", Angel said. Prof. Oak smiled back.

"No problem. Now if you'll excuse me, I'll have to leave you be. Team Rocket wants me to continue on my research on controlling the anger of Pokemon, enjoy!", Prof. Oak said. Angel watched as Prof. Oak walked away. He was smiling, but Angel could see the annoyance of what he had just said. Surely he was not enjoying his new topic of study. Ash then put a hand on Angel's back.

"So, are you ready?", Ash asked. Angel brought her attention back to Ash and smiled.

"Yeah! Let's go!", Angel said. Ash and Brock then led Angel into the other room. Angel didn't pay attention to what was in the room, she was more interested in seeing the security of the building. Each room had one, sometimes two cameras, and they were all situated in prime locations. She made sure not to look directly into them, to avoid suspicion. After a few minutes, Ash and Brock led Angel into a small library. It seemed odd for them to lead her here. The Prof. had books everywhere, so this library seemed to be pointless. And it was also a dead end. There were no other doors or halls to follow. Ash walked into the room and looked at the camera in the corner. He gave a slight nod and then looked at Angel.

"Alright, let's hurry", Ash said. He then moved over to a book case and pulled a few books out of the shelves. Behind these books was a wooden wall, Angel presumed it was the back of the book case. Ash pushed it in and quickly placed the books back where they were. He then pulled the side of the entire case and it slid open, leading to a secret passage way. Ash looked at Brock and Angel and waved them over in a hurried manner. Brock ushered Angel in and then Ash slid the book case closed behind them. After it was closed shut, Ash looked at Angel with a smile. "You have a natural talent at sending messages through talking", Ash said. Angel smiled.

"Thank you. I got used to it after being on the run for so long...so where are we?", Angel asked. The secret passage was well lit and clean. To their right was a path leading downstairs.

"Prof. Oak used to need alot more space for research, so he had a lab built under this one for it. After Team Rocket took over, he altered it and kept it hidden. Now...it's used for our base", Ash said. He stepped forward and began to head down the stairs.

"But wait, you did this in front of their cameras, won't they catch us?", Angel asked. Ash stopped walking and turned to face her.

"Oh no, everytime we enter the room, we have someone shut off the camera just long enough for us to get in. Team Rocket simply thinks it's a faulty camera. They never got to replacing them because Prof. Oak isn't worth their time and because the library isn't an important room", Ash explained. He then began to walk again. "Follow me". Angel listened, being closely followed by Brock. They rounded a corner and soon, Angel found herself in a large white room. All over the place were computers with different things on the screens. There were tables with maps, a few weapons, files, and food scattered here and there. There were people walking all over the place, some in a hurry, some not. Angel looked to the sides and could see other rooms from where she was standing. Ash smiled and extended his arms, as if showing off the room.

"Welcome to the rebel base"

**Alright! Now get ready to meet members of the PTA! I don't know when the next chapter will be up, I have classes soon. But I promise to at least work on it as soon as I can. I hope that this chapter at least made things alot easier to understand. Next chapter, you will meet the rest of the rebel force, both Pokemon or OC related. That will also help explain things I think. "Now that Angel has learned of Team Rocket and discovered the rebel base, will she be a target? Can Angel's new found friends be trusted? Find out next time on EVAN AAML's "R"!". Oh, and as a side note, the Oscars were last night, for those who watched, what were YOUR thoughts? I was glad in general over the results, although I don't think "The Social Network" really deserved that much. I was glad "Inception", got visuals at least. Hosting on the other hand could of been alot better. Well, that's all for now, be sure to F.A.R.!**

**sincerely,  
evan, a fan of aaml -EVAN AAML**


	4. Chapter 4

**Well so far so good! I'm glad to see that so many people are liking this story, (more than the authors who helped me that is). I will try to get every character that I can introduced into this chapter. But if I can't then they will appear in the next chapter. Also remember that I have the characters of "Pokemon" to introduce as well. I hope that you all enjoy it as well as I am currently. Let's do this.**

**-EVAN AAML**

Angel stepped back to be able to take everything thing. She put her hands over her mouth and did nothing but stare, she couldn't believe it. Ash smiled at her, he knew the shock and awe that she was feeling. He had seen it on the faces of so many people who eventually joined the PTA. Brock smiled as well.

"Is it everything you expected?", Brock asked. Angel was still gasping at the sight.

"I didn't expect any of this, at all", Angel replied. Ash smiled.

"We get that alot. There's alot here to take in. This is our main hall, it holds our main computers and it's where we have our bigger meetings. We also have training rooms, strategy rooms, and of course places for people to sleep and eat. Everything we need to survive", Ash explained.

"Because we have so many members, and because we're always hiding, alot of us needed a place to call home until we could stop Team Rocket. After Ash began the rebellion, Prof. Oak allowed us to use the downstairs of his lab. That way we could use all of the computers and rooms without fear of being watched", Brock explained. As Angel was listening to Brock, someone suddenly walked up to Ash's side. This person was about the same age as Ash, and even the same height. He had brown hair that spiked in the front and brown eyes. He wore a purple shirt with a white lab coat over it and blue jeans.

"Ash, sorry to interupt your little tour, but you need to check in on the region leaders", this person said with a bit of a mocking tone. Ash nodded with a smirk.

"Ok Gary", Ash responded. He then looked back at Angel. "I have to contact some friends of mine, so I'll see you later. In the meantime, Brock can show you around and introduce you to people". Angel nodded, understanding the work that Ash must of had to do every day.

"Ok, thank you again Ash", Angel responded. Ash smiled and waved.

"No problem, see you later", Ash replied. As Ash began to walk away, Pikachu waved goodbye to Angel with a large smile.

"Pika!", Pikachu said. Angel giggled and waved back. Ash then walked over towards the biggest computer in the room. The monitor itself was on the wall and was several feet in height and length. Next to him was a person in a chair typing away. Angel was going to ask what exactly he was doing but decided against it. She then noticed Gary standing by her.

"Hello, my name's Angel, what's your name?", Angel asked politely. Gary smirked and held out his hand.

"My name's Gary Oak, a old friend of Ash's. I'm the head of the science department here", Gary explained. Angel shook his hand with a curious look.

"So then are you a relative of Prof. Oak?", Angel asked. After they finished with the hand shake, Gary placed both of his hands in his lab coat. and nodded.

"Yep, he's my grandfather. I'm also a professor, but I can't become one officially unless I work for Team Rocket...which won't be happening anytime soon", Gary said with a hint of annoyance. It reminded Angel of the annoyance Prof. Oak showed about his new project. She could easily see the family resemblance.

"So then, what's your story? How did you get involved with all of this?", Angel asked. Gary seemed a bit taken aback by her curiosity. He looked at Brock for advice. He shrugged, not sure himself. Gary sighed and smiled.

"Well, I used to be a Pokemon trainer, like Ash was, before the Rocket takeover. We both grew up together here in Pallet and started our journeys at the same time. We ended up becoming rivals and stayed that way for quite a few years. But I soon found myself bored with Pokemon training. I was a really good trainer, but I didn't have the same motivation that Ash did. So I decided to follow in my grandfather's footsteps and become a professor. I had my own lab and everything, but it all ended when Team Rocket took over. They destroyed my lab and my assistants were taken prisoner, I was lucky to escape. I returned here, where Ash told me of his plan for rebellion. I was one of the original members", Gary explained in detail. Angel nodded in understanding. She wanted to know everything she could about this organization and the people in it. She only heard of stories of people being brave enough to stand up against Team Rocket, she never saw anyone do it. And yet here there was an entire group of people trying to stop them. Their courage and determination was something to admire.

"Wow, I still can't believe that all of this was happening before I was even born. All this time I've been hiding from the Rockets, thinking that I was alone, when there I'm really not", Angel said, mostly to herself. Gary nodded. He then put a hand on her shoulder.

"You're right, you're not alone. It's our job to protect people like you, helpless against Team Rocket's evil", Gary said with a smile. Angel nodded with a smile.

"Well thank you for the protection, but I don't think I'm completely helpless", Angel replied. Gary made a quizzical face at this response. Just then, someone began to laugh. This grabbed the attention of Angel, Gary, and Brock, who looked to the left of the room, (Gary's right). Walking towards them was a female, who laughed over the conversation.

"That's the spirit, never say that you're helpless, anyone can do what they put their heart and mind to", this female said. Brock laughed slightly.

"And this, Angel, is Aleksi, the rebel force's personal motivational speaker", Brock joked. The girl named Aleksi shook her head with a smile.

"Yeah, sure I am. Nice to see you Brock", Aleksi responded. She then hugged Brock hello. She had light brown hair that was long and put in a tight ponytail. Her bangs were left out and hung at the side of her face. She was tan, like alot of the people that Angel has seen here; but she was also short, being only about a head's length taller than Angel. Her green-blue eyes sparkled in the light of the room, making them look warm and innocent. She wore green tank top with a un-buttoned grey-brown jacket that stopped at her midriff, light blue colored jeans, and brown boots. On her arm was a bracelet that had brown and black material layered around it. Within the layers were gold metal circles. And around her neck was a knotted leather choker necklace.

"It's nice to see you too Aleksi", Brock responded.

"I take it your mission went well?", Gary asked. Aleksi released Brock and nodded.

"Yep, recon showed that we were right. They definitely have something hiding there", Aleksi explained. She then looked down at Angel. Once their eyes met she gave her a smile. "And who are you who's got all the confidence?". Angel smiled back and took a bow.

"My name's Angel", Angel replied. Aleksi giggled and bowed back.

"That's a beautiful name! Well my name's Aleksi, pleased to meet you", Aleksi stated.

"Aleksi is one of our oldest members", Gary said to Angel. Angel looked up at her admirably.

"Are you really?", Angel asked. Aleksi nodded, still smiling.

"Uh huh. I was on the run from Team Rocket years ago, I had stopped them from attacking some defenseless wild Pokemon. They started chasing me when suddenly I was saved by Ash and his friends, including Brock and Gary here. They took me back here and I was so thankful to them that I joined the rebellion. And here I am", Aleksi explained. Brock nodded.

"In fact, she was the first person that joined after the originals", Brock threw in. Angel looked at her in awe. Aleksi reminded her of herself. She was on the run from Team Rocket for years; she was being attacked by them; and was saved in the nick of time. They seemed similar in so many ways.

"So, are you planning on giving Angel here the official tour?", Aleksi asked Brock. He nodded.

"I was just about to", Brock stated.

"Well then allow me to accompany you, I'd like to get to know Angel myself", Aleksi said, placing an arm around Angel's shoulders. She then looked over to Gary. "Are you going to join us?". Gary shook his head.

"Nah. I would, but Ash needs my help with the others. You all have fun", Gary said as he walked away and waved goodbye over his shoulder. Aleksi shrugged.

"Oh well, his loss", Aleksi said. This made Angel giggle. "Well then, let's get started". Brock nodded and he began to walk to the left, where Aleksi had come from. The girls followed closely. The room immediately after this one was another computer room, but it had smaller, more common ones. Most of them were taken up by people who were either viewing files or communicating with someone. As they walked by it, Angel noticed a large wooden table by the wall. On it were files with the faces of people on them and Pokeballs. The faces all had red letters written across them, but Angel was unable to make out what they spelled. Brock then led them down a hall to their right. Along the wall were maps of the five regions and photos of people, having fun and smiling. Angel recognized one of them because Ash was in it. Next to him was Brock and to his other side was a girl she did not recognize. They were surrounded by Pokemon and all smiling. The other pictures were of other members as well. Most of them had Ash in them, alot with Brock as well. A few with Gary, Delia, Prof. Oak, and even one of Aleksi with a Umbreon. Most of the pictures though she did not pay much attention to because she didn't know the people in them. They then took a quick turn to their left and there was a set of stairs going down. They all began their way down the stairs, Angel taking in the surroundings. As soon as they hit the bottom, they stopped. Brock turned around.

"Down here is our training area. We were lucky enough to have alot of space in this building, but obviously we can't build more into it without Team Rocket noticing. So we use whatever space we have. Down here is where we train with Pokemon, weapons, and fighting. Along with even a few other skills that could come in handy", Brock said in detail. The hall continued on, but to their left and going all the way down were large windows that allowed people to see the training grounds; along with a door at the end of every window. As they walked by, they noticed different small Pokemon fields for different elements. Water, Grass, Rock. They kept walking until they stopped at one that was plain. Inside were two people training with their Pokemon. Brock opened the door and stepped in, followed closely by Aleksi and a hesitant Angel. They stood by the door as they watched the two people fight. On the far end of the room was a boy about Brock and Aleksi's age. He had black hair that was spiked and blue eyes. He wore simple blue jeans and a open white sweater with a blue shirt under it and black shoes. He looked on with the battle with a grin. His Pokemon was a Electabuzz, and a powerful one at that. It was clear that he was winning the fight. His opponent was someone who was smaller then him, but only younger by a little bit. He had brown hair, but it was covered by a red bandanna. He wore a brown jacket over a black shirt and black pants with boots. His Pokemon was a Seviper. It looked tough, but it was weak and panting. Both Pokemon scared Angel, they were ones that grunts would have.

"You're doing alot better man, but you have to choose better types", the winning trainer yelled. The losing trainer laughed.

"Thanks for telling me NOW!", the other trainer yelled back. The winning trainer chuckled.

"Ok, you got me there. Well, time to end this, Electabuzz, Thundershock!", the trainer commanded. Electabuzz raised his arms in the air with a flex and yelled out loud, as if he was mumbling. He then held his arms out towards Seviper and electricity shot out of them.

"Seviper, dodge!", the other trainer yelled quickly. Seviper braced himself, and then slithered to the right at top speed, easily dodging the electricity. But the attack kept going, and it was heading for the losing trainer. "Ahhhhh, THIS won't end well". Suddenly, he was struck by the Thundershock attack. He twitched this way and that, yelling ouch and ow as he did. Electabuzz quickly stopped the attack and the losing trainer fell to the ground, smoldered. Brown smoke came off his body. The winning trainer put his hand on his forehead, embarrassed.

"Oops, didn't mean for _that_to happen", the trainer said. He then noticed Brock and the others standing by the door, behind the burnt trainer. He smiled and waved. "Oh, hey!". Electabuzz saw then and smiled. Meanwhile, Seviper slithered over to his trainer and wrapped his tail around his legs. He then lifted him off the ground, the trainer dangling just a foot or so off the ground. His fingers could almost touch the ground. He opened his mouth and smoke came out of it.

"Well, that was a _shocking _experience", the trainer said. Seviper sweatdropped and dropped his trainer, allowing him to crash onto the ground. The trainer sat up and shook his head from the pain. He also noticed the onlookers and smiled. "Oh, didn't see you there, I was too busy losing", the trainer said. Seviper slithered over to Brock and smiled Brock gave him a pat on the head.

"It's nice to see you too Seviper, looks like you took a bit of a beating, I'd get a rest of I were you", Brock said. The trainer nodded.

"Yeah, I agree. You did a great job Seviper, return!", the trainer said, holding out his Pokeball. A red light shot out and within a instant Seviper was gone. The other trainer also returned his Pokemon and walked over to them.

"So what brings you down here?", the trainer asked Brock. Brock stepped aside and pointed to Angel.

"We were giving our friend here a tour, she wanted to meet members of the rebellion", Brock explained. Aleksi then stepped aside, leaving Angel alone for a moment. She took a bow at the two trainers.

"Hello, my name's Angel", Angel said. The other trainers smiled back.

"Nice to meet you, my name's Nick", the trainer with the Electabuzz said with a smile.

"And I'm Jonathan, but you can call me Jonny", the trainer with the Seviper stated, taking off his bandanna and beating his body with it. As he did smoke came off his clothes. After he was done, he placed it back onto his head. "So, are you new to the PTA?". Before Angel could reply, Brock answered for her.

"Yep, Ash saved her from a Rocket attack earlier this morning. We told her who we were and she wanted to check it out", Brock said. Nick looked at him with some concern.

"Isn't that dangerous? What if she's a spy? You can't just let random people come into the base like that", Nick said. Brock shook his head.

"It's fine. We ran a background check on her and she cleared. Besides, she needed our help", Brock said. As Nick and Brock discussed the situation, Jonny bent down to be closer to Angel.

"So Angel, did you like what you see?", Jonny asked. Angel nodded.

"Oh yes, very entertaining", Angel replied. Aleksi smiled.

"Yes, I especially liked the part where you became a live conductor", Aleksi said with a giggle.

"Yeah, you liked that did you?", Jonny asked, jokingly as well.

"So Jonny, how long have you been a member?", Angel asked.

"Only a couple weeks. Nick's been one for about a month, maybe little bit more. We don't have alot of members who've been around for a long time", Jonny asked. This got Angel's attention.

"How come?", Angel asked.

"Well mostly cause the older ones are all de", before Jonny could finish, Aleksi kicked him in the shin. He jumped up in pain and held it tightly. She had done it to stop him from talking, but Angel had already understood what he was trying to say. She should of figured that there wouldn't be alot of living members of an organization out to destroy Team Rocket. But she kept it to herself. After Jonny finished rubbing his shin he he gave Aleksi a dirty look but continued to talk to Angel. "So, who have you meet so far while you were here?". Angel thought for a moment.

"Mmm, not too many people. There's all of you, then Ash, Gary, Prof. Oak, and Delia", Angel said.

"Oh, you have quite a few more people to see then", Jonny said. Angel nodded. "Well, I wouldn't want to be the one to slow you down on your little tour. So I'll be seeing you later. Besides, Seviper could really use a rest. Take care", Jonny said as he walked away from the group and out the door. Angel watched as he waved goodbye, walking to the right where they had come from. This left them alone with Nick, who was still discussing with Brock. Angel felt it was rude to break up their conversation, even if she felt a little bit embarrassed that it was over her being there. Aleksi on the other hand had no problem doing so.

"So shall we get going?", Aleksi asked. Brock and Nick stopped talking and looked at her. Brock laughed slightly.

"Yeah, I guess so", Brock said. Nick seemed slightly annoyed at Aleksi for stopping the conversation, but ignored it.

"Alright then, I'll see you all later", Nick said. He then walked away, not saying goodbye to Angel like Jonny had. Angel looked at him as he left, a little bit dis-heartened. Aleksi put her hands on her shoulders.

"Don't worry about him. He just takes awhile to warm up to. His friend died just before he joined and he hasn't recovered from it quite yet", Aleksi explained. Angel frowned. She knew what it was like to lose a loved one. The three of them stood in the training room for a little bit before Brock began to leave.

"Well, we'll see who else is down here and then we'll take you back upstairs", Brock said. Angel nodded and smiled, but still thought about what Jonny had said and about Nick's friend. So they left the room and continued down the hall. The other rooms were all vacant, most people were upstairs either using the computers or running around. Soon, the Pokemon training grounds ended. There were now just closed doors on either side of the hall. "Here we have mostly storage rooms. This is where we keep our old files, weapons, food, and even Pokeballs. Anything we can't fit upstairs goes down here", Brock explained. The doors were closed so Brock figured that no one was in them, so they made their way along until they smelled something odd. All three of them sniffed the air.

"Smells like smoke", Angel said.

"Uh oh, is there a fire in one of the rooms!", Aleksi asked worried. She put a hand on one of her Pokeballs just in case. Brock also began to worry and looked around for the source of the smell. As he did, he looked on the ground and noticed that there was light coming from below one of the doors. Brock realized what room this was and sighed.

"I think I know what it is", Brock said. He then walked over and slowly opened the door with the light. As he did, the smell of smoke became more powerful. Angel squeezed her nose to keep the smell from getting in it. Inside was a person with their back to them. The only visible part of this person was a navy blue flat-rimmed hat, which was on backwards. On the hat were the letters "N" and "Y", written in white and on top of each other. When the door opened completely, Brock coughed from the smoke and the person turned around. It was a boy, about the same age as Aleksi. He had dark brown hair that was curly but most of it was hidden under the hat. He had bright blue eyes and the remains of facial hair around his face. He wore a bright yellow t-shirt and a white un-buttoned shirt over it. On the front was a pocket with a black logo on it, but it was illegible. Around his neck and clearly visible on the yellow shirt was a gold holy cross. He also wore dark blue jeans that were slightly baggy, a wrist watch on his right arm, and white and black sneakers; which were surprisingly clean. In his mouth was a lit cigarette, which was the cause of the smoke. He smiled and leaned back on a table, which was where he was apparently working at

"Hello Brock, don't people knock anymore?", this person asked with a smile. He then looked down at Angel and smiled. He took his hat off and made a bow. "And hello to you my dear. Sorry that you must see me in this unkempt manner". Angel looked up at Aleksi and Brock.

"Who's this?", Angel asked. It sounded odd coming out of her since she was still plugging her nose. Aleksi look at the person as well, with a bit disgust.

"I don't even know myself, he must be new here", Aleksi said. Brock nodded.

"Yep, he arrived a few days ago. He saved Ash from some grunts when he was down at Saffron and Ash brought him here", Brock explained. The stranger nodded.

"Damn Rockets were trying to "confiscate" Pokemon from the Safari Zone, I was glad to see Ash try and stop them. Least I could do was save him when it got nasty", the smoker said. "Oh, sorry. An introduction is in order. My name's Evan, and you are?". Angel took a bow.

"My name's Angel", Angel said. Evan smiled.

"You are just the most well mannered little girl I've ever met! I like that. The kids I grew up with were never this polite. And angel is a beautiful name", Evan said. He then looked at Aleksi. "And you are?". Aleksi still looked slightly disgusted.

"I'm Aleksi", Aleksi said. Evan nodded.

"Well, pleased to meet you", Evan said. Aleksi then walked over to Evan and with one quick swipe, pulled the lit cigarette out of Evan's mouth. Evan watched on with some shock.

"Don't you know that smoking kills!", Aleksi asked, showing him the cigarette. She then threw it on the ground and stomped on it, extinguishing the flames and smoke. Angel then released her nose and breathed in. Evan shrugged.

"I know, nasty habit of mine", Evan explained. He then leaned over to his left to get a better look at Angel. He pointed at her and gave a stern look. "_Never_ smoke! It's bad for you!". Angel giggled and nodded.

"I know, but thank you for telling me", Angel said. She then scurried over past Evan and Aleksi to see what Evan was working on at the table. On it was what appeared to be a long metal object, but there were many pieces to it scattered here and there. There was also some oil, a rag, some cleaning utensils, and a large metal box that was closed and to the side. "So what was it you were working on?", Angel asked. Evan smiled and walked over to the table next to Angel.

"I was cleaning my gun. I'm a sniper, according to Ash I'm the best shot here, so he made me one", Evan explained. He then lifted the large piece of metal and began to attach pieces to it. As he did, it began to take shape. "My dad was a collector of all different types of guns. I grew up around them, so I used them at a young age, with his supervision and expertise of course. I liked this one the best, I felt like...I don't know, like it was meant to be", Evan said with a smile. Angel smiled as well. Evan then shook his head and continued. "Well, my dad was killed by the Rockets and I escaped. But not before taking with me all of his guns. Drove those suckers right out of our town. After I saved Ash, he brought me here, and I donated the guns to our cause". Angel looked down at the table.

"...I know what it's like to lose your parents. I lost mine too", Angel explained. Evan stopped putting the gun together and looked at Angel sympathetically. He felt bad for Angel having lost her parents at such a young age. He put the gun down and gave Angel a hug. She was shocked by it, but gladly accepted it anyway. Aleksi smiled at the scene before her. She thought that Evan was a grimy guy, but he was actually sweet and caring. Evan then released Angel and placed the last few pieces onto his gun. When he was done he picked it up, showing it to Angel. It was a large rifle with a long barrel and a scope on top. On the side was a picture of another holy cross, but smaller and silver.

"Tell you what, later on you can meet me at the firing range and I can teach you how to shoot", Evan said. Angel nodded.

"Ok, sure!", Angel said. Evan then tipped his hat goodbye and began to walk out. He stopped in front of Aleksi.

"You can come by too if you want", Evan said with a smile. Aleksi seemed a bit offended by this.

"I happen to be a really good shot thank you very much!", Aleksi said. Evan laughed slightly.

"My apologies then, perhaps for fun then?", Evan asked. He then walked away, giving Brock a high five before leaving. Angel and Brock were smiling, but Aleksi seemed annoyed.

"Can you believe him! How rude can you be!", Aleksi asked to the others.

"Well I liked him!", Angel said with a giggle. She could tell that Aleksi was annoyed over nothing. Brock chuckled as well.

"Me too, you should get to know him more Aleksi", Brock said. Aleksi huffed and walked out of the room.

"Shall we get going!", Aleksi asked. Brock and Angel looked at each other and laughed before walking out with her. Angel turned off the light and closed the door behind her. Evan had disappeared, presumably gone the way they came. Aleksi was already walking down the hall when Brock and Angel started to follow her. Suddenly she stopped and turned to see something. To her left was another door, and like the door before it had lights coming from underneath it. But unlike the last door, it wasn't a smell that caught her attention, but a sound. It was a clanging noise, like metal on metal. Brock and Angel had managed to catch up to her before she opened the door. As soon as she did, they noticed two people training. But they weren't training with Pokemon, they were training with swords. Angel gasped at the sight. It seemed barbaric and even violent to be fighting with swords like this. The two people were clanging the steel together, almost as if they were really trying to kill each other with it. One of them was a skinny guy, but tall. He had a long black ponytail and brown eyes. He wore a t-shirt with Zelda on it and black sweatpants. He was using a short sword against his opponent, it reminded Angel of a Japanese style. The other person was the youngest person that Angel had met yet, but still older than herself. He must of been about fifteen or sixteen at the most. He had dirty blonde hair with blue eyes and a tan much like Aleksi's. He wore a black hoodie with blue jeans and white tennis shoes. His sword was longer than the other's, like a pirate's. The one with the ponytail smirked.

"You're getting better, work on that direction though", the fighter said. He then noticed Brock and the girls watching him. The other person on the other hand didn't.

"Direction or not, I bet I can still beat you!", the boy said. He then charged towards the taller man. He swung repeatedly at him, most of his swings being close to hitting him. The other man swung his Katana around, trying to stop him.

"Hey! Calm down! We have company!", the other said. Just before his swing struck down, the boy stopped. Still in battle pose, he turned and looked towards the door, seeing the others. He sweatdropped.

"Oh...didn't see them there", the boy said. The guy with the ponytail then quickly swung his shorter sword, knocking the pirate sword out of the boy's hands.

"You need to pay more attention then!", the man said. The boy looked at him with some annoyance. "If they had been Rockets then you'd already be dead". The man then walked away from the boy and picked up the fallen sword. He handed it back to the boy. "You did much better though, keep at it". He then walked over towards the others. He put his sword into a sheath that was attached to his side and stopped in front of Brock and the girls.

"Brock, pleasure to see you, same to you Aleksi, hope your mission went well", the man said. Aleksi nodded.

"Yep, it's as we thought", Aleksi stated. The man nodded.

"I figured as much. I knew they were planning something there, but they never told me what", the man said. He then noticed Angel, looking at him with a bit of fear. He smiled. "No need to be afraid, I won't bite". Angel nodded, still apprehensive. He held out his hand. "You can call me Ryoto". Angel took it and shook it slowly.

"My name's Angel", Angel stated. Ryoto smiled.

"Nice name", Ryoto said. He then walked past the gang and towards the door, not even saying goodbye. The others turned to see him leave as the younger boy walked towards them.

"You'll have to get used to his personality. He's like that, still has some of that Rocket in him I guess", the boy said. Angel turned to him immediately and gasped.

"Rocket!", Angel said. The boy nodded, slightly confused. He figured that she knew.

"Yeah, he used to be a member of Team Rocket", the boy said. This struck Angel like a lightning bolt. The vision of Ryoto in a Rocket uniform, using the Katana filled her with great fear. She couldn't believe that Ash would allow someone who could of killed many people to be in the PTA. Now she knew why Nick was so worried about having her look around. Aleksi and Brock could see the look of fear in her face. Aleksi kneeled down.

"Don't worry, Ryoto isn't a Rocket anymore, he won't hurt you", Aleksi said. Angel didn't exactly believe her, but if anyone would tell her the truth, it would be her. The younger boy smirked.

"You'd think he'd try to hide information like that, I mean, his name isn't even real. Ryoto? It's obviously a cover name!", the boy said. Brock laughed.

"He didn't want to give his real name to us, said it was better that way. It's fine, Ash trusts him, and so do I", Brock said. Angel continued to space out, thinking about what Ryoto could of been like if he were still in Team Rocket. The boy noticed this.

"Oh don't worry about him, really. He's a nice guy, just a bit...eh, anti-social. Tell you what, if he _does _try to come after you, I'll protect you!", the boy said with a large grin and a clenched fist to his chest, high and proud with his extended chest. Aleksi giggled.

"Oh please, what are you gonna do? Use yourself as a meat shield?", Aleksi asked. The boy huffed and his chest deflatted. This broke Angel out of her trance and made her giggle. This seemed to be the boy's plan all along. He smiled.

"My name's Michael, nice to meet you Angel", Michael said. Angel smiled

"Nice to meet you too!", Angel replied. Michael laughed a bit.

"Got to say, I'm glad you're here. Now I'm not one of the kids anymore! What are you, like, ten?", Michael asked. Angel grew slightly annoyed.

"I'm twelve", Angel replied dead pan. Michael sweatdropped.

"Oh, whoops. Sorry", Michael said. Brock laughed out loud. Angel then looked back towards the doors.

"So, why isn't Ryoto with the Rockets anymore?", Angel asked. Michael looked at the doors as well.

"Well, I guess the simple answer for that is he betrayed them and now he's a wanted fellon. Bounty on his head and everything. Which isn't too shocking, half of the people here do. Then again, his IS pretty high", Michael explained. Angel looked curious.

"How come?", Angel asked.

"He used to be a head Rocket, head of their assassin group", Michael said.

"Higher end grunts are placed into different divisions. Technicians, scientists, security, and even assassins. He was the head of that particular division. They would often send him on missions to take out enemies without getting too much attention. One day they make his target a small family. Something about them seeing a murder. They weren't a threat to anyone and they had two young children. Seeing this made Ryoto have a change of heart. Ryoto refused, so Giovanni placed a bounty on his head. He fled before anyone could catch him. Then he became a bounty hunter before joining us", Brock explained in more detail.

"Now he's a informant and a teacher of sorts to me and some others", Michael added in. Angel nodded, understanding.

"You see, even some Rockets have a kind heart, it just takes some work getting it out", Aleksi said. Angel smiled. Perhaps maybe he wasn't so bad after all. She then looked up to Michael.

"And what's your story?", Angel asked. Michael looked down at her and smiled. He was sort of excited to be able to tell it, most people didn't care. He bent down and got closer to Angel, as if telling a important story.

"Well, here's what happened. Bout a month ago I was at Celadon, spying on Rockets in the mall. I decided after watching them that they were up to something, so I figured that a good way to stop them was to...apprehend their goods", Michael said with a goofy grin. Aleksi laughed.

"Don't you mean you stole the mall's food and Pokemon stat builders?", Aleksi asked. Michael stood up and got on his tip toes, yelling at Aleksi.

"I'M TELLING THE STORY HERE! BUTT OUT!", Michael yelled. Aleksi sweatdropped and Brock laughed. He then bent back down. "As I was saying, I apprehended their goods when they caught me just before I made it out without being seen...stupid alarms. Anyway, I bolted out the door and ran around the city, trying to avoid them. They were no match for my skills!", Michael said. Aleksi intervened again.

"That's not what _IIIII _heard!", Aleksi said in a sing-song voice. Michael yelled at her again.

"SHUT IT!", Michael yelled. Angel giggled. "Ok, so they surrounded me about a block down the street. But I used my Pokemon and was able to escape with my life. Apparently one of the PTA members noticed me and decided that I should tag along. So here I am!".

"Well that was a very good story Michael", Angel said. Michael blushed slightly.

"Well, I _am _pretty amazing", Michael said. He then leaned closer to Angel. "Want to see a trick?", he whispered to her. She nodded. Michael then stood up with a large grin. "Alright then, watch this!". He then reached to his side and pulled out a small blade from a attachment on his belt, near his Pokeballs. He showed it to Angel. It was a typical pocket knife, only slightly longer at the blade. He then gently tossed it in the air, caught it, and then threw it into the wall, about ten feet away. The blade stuck into the wall perfectly. Angel gasped with amazement. "Yeah, you like that? Steel blade and sharpened with a diamond sharper, those things are strong and sharp!", Michael said with a grin. Angel clapped.

"Great job!", Angel said. Michael took a bow.

"Thank you, thank you", Michael joked. Aleksi shook her head with a smile.

"You goofball. Alright then Angel, we still have alot of people to see, are you ready?", Aleksi asked. Angel turned to her with a grin. After seeing all of the different people here with different back stories, she was psyched.

"You bet".

**THIS...WAS...TIRING! I mean my goodness! It took me FOREVER to type this chapter! Argh!...oh well. My sincerest apologies if this seemed rushed. This especially goes out to the authors whose OC's were in this chapter, I understand if you felt your character didn't get enough "screen time". I have so many OCs that I need to introduce to Angel that I just want to get it over with so that I can work more onto the main plot. So I'm sorry. I myself didn't like this chapter too much, but I at least felt that I did the OCs justice, at least from what the authors gave me. There are also alot of OCs in here and soon to come that aren't authors, but ones of my own creation simply to fill in. Examples of this are Jonny, Nick, and of course Angel. Everyone else is a author OC or "Pokemon" character so far. Anyway, hoped you liked it more than I did. My apologies to those who aren't introduced yet, you'll be in the next chapter! But for now...I have to work on my college homework...ew. "Now that Angel has met members of the PTA, will she join their ranks? Can all the members be trusted? Are the Rockets already on their trail? Find out next time on EVAN AAML's "R"!". See you all later! If you have any questions, feel free to ask, and be sure to F.A.R.!**

**sincerely,  
evan, a fan of aaml -EVAN AAML**


	5. Chapter 5

**Alright, I'm back and ready for another installment of "R"! Yey for me! Now before I forget, (because I know I will), I have a quick question for the authors who have OCs. It's not a big one really, but I would like to know for a section of the story. How are you waking up in the morning? Let's say early. Are you groggy, mean, nice? Do you need your coffee every morning? Etc. I could simply make up a reaction to this, but I feel it's best to get the REAL ones. Alright, should I start my 5th chapter? OF COURSE I SHALL! IT WAS RHETORICAL QUESTION!**

**-EVAN AAML**

Aleksi and Brock were glad to see that Angel was liking the tour and people so far. Often they would get used to people either being too afraid of knowing too much about the rebellion or simply not trusting anyone. Angel was different, she was so innocent, so naive. And yet eager to learn and meet new people; despite how the world has treated her so far. She was rearing to go. Michael stepped forward.

"Sounds good to me. I guess I'll tag along. I need to head upstairs anyway", Michael stated. Aleksi giggled.

"More like hit the showers, sheez! I'd swear you just finished some kind of triathlon!", Aleksi said, holding her nose away from Michael. He slumped for a moment and then lifted his arm to smell his arm pit. He then shrugged.

"Well, I _was _just training, so...yeah", Michael said. Brock laughed.

"Alright, let's get going, I would prefer not to die of suffocation by noxious fumes down here", Brock said. Aleksi and Angel smiled. The 4 of them then made their way out of the training room and back to the hallway. But before Brock began to walk, he turned and looked at Michael. "Hey Michael, would you happen to know if anyone else is down here right now?". Michael thought for a moment and shrugged.

"Hmm, well Ryoto left, and I _thought _I saw that new guy Evan", Michael said. Aleksi made a dirty look.

"Yeah, we already saw _him_", Aleksi stated. She crossed her arms and made an annoyed expression. Seemed confused at the reaction, but ignored her.

"Other than that there shouldn't be anyone else. Unless they just came down", Michael said. Brock nodded.

"That's good, then we can head back upstairs", Brock said. He then made his way down the hall, followed closely by Angel. Aleksi followed as well, but was a bit slower, Michael caught up to her.

"So, not a big fan of Evan huh?", Michael asked. Aleksi huffed, her arms still crossed.

"Hmph, he's got an ego and he smokes", Aleksi said. Michael laughed.

"Sheez, women are so picky", Michael said. Aleksi looked at him confused.

"What do you mean?", Aleksi asked. Michael laughed.

"Oh nothing, I better catch up to the others", Michael said with a grin. He then ran past Aleksi and towards Brock and Angel. Aleksi looked on, bewildered at his statement. Within a minute or two they reached the end of the hall. To their right were another set of stairs that led upstairs. To their left was a door that was closed. Brock stopped and looked at the door for a moment before turning around.

"Angel, see this door here?", Brock asked. Angel looked at it and nodded. "This door leads to a secret passage out of this building and into the woods behind Prof. Oak's lab. If by some chance Team Rocket attacks this base and infiltrate the lab, this is where you should go". Angel looked at Brock. He was completely dead pan about the discussion, which both scared and worried Angel. He seemed to think that an attack could very well be possible. Although it makes sense, the thought hadn't occurred to her. Even surrounded by fighters, her life was in just as much danger as it was outside in the woods. She nodded to Brock and that was that. Brock nodded back, knowing that he was scaring her and changed the subject. "And here we have the stairs, so let's get back up them. I don't like being down here for too long; bit dark down here". He then began to walk up the stairs, the others followed. It only took a minute or so before they made it up to the first level. The room they were in was a large Kitchen, bigger than any Kitchen Angel had seen before. Brock smiled. "This is my favorite room, the Kitchen. I don't know of you know this, but I just so happen to be a pretty good cook", Brock said proudly. Angel seemed excited about the idea.

"Really!", Angel asked. Brock nodded.

"Mhmm. In fact, I even helped make some of the food that Delia made for you when you arrived", Brock said. Angel sighed, remembering the food that passed her lips a few hours ago. As she daydreamed about it, Michael and Aleksi made it up the stairs.

"Man, being in here always makes me hungry", Michael stated. Aleksi laughed.

"Well that's a real stretch. When you're not making horrible jokes or sleeping you're eating", Aleksi said.

" Oh haha", Michael said sarcastically. Brock and Angel laughed.

"What's all the commotion in here?", someone asked. Everyone turned towards the source of the noise. It was near the entrance of the Kitchen to their right. Suddenly, someone walked into the room. It was a female, about Aleksi's age and height. She stopped at the entrance and stared at the gang. She had long red hair that reached her mid back and stunning purple eyes. She had a few freckles dotted here and there on her face. This person also wore a bright purple t-shirt that reached up to her mid thighs with black capri leggings and neon green tennis shoes. She smiled at Brock. "Well if it isn't my cooking buddy!", the girl said Brock smiled.

"Hello Sawyer", Brock said cheerfully. She then walked into the room and approached them.

"What are you all up to?", Sawyer asked. Brock stepped over closer to Angel.

"We're giving someone a tour of the base", Brock said. Sawyer then looked down at Angel and ave a big smile.

"Well hello there! My name's Sawyer, what's yours?", Sawyer asked. Angel smiled.

"Angel", Angel said. Sawyer gasped.

"That's the most adorable name ever! I love it!", Sawyer said. Angel blushed slightly.

"Sawyer is my cooking buddy, we usual make most of the food here", Brock stated. Sawyer blushed herself.

"Well, I can't take all the credit, you do most of the cooking. I usually just bake", Sawyer explained. Michael stepped in and stood next to Sawyer.

"Speaking of which, do you plan on making anything anytime soon? I'll gladly be taste tester for you!", Michael said. Sawyer looked at him and then began to sniff the air with a curious expression.

"What smells like sweat and defeat?", Sawyer asked. Michael collapsed onto the ground. He then stood up annoyed.

"Ok fine! I'm taking a shower!", Michael yelled. He then stomped out of the Kitchen angrily, mumbling under his breath. Aleksi and Angel broke into fits of laughter, while Sawyer seemed more confused. Brock shook his head with a grin.

"What a character", Brock said. He then brought his attention back to Angel. "Ok then, how about me and Sawyer here make you something to eat while Aleksi continues the tour". Angel nearly melted at the thought. If Brock could make foods that were so delicious that she could still taste it, she couldn't _wait _to see what him and Sawyer could make. She jumped up in joy.

"Yes, yes, yes!", Angel cheered. Sawyer and Brock laughed.

"Well that sounds like a plan then, let's get started", Brock said, rolling up his sleeves and walking over to the sink. Sawyer bent down closer to Angel.

"We'll be sure to make something special just for you sweetie", Sawyer said. Angel smiled.

"Thank you!", Angel said. Aleksi then ushered her out of the Kitchen, leaving Sawyer and Brock to cook. Angel looked up at Aleksi. "Sawyer's really nice". Aleksi nodded with a smile.

"Uh huh. She's a bit like a mother figure around here. Alot of us are really", Aleksi explained. Angel nodded knowingly. Delia, Aleksi, Sawyer, they all have taken such great care of her since she arrived. It was shocking enough that people would care for her in general. Team Rocket's grip on the world instilled such fear that very few people were willing to risk their lives so simply give someone a bath or food. But here, everyone was willing to give a helping hand. Everyone was risking their life every day by being here and yet it never once changed their true personalities. It's almost as if they don't know there's a organization out to kill every last one of them. They walked around a few rooms, seeing things and explaining what they did. Most of the people were much too busy to talk, Aleksi explained that they were onto something and that alot of people were focused on it. She then decided to bring Angel back to the main room to see how Ash was doing. After a few minutes they finally made their way back. Aleksi asked Angel to keep it down when they entered, because she didn't know what Ash was doing. He was standing a few feet away from the main computer that was on the wall. Pikachu rested on his shoulder as usual. He looked serious in his expression. On the computer were two people in a split screen. To the left of the computer was a male possibly slightly older than Ash, about Brock's age. He wore a red sweat band across his head to prevent his black hair from getting in his face; he also wore a green shirt. He was looking around off screen, as if making sure he was alone. His screen kept on moving along with him, as if it was attached to his wrist. The background was very dark, but it looked like large rocks; he was hiding beside a rock cliff of sorts. He was a bit nervous, but continued to talk. On the other screen was a more relaxed and yet still serious female. She had light brown hair that stuck well out of a green bandanna. She also wore a sleeveless orange jacket. Her screen was completely still, and the background showed some distant mountains. Only the upper half of both of their bodies could be seen. They were already in conversation with Ash.

"We should of figured that they would have one, but I can't believe the location of it, why down here at the Orange Archipelago?", the boy asked.

"I'm not sure, probably because there's no one down there now. They have free run of the islands. The location is prime real estate", Ash guessed.

"So what do you want us to do?", the girl asked.

"You and Drew should come back here asap. I'll tell Dawn to come home as well. We need all the help we can get for this one. Tracy, do you think you can safely make it back here?", Ash asked. Tracy looked around off screen, seemingly worried.

"No, not likely. Rockets have these islands patrolled constantly. I don't see how I could possibly make it back without being spotted", the person named Tracy stated. Ash leaned forward, holding onto the back of a chair that was situated in front of the computer. He seemed worried. He looked back up at the screen.

"Alright, go to the safe house and stay there for awhile, try not to draw any attention to yourself. We'll have to go through with the plan sooner than expected", Ash explained. Tracy nodded.

"Right, gotcha. Over and out", Tracy said. His side of the screen then went black. The girl's screen then stretched over, taking up the entire monitor.

"Me and Drew will head back to Petalburg then and try to make it back to you guys", the girl decided.

"Be careful though, you know as well as I do that your face is familiar around Hoenn, especially in Petalburg. They'll be suspicious of a gym leader's daughter", Ash said. The girl nodded.

"Right. It's not what it used to be anymore", the girl said, pretty sad over it. After watching the whole conversation, Aleksi walked over to Ash. Angel seemed out of place simply standing alone on the side of the room, so she followed. Aleksi stood near Ash and looked at the screen.

"So what's the plan?", Aleksi asked. Ash looked at her.

"We're gonna have to take it out sooner than we originally anticipated", Ash explained. Aleksi seemed a bit worried.

"Are we prepared for it?", Aleksi asked.

"We don't have a choice. Tracy can't leave the Orange Islands until it's down and we're beginning to cause a bit of a stir all over the place. How Team Rocket hasn't found us is a mystery to me", the girl on the screen said. Aleksi sighed.

"This won't be pretty. We'll have to prepare now then", Aleksi said. Ash nodded.

"I know. But if we take it down then they'll be blind and we can move in", Ash said. Angel stepped into view and looked at Ash and Aleksi.

"What are you all talking about?", Angel asked. Aleksi and Ash looked down at Angel and then back at each other.

"We're discussing a big plan", Ash finally told the little girl.

"Oh, this is what your mission was about then wasn't it?", Angel asked Aleksi. She nodded.

"Right, I was on recon, taking pics and getting some info", Aleksi explained. Angel nodded in understanding. She then looked on the screen and saw the girl with the green bandanna. She smiled and waved.

"Hi, my name's Angel, what's yours?", Angel asked. The girl on screen smiled.

"I'm May, pleased to meet you!", May said. She then looked at Ash. "Is she new? She's adorable!". Ash collapsed onto the ground. Pikachu was quick enough to land on the back of the chair before he fell as well. Aleksi giggled. May then looked back to Angel. "I'll be sure to meet you personally once I arrive!". Angel smiled.

"I'll be looking forward to it May!", Angel said. May smiled. Suddenly, there was a voice off screen. May looked to her right towards the voice.

"May, we gotta keep moving", the voice said. May nodded.

"Alright Drew. Ok, we have to move, we're a bit in the open here, we'll meet you back there as soon as we can, over and out", May said. Her screen then went black and the monitor showed pictures of the regions and dots scattered here and there, mostly in lower Kanto. Ash then approached Angel with a smile on his face, as if the conversation had never happened.

"So, did you enjoy the tour?", Ash asked. Angel nodded.

"Oh yeah, I met alot of nice people, but I still haven't seen everything or everyone!", Angel stated. Ash laughed.

"I'm not surprised. There's alot to see here. Some of the members here haven't even seen everything yet. Sorry about leaving you like that, how about I personally show you the rest?", Ash asked. Angel nodded in excitement.

"Sure! That sounds great!", Angel said. Aleksi smiled.

"Well you two have fun. I'd love to stay, but I have to do my report on my mission, and I need to prepare. Have fun Angel ok?", Aleksi asked. Angel nodded. "Good, see you later!". She then walked away, waving goodbye to Angel. Angel waved back. Ash then looked down at her.

"Shall we?", Ash asked. Angel nodded. Pikachu hopped back onto Ash's shoulder and they walked out of the main room, towards the opposite direction of where they started. "So Angel, what do you think so far?", Ash asked as they walked.

"I don't know yet, it's so much to take in. One minute I'm at death's door, and the next I'm in the base of the one force that can bring world peace...it's kind of alot to take it", Angel explained. Ash nodded.

"I guess so. I never really realized how it must feel because I've been in this group since it was created", Ash said, thinking about it all.

"But the people here are really nice. Your mom is so caring, she reminds me of my mom. And Aleksi is like the older sister I never had", Angel continued. She then stopped walking for a moment. Ash did not notice until after a few steps. He stopped and looked back at Angel.

"What's up?", Ash asked. Angel looked down at the ground for a moment, and then back up to him.

"Why is it that everyone here is so...nice?", Angel asked. Ash seemed a bit confused to the question. "I mean, for the two years that I traveled, I have never met any one person who was nice enough to do what you, your mom, and your friends have done for me. I was lucky if someone was kind enough to throw a piece of hard bread to me before slamming the door on my face. I can't even tell if they're just scared or paranoid". Ash understood what she meant now. He walked up to Angel and put his hand onto her shoulder. Angel looked up at him, seeing his smile.

"Do you want to know why we're this nice?", Ash asked. Angel nodded slowly. "It's because we understand. We know what you're going through. The majority of the members here were in the same situation as you. They were alone, scared, not sure of who to go to or what to do. We helped them because we want a world of peace. Everyone here has the same goal in life, to bring back what once was. It's been so long that many people have forgotten what it was like, but not us. We remember it fondly, and that's what strides us. It motivates us, to end this injustice and violence and to help those like you live a life of freedom and peace", Ash explained. Angel smiled, a lone tear sliding down her cheek. She wiped it away with her hand and then looked at Ash with a determined look. Ash nodded with a smile. "Come on, let's continue", Ash said. Angel nodded. They then walked down the hall, towards an unknown destination. People walked past them coming from both directions, coming out of rooms to the left and right, and always in a hurry. Ash explained that they're mostly computer technicians, data keepers, and scientists. They're people who want to help, but are either afraid of being in the field or lack the capability of doing so. They're all nice and just as willing to give up their lives for peace, but always in a hurry. As they walked, Ash noticed that one of the doors to their right was slightly ajar. They stopped walking and Ash could hear voices coming from inside the room, sometimes loud, sometimes not. Ash gently pushed the door open and the two of them looked inside. It was a bedroom for someone, but it was hard to see because there was little light. There was a lone bed on the side of the room, the head pillows close to the door. There was a rug, small refrigerator, and a door that presumably led to a bathroom. It reminded Angel of rooms you'd see in a hotel, simple but with everything you needed. At the end of the room was a t.v. that was on. On the screen were two people fighting. It was a video game. The two people playing it were sitting in front of the t.v. One was in a chair, the other lying on a beanbag. They were both talking and yelling at the games and each other. Ash sighed and turned the switch by the door, turning the ceiling lights on. The other two cringed slightly and turned around, pausing the game.

"What's the big idea!", the one lying on the beanbag asked, a tad bit annoyed. He was a much younger person, possibly even Angel's age, if not only a little bit older. He had light blue hair and huge glasses. He wore shorts and a green shirt. He adjusted his glasses on his head and realized that it was Ash at the door. He smiled. "Oh, it's you Ash! You want to play?", the boy asked. Ash shook his head with a smile.

"Of course you'd be in here playing games. Gary already let you have the day off? He usually waits until you've bugged him more", Ash said.

"Not today, I got my work done early. So I just came back to my room", the boy said. The other person remained in the chair.

"Did you come in here for me?", the person asked. Ash shook his head no. This person was much older than either Angel or the other boy, about Ash's age. He had short black hair and brown eyes. Not shockingly, he was about the same tan color and medium build as everyone else. Angel wondered if everyone was like this from the constant missions. He had a black shirt on with flames designed around it and the words "Fire Master" in red on the front. He also had dark blue jeans and black boots. The "Fire Master" sighed. "Ok good, I can finish beating this little amateur". The boy looked at the older male competitively.

"Is that right!", the boy asked. The male looked back at him the same way.

"Yeah!", he replied. They then grabbed their controllers, unpaused the game, and kept playing. Ash looked on in embarrassment.

"Wow, _this _is my explosives expert and Analyst?", Ash asked. Suddenly, the game's screen flashed the words "defeat" and the older male stood up with a large grin on his face.

"What'd I tell ya! You can't beat me!", the male said. The younger boy fell back into the beanbag, defeated.

"Why is it that I can't beat you!", the boy asked annoyed. The older child leaned in with a grin.

"You know WHY you can't beat me! You can't beat me cause I'm an extreme gamer!", the victor stated. He then laughed as he walked over towards the doors, leaving his controller on the chair. He stopped about a foot or so from Ash and Angel. "Oh, a new member?".

"Not sure yet. She's meeting everyone", Ash explained. The boy smiled and held his hand out to Angel.

"Well, my name's Brian, explosive expert here in the PTA, nice to meet you", the boy named Brian said. Angel smiled and took his hand in hers, shaking it.

"My name's Angel", Angel said. Brian smiled.

"Nice name. Bit odd, but then again, so's Ash", Brian said. Ash sweatdropped. The younger boy then walked over to the group. He looked at Angel up and down, as if studying her. Angel slightly leaned away as he did. He then stopped examining Angel and smiled.

"My name's Max, pleased to meet you!", Max said. Angel smiled back, although still slightly weirded out.

"Hi", Angel replied nervously. Max laughed.

"Oh, don't worry about me, I just like to get a good look at people", Max said. "I'm glad that I' not the only kid here, I can feel like a adult now!". Angel gave him a scowl.

"And what do you mean by that! I'm twelve!", Angel stated. Max grinned and adjusted his glasses with his finger, the light in the room shining off of them. It made his eyes invisible and gave him a creepy look.

"I'm fourteen!", Max replied. "That means I'm older than you!". Angel slumped over, saddened by her inferiority. Brian leaned onto Max, placing his weight onto his head and making him bend down.

"Well everyone else here is older than _you, _so be nice to Angel here or we'll have to take away your games and gear again", Brian said, smiling evilly. Max panicked. Apparently it was a horrifying experience for him before. Ash, Brian, and Angel laughed. Just then, Ash remembered something and became more serious.

"Oh, I almost forgot. Max, I just came into contact with May", Ash said. Brian took his weight off of Max and he grew both worried and anxious.

"You did! What did she say!", Max asked.

"I told her and Drew to come back to base, they should arrive here within a day or two", Ash explained. Max sighed with relief, nearly falling over.

"That's great to hear. Glad she's ok", Max said.

"May's a relative of yours?", Angel asked. Max nodded.

"Yeah, she's my older sister", Max replied. He then ran out of the room. "I better get more work done so I can see her!". He disappeared down the hall, leaving the boys and Angel in the room. Ash then turned to Brian. "Listen, we're in a bit of a situation. We have to go ahead with our plan sooner than expected. Go meet up with Aleksi, she'll fill you in on the details. We'll need you to prepare before hand", Ash said. Brian became serious and nodded.

"Right, consider it done", Brian said. He then began to walk out of the room. But he stopped and turned to face Ash.

"You want me to get Milo and Emily ready?", Brian asked. Ash shook his head.

"No, you go now. I'll tell Emily. Milo won't be needed for this mission. It turns out that our target is at the Orange Islands", Ash explained. Brian seemed confused.

"All the way down there?", Brian asked. Ash nodded. "Hmm, alright then, I'll prepare, see you later. Nice meeting you Angel", Brian said. He then ran off. Ash kept his eyes to where Brian was standing, lost in thought. Angel just stood there looking at him. What was it exactly that they were preparing for? Was this mission going to help bring down Team Rocket for good? She had alot of questions, but thought that it could of been top secret. Pikachu tapped the side of Ash's face.

"Pika", Pikachu said. Ash snapped out of his trance. He then looked at Pikachu and then at Angel.

"Sorry, let's keep going", Ash said. Angel nodded, but kept thinking about their plan. They left the room and Ash closed the door. He then continued his way down the hall, Angel close to his side. They passed more doors, some of them open; revealing more bedrooms much like Max's. "All of the bedrooms are shaped in the same way. It was easier to make them the same, we weren't sure how many people we could hold. Some don't even have bedrooms. Unfortunately we probably won't be able to get you one either. But that won't be a problem, I'm more than sure that mom would be glad to have you stay at my house", Ash explained. Angel had no problem with the idea. She was slightly concerned that her presence there could attract Rockets, but the way that Delia had spoiled her thus far made her want to stay. Ash turned to the left and it led them to a dead end. There were a few barrels filled with an unknown substance and some tools in a red tool box just sitting there. To the right of the dead end was a large door. On it the word "Garage" was painted. Ash walked over and was about ready to open the door. "In here's the Garage. It's where we keep most of the vehicles we use. Cars, Vans, ATVs, you name it. And if I'm correct, you'll meet Milo in here. He's our mechanic", Ash explained. He then opened the door. There were a couple of steps to go down before you reached the concrete floor. The Garage was very big, big enough to house perhaps a dozen or more vehicles. To the left were large metal doors. They must of been where they cars entered and left. Farthest away from them were the ATVs along with two snow-mobiles and even a jet-ski. There was also a large white van, a couple jeeps, a truck, and a motorcycle scattered here and there. Surrounding the room were large metal tool cabinets and doors; probably leading to more storage. Hooks and wire were everywhere, holding chains, ropes, spare parts, tools, and large equipment that was too big to hold in the storage rooms. Only a few feet away was a nice looking red convertible sports car. It was raised a bit off the ground by a couple jacks. Underneath it a pair of legs were sticking out. These legs were covered by blue jeans and light brown boots. Both of which were smeared with oil and grease. The rest of the body was underneath the car. A radio was blasting music by this person, just next to a large toolbox. Ash stepped down the couple steps and walked over to the car. He lightly tapped the legs with his foot.

"Huh? What is it?", a voice from under the car asked.

"It's Ash Milo, come on out from under there, I want you to meet someone", Ash said.

"I'm working here man, can't it wait?", the voice replied. Ash sighed with annoyance.

"Oh come on, it won't take long. And she'd like to meet you", Ash said.

"She! Well why didn't you say so man!", the voice said, more excited. Suddenly, two hands came out from under the car and held onto the side of the car. They then pulled and a body slid out from under the car, lying on a wooden cart with wheels. This person quickly bolted up and looked at Angel. He wore a plain white t-shirt, but it was hard to tell it was white because of all the filth on it. He was much darker than the others, almost as dark as Brock was. His hair was buzz cut and he was pretty skinny considering the others. He sighed in disappointment when he saw her. "You didn't tell me it was a ten year old Ash!", the person said. Angel huffed.

"I'm twelve!", Angel replied. She was getting tired of people not getting her age right. He mechanic rolled his eyes.

"Whatever, sorry. Come on Ash, don't play me like that! I'm busy!", the mechanic said. Ash ignored him and looked back at Angel.

"This bundle of joy is Milo", Ash said. Milo sighed and rolled his cart over towards the steps. Angel walked down them and held her hand out.

"Nice to meet you", Angel said. Milo wiped his hands off on a dirty rag connected to his waist and shook her hand.

"Nice to meet you too. Sorry about that. I just thought you were a bit...well, older", Milo said. Angel sweatdropped.

"He thinks he's a bit of a ladies man", Ash said. Milo turned to him and grinned.

"Nah, I KNOW I'm a ladies man!", Milo said with a laugh. He then scooted back towards the car, turned off his radio, and faced Angel. "So you're new here?". Angel nodded.

"Yes, Ash saved me and now he's giving me a tour of the base", Angel replied. Milo smiled.

"Ahh, you too huh?", Milo asked. Angel looked quizzically at him.

"You were saved from Team Rocket?", Angel asked. Milo nodded.

"Yeah, couple years ago I was working in my shop way over at Ecruteak City in Johto. Me and my family and some family friends ran a Garage down there. A nice one though. We sold parts for all different stuff and we were known for being friendly and fair. Well anyway, couple years ago some grunts told me and my family that we had to vacate the premises. I guess they wanted the Garage for themselves cause it was nice and everything. Well we didn't take too kindly to that, so we told them to leave...big mistake. They attacked us with their Pokemon and burned the Garage to the ground. I went on the run, everyone else was captured. I tried to rescue them, but I couldn't. Little bit later on I heard rumors of captured prisoners being taken to Olivine City to be shipped to Kanto. Well I head down there to see if my family was there. I got cornered though and was nearly beaten to death by the Rockets. But luckily Ash here and some friends were in the area scouting and they found me. They saved me and brought me back here. I later found out that there were never really any prisoners in Olivine, it was a rumor intentionally made to capture would be heroes. I was so thankful for them saving me that I offered to stay here and be their head mechanic", Milo explained.

"And he's been here ever since. I mean, he's been in the Garage ever since. He's flirted with so many of the girls here that he's afraid of them", Ash joked. He started to laugh. Milo shrugged, not disagreeing with him.

"What can I say man, the ladies love me", Milo said with a chuckle. Angel sweatdropped. He then laid back down onto the wheeled board. "Now if you'll excuse me, this baby needs a new brake system". Just before he pulled himself back under, Ash put his foot onto the board. Doing this got Milo's attention.

"Wait a second. We're gonna have to go ahead with our mission soon. We may not need you there since it's at the Orange Islands. But we do need Emily, do you know where she is?", Ash asked.

"Uh, yeah man. She should be in the com room. That's where I last saw her at least. Damn girl nearly killed me when I said hi", Milo said. Angel could only imagine what kind of hello it really was.

"Alright, thanks", Ash said.

"Uh huh. Oh, and before I forget, your little lady is there too! GET SOME MAN!", Milo joked. He then laughed and rolled back under the car. Ash blushed, kicked Milo in the leg, and then walked up the stairs past Angel and into the hall. Angel looked at Ash, and then back to Milo. Who exactly was "Ash's lady"?

**Argh! I still didn't introduce everyone! -_- My apologies once again. I was hoping that everyone would be in this one, but it took longer than I had hoped. Well, obviously you can tell that Misty will FINALLY appear in the next chapter. I will also explain a few more things in the next chapter too, mostly about their plan and Angel's future. I hope you all really like what's going on in this, and I am glad that alot of people are F.A.R. this as well! I also have been getting alot of requests to introduce the actual Pokemon cast more. I know that I haven't shown alot of them yet, but I promise that they will make many more appearances in the future. "Angel is learning more and more about the PTA, but will this sudden experience put her in trouble? Who is Ash's Lady? Will Angel ever learn about "the plan"? Find out next time on EVAN AAML'S "R"!". Well until then, I hope you enjoy this latest update! But for now, I must leave you and...get rid of some snow. Yeah, 18 inches off the New York State record of snowfall...what fun. **

**sincerely,  
evan, a fan of aaml -EVAN AAML**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hello and welcome back to my latest installment! First off, I would like to send a special thank you to prettygirl17 for being the most supportive reviewer and filling me with confidence and TwinkieTUTUS for giving me the best advice on making the story better. Now I know what you may all be thinking, "EVAN AAML has no life! He updates constantly!". Well, not true. I go to college and have a social life as well. I however just happen to have a lot of free time on my hands all of a sudden. I just found out that not only are all but 2 of my classes for this week are cancelled, but that next week is my spring break! YEAH! SPRING BREAK! GONNA PARTY DOWN IN MIAMI AND GET CRUNK!...oh wait...I'm a college student, I have no money...oh well. The least I can do is update for you readers! Also, a few readers have noticed that I may have some spelling mistakes within the story, (some of you are nicer in pointing these out than others, and for that I thank you). The reason for this is that the spell checker seems to be screwed up, at least for me. It states that some words are incorrect when they're not and even auto corrects words when they don't need it. I also notice that it occasionally places lines in-between words (like the word in-between right there, which I placed in), when they don't need it. If this happens I'm sorry, I try to fix it when I see it, but a lot tend to slip out. One mistake I DID catch is the words "a lot", which I have put as one word. This shall be corrected. Anyway, enough drabble from my issues, let's begin!**

**-EVAN AAML**

It hadn't occurred to Angel that there was someone in Ash's love life. Granted love to her wasn't that big of a deal; twelve year olds usually don't fall in a serious love. But it still interested her in knowing who "Ash's Lady" was and if they were really a couple. Ash's reaction to Milo said differently. She left the Garage and walked down the hall, seeing that Ash was already heading towards what she could only imagine was the com room. She quickly made her way to his side. She could tell by his expression that he was still embarrassed over what Milo had just said. His face was slightly red and he was looking down at the ground. Pikachu kept a mischievous grin on his face, he knew the truth.

"So what was that about?", Angel asked. Ash didn't even glance over to her.

"Nothing", Ash quickly responded. Angel looked at Pikachu and could see his grin. She made one for herself.

"Who's this lady friend of yours?", Angel asked. Ash stopped walking and looked at her.

"She's just a girl who happens to be a friend! She's not my girlfriend!", Ash yelled. His blush grew in size and he seemed a bit nervous over discussing it with her. Angel smiled.

"I never said she was your girlfriend, I merely asked who your lady friend was", Angel said with a smirk. Ash tried to think of a response but was at a lose for words. Pikachu giggled.

"You're gonna be trouble, I can already tell", Ash said. He then continued to walk, as did Angel.

"I'm not _that _bad, just perhaps a bit curious", Angel replied. Ash smirked.

"Reminds me of myself when I was your age", Ash said.

"What were you like as a kid?", Angel asked. Ash thought for a moment.

"Well, to be honest with you, I still consider myself to be a kid. I feel that no one ever truly grows up, they just repress their child like nature more and more as they age. I on the other hand still act a bit...how should I put this?", Ash asked.

"Immature?", Angel suggested. Ash laughed for a moment, as did Pikachu.

"Yeah, immature. But to answer your question. When I was a kid...well, like I said, I was a lot like you. Curious, brave, sincere, a bit nosy, but always wanting to help out those in need", Ash stated. Angel smiled. She could see that he hadn't really changed since his childhood. It was something that should be inspiring she guessed. It was nearly unheard of to see a person maintain this much happiness in a time like this. Ash still had his innocence, his childhood like personality; while also being the head of a rebel force trying to save the world. Ash was truly an amazing figure. They approached a flight of spiral stairs going up. Ash stopped at the foot of them.

"Here's the way to the com room. Obviously because it's communications, we have to be a bit closer to the surface. Being underground does have its disadvantages. Luckily this room is hidden well from above. It's located a few feet below the fields surrounding Prof. Oak's lab", Ash explained. He then began to walk up the stairs, being followed closely by Angel. As they walked up, occasionally they would run into a person coming down. Sometimes they would even say hi to Ash as they moved along. Angel however felt a bit invisible to them. With the exception of the people Ash and Brock introduced her to, no one spoke to her. She felt as if no one even knew she existed.

Eventually, they finally reached the end of the stairs. It led immediately to a large room with expensive and confusing looking equipment. Ash stood at the top of the stairs while Angel remained a few steps below, looking over the room from the ground level by the stair rails. At the opposite end of the room was a large computer like machine that took up the majority of that side. There were radar screens and antenna here and there. There were also a few computers and a monitor or two. Sitting in one of the wheeled chairs was a woman about Ash's age, hard at work. She wore a simple pair of jeans and a light green shirt with sneakers. Her hair was wavy and shoulder length and from a glance Angel thought she saw greenish blue eyes. She had on her head a headset that was connected to a mic, hanging by her mouth. Walking along the computers and radar screens was a small dog like Pokemon. It was blue at the front half of it's body and black at the back end. It's tail and some other features of its body were yellow. Angel recognized this as a Shinx, something she saw rarely in the Kanto region.

Pikachu jumped off of Ash's shoulders and immediately ran to the computers. It hopped onto one of the chairs and then onto the machine itself, smiling at the Shinx.

"Pikachu!", Pikachu said to the Pokemon. Shinx turned around and smiled.

"Shinx shinx!", Shinx replied. The two then both hopped off of the machine and began to run around the room, playing and enjoying each others company. Angel giggled at the sight, they were cute running over each other and chasing each other all over the place. The girl at the computers turned around from the noise.

"Shinx, what did I tell you about fooling around up here?", the girl asked. She then noticed that Shinx was playing with Pikachu. She raised her eyebrow and then turned around completely to see Ash at the stairs. She smiled. "Oh hey Ash, I figured you'd come up here eventually. Someones been wanting to see you". She then turned around, facing the right of the room. Angel glanced over and noticed someone that she had completely missed. She was standing over one of the machines, looking at the screen with her own headset on. She wore a yellow shirt that stopped at her midriff and a red undershirt that covered her belly. She also had on short yellow shorts and red and orange sneakers. Her bright redish orange hair was stuck in a ponytail to her left side. At the noise of company, she turned around, revealing her beautiful cerulean eyes. Looking at her face, Angel suddenly recognized her as the girl in the picture with Ash and Brock earlier in the hallway. The one with them surrounded by Pokemon. So _this _was the girl! She smiled greatly at seeing Ash.

"Ash!", this girl said. Ash smiled as well. Angel could see the sudden change in personality and expression when their eyes met.

"Misty", Ash replied. The girl named Misty quickly ran over and nearly tackled Ash in a hug. Ash was quick to return it.

"I haven't seen you since I returned!", Misty stated in a somewhat sad manner.

"I know, I'm sorry. I've been meaning to, honestly. Something came up", Ash replied. Misty nodded.

"I know, busy Ash as always", Misty said playfully. Ash blushed slightly. They then released each other and Ash directed Misty's attention to the stairs.

"Misty, I would like you to meet a new friend of mine. Angel, meet Misty, Misty, this is Angel", Ash introduced. Misty looked at the little girl and smiled. She bent down a bit, putting her hands on her knees.

"Well hello, nice to meet you Angel", Misty said. Angel came up the final few steps and approached Misty.

"It's nice to meet you too Misty", Angel replied, taking a bow. Misty giggled.

"You're a very polite girl aren't you? It's rare to see that. Most of us here are a tad bit rude at times", Misty said, glancing over towards Ash's direction. He laughed, crossing his leg over the other and putting his hands behind his head. He didn't deny it.

"My parents raised me that way, they always said to treat others as you wish to be treated", Angel said. Misty nodded.

"And they were right", Misty replied.

"Angel was attacked by a couple of Rocket grunts in the woods outside of Pallet. Higher level ones", Ash explained. Misty gasped.

"Oh no! Here! You're not hurt are you?", Misty asked Angel. She shook her head no.

"I found her just in time. Mom fed and cleaned her and now she's looking around, meeting new people here", Ash explained. Misty nodded.

"I understand. Thank goodness", Misty said. Ash then walked closer to Misty.

"Listen, I have to tell you what's going on. It's important", Ash said. Misty stopped smiling and became serious. She nodded. Ash then looked over to Angel. "Angel, could you excuse us for a moment, we're gonna have a conversation. You can introduce yourself to Emily. She's the girl over there by the computers". Ash pointed to the girl with the headset. Angel nodded and walked towards her, leaving Ash and Misty alone for a bit. The girl named Emily was back to work already, typing away and listening in on something from her headset. Angel stood by her side, not wanting to interfere with her work. Emily glanced over to her for a second, and then back to her work.

"Can I help you?", Emily asked. Angel seemed slightly taken aback from the remark. It wasn't exactly mean, but definitely colder than everyone else had been to her.

"Uhm, no. Just wanted to get to know you...I'm Angel by the way", Angel stated. Emily stopped working for a moment, huffing in annoyance as she did. She looked at Angel and smiled.

"I'm Emily, hello", Emily said. Angel seemed a tad bit annoyed now, but didn't say anything. She looked at what Emily was working at. A radar was spinning a green bean of light around in a circle, beeping once in awhile. There was also a bit of interference heard over a speaker next to it.

"This seems like important stuff. I don't think I'd be able to handle all of it", Angel remarked. Emily spun back to her original position.

"Well _that's _a stretch", Emily remarked sarcastically. Angel scowled at her, which luckily Emily failed to notice because her back was to her. Suddenly, Angel heard a slight noise and turned slightly to her left. Sitting on the machine board was Shinx. His tail moved slowly in the air as he looked at Angel.

"Shinx!", Shinx replied with a cheerful expression. Angel smiled and gave Shinx a pet on the head. He enjoyed it.

"Is Shinx yours?", Angel asked Emily, not taking her eyes off of the Shinx.

"One of mine, yes. He's always out of his Pokeball, not much for confined spaces. Just like Ash's Pikachu", Emily responded. Angel had never heard of a Pokemon who was afraid of being in a Pokeball. It seemed odd to her that they would be. But she didn't know what it was like in one, maybe it really _was _cramped inside.

"So what's your job here? Are you just a communications expert?", Angel asked. Emily didn't look at her but did respond.

"I am one yes, but I'm also one of the head computer experts. I do pretty much anything here that involves technology. Computers, radio, and obviously communications", Emily responded.

"Wow, that's a whole lot! You must be one of the smartest people here!", Angel replied, still petting Shinx. Emily stopped working and looked at Angel. She wasn't expecting that response. She looked at her a bit, and then smiled sincerely.

"Thanks", Emily replied. Angel nodded.

"No problem", Angel said. She then looked over to Ash and Misty, who were still talking in a hushed tone. "How long have Ash and Misty been friends?", Angel asked. Emily looked over at them and then went back to work, adjusting a knob on the board of the speakers.

"Not sure. Since well before the Team Rocket takeover at least. I guess at the start of Ash's Pokemon journey. Something about a fried bike? I don't know", Emily replied. Angel seemed confused. She wasn't sure how a fried bike had anything to do with their friendship.

"Are they boyfriend and girlfriend?", Angel asked.

"No, or at least, they both say their not. Pretty much _everyone _here though knows they've got something for each other", Emily replied. Angel smiled. The thought of a hidden romance between life long friends was cute.

"It sounds like a romance story!", Angel stated. Emily scoffed.

"Yeah, _real _romantic. Something a teenager would probably write about", Emily stated. She shook her head and went back to work. Angel was a bit annoyed at her sarcasm, but felt it rude for her to say something back. She glanced over to Ash and Misty again. They whispered back and forth for a bit. Angel however was able to make out some of the conversation. She learned from being on the run how to be able to hear hushed conversations and how to read lips. It was a useful trick when you thought people were Rocket spies and were talking to one another.

"Are you sure we can manage a strike this quickly? We've only just begun to begin planning over this", Misty said, concerned.

"To be honest with you...I don't know if we can. But we don't have a choice. Team Rocket is getting more and more power. They've already got about five bases in the four main regions, not to mention this thing in the Archipelago", Ash replied.

"But you know what can happen if we send people in too early. They'll butcher them!", Misty stated. Ash sighed, he knew that that was true.

"I know...it's not something I'm taking lightly. But they're onto us Misty. We've lost five friends within the last two months. It's nothing short of a miracle that they haven't located the base yet. The idea of putting our friends in danger scares me, but it's nothing compared to what could happen if they manage to find us", Ash replied. Misty grew worried. She looked down at the ground, her face almost pale in color now. Ash put a hand on her shoulder and bent down slightly to see her face. "We have to risk it. I'm sorry". Misty nodded.

"No, I know you're right...and that's what scares me", Misty replied. Ash nodded. in understanding. They then looked back towards Angel and Emily. Angel quickly turned towards Emily's side just before they spotted her looking at them.

"Ok Angel, we can go now if you want", Ash said. Angel turned to him and smiled, acting as if she had not heard anything. She faced Emily again.

"Goodbye Emily, nice talking to you!", Angel stated. Emily kept her eyes on her work.

"Yep, nice to see you", Emily replied. Angel ignored the coldness and returned to Ash's side; Pikachu following. She stopped a couple feet away from Ash and Misty.

"Are you ready? Misty's gonna follow us back to the main hall", Ash stated. Angel nodded.

"That's fine. Then I can get to know her more!", Angel said with a smile. Misty smiled back.

"And I'll be glad to know you more as well", Misty said. Pikachu ran up Ash's body and took his spot on his shoulder.

"Alright, let's get going! See you later Emily!", Ash said. Emily waved back to them, her eyes fixated onto something seemingly important on the radio. Shinx smiled and jumped up and down momentarily.

"Shinx! Shinx!", Shinx said cheerfully. Ash and the others then began their walk down the stairs. Angel stayed in the back of them, walking down a bit slower than Ash and Misty. They were talking and chatting, smiling all the while. Angel presumed that they were catching up on lost time, but her thoughts were elsewhere. She was worried more about what Ash's possible plan was to strike back at Team Rocket. "Five friends lost". Were these close friends of Ash's? Ones that he grew up with? Did they die slowly and painfully, as did so many others who were in the Rocket's way? Angel began to have flashbacks of the man who was shot in cold blood earlier that morning. The one that she didn't help. These friends of Ash and Misty's could of died the same exact way. She felt horrible knowing that she let it happen. And according to Misty, a lot more could die going through with this counter attack.

"Are you alright Angel?", Ash asked. Angel looked up, realizing that she had stopped walking entirely; lost in her thoughts. Ash and Misty were a couple steps below her, looking up at her.

"Huh?...Oh yeah...yeah, I'm fine", Angel replied. Ash and Misty looked at her for a moment, and then at each other. They shrugged and continued their way down the stairs. Suddenly though, Angel spoke up. "What's this plan?". This question stopped Ash and Misty dead in their tracks. They turned around and looked at her. "This plan? The one at the Orange Islands. What are you doing? And why is it so dangerous?". Ash looked at Misty, not sure of how to respond to her. Misty gave a sincere look to him, as if they were communicating telepathically. Ash nodded. He then looked back to Angel.

"You see Angel...we think we may have found their main communications array", Ash stated. Angel grew intrigued. "Obviously we knew that they would have one, but we weren't sure as to where it would be. We've looked for ages, but found nothing. Something as big as a satellite dish can't be very hard to miss. Well according to our spies we think it's at the Orange Islands. That's why Tracy is down there, he's looking for it", Ash explained. Angel nodded.

"If we destroyed the array, not only would Team Rocket be unable to communicate with one another over large distances, but they'd go blind. The array also connects into space, so with it down", Misty said.

"They wouldn't be able to connect to the satellites", Angel finished. Misty nodded.

"But the danger with this is enormous. Something this big is obviously well protected. If we don't plan this thing right, a lot of innocent lives could be lost", Ash said. Angel looked down at the ground, her thoughts returning to the gruesome images before. "We think that Team Rocket is close to finding out where we are. They know we're out there, but they're not exactly sure where. But their technology and resources and increasing everyday. Any day now they could attack us; wipe us off the map". Misty walked up the steps and stood by Angel's side.

"If we don't act now, then everything we worked for...would be wasted. They would kill all of us, and then no one would be left to try and fight back", Misty said. Angel nodded. She understood the dangers. But the idea of people she had just met dying had her terrified. "We know you're scared, we all are". Ash nodded, agreeing with Misty. Angel wasn't sure exactly how to respond to them. She knew that they had to go through with the plan. That went without saying. But...wasn't there another way? Misty helped Angel walk down the remaining steps, Ash still ahead of them. They soon reached the bottom of the steps and made their way down the hall, back towards the main room. As they walked, Angel noticed the dead end hall leading to the Garage. Seeing this reminded her of Milo's conversation with Ash. "Your lady friend". Angel was still distracted by the counter attack, but felt that changing the topic could do them all some good.

"So Misty...is Ash your boyfriend?", Angel asked. Both Ash and Misty immediately stopped walking. Angel could feel the tightening feeling on her shoulders from Misty's hands. She looked in front of her and saw that Ash seemed frozen, like a Stantler in front of a car. Misty stuttered for a moment.

"Uh...Uhm, well, n-no! Of course not! Don't be silly!", Misty replied. Ash turned around, facing Angel. She could see that his face was beat red.

"Where would you get an idea like that!", Ash asked, obviously trying to act like nothing was wrong. Angel could tell that they were both hiding something, so she played along.

"Milo, and Emily...and pretty much everyone else", Angel said. "I was just curious is all. You seem like you two would be a perfect couple". Angel quickly glanced above her to see Misty's face. It was as red as her hair.

"Well, you can't believe _everything _you hear! Me and Ash are just friends, and nothing more!", Misty said. Angel looked at Ash. His face was just as red as Misty's, maybe a little bit less. She then noticed Pikachu. She saw him look at her, and then wink. Angel grinned.

"Sorry, I just thought you were. I guess I was wrong", Angel stated. Ash nodded and turned around.

"Right, just friends!", Misty said. Angel grinned. They were _definitely _hiding something. She wanted to find out more about this, but wasn't sure who to discuss it with. Delia? Maybe not. She was sure that Delia knew about it, but asking Ash's mom could possibly provoke a unnecessarily embarrassing situation for Ash. Angel then recalled the picture in the hallway earlier. It was of Ash, Misty, and Brock. Brock! Of course! They must of been friends for years, if anyone knew more about their relationship, it was him. Ash and Misty, after recovering from this awkward moment, then led Angel back to the main room. They noticed that a lot of people were also there, waiting for them. Aleksi was standing not to far from the main computer. She noticed Ash and walked over to him.

"There you are, me and Brian started to prepare, so we told a few people of what's going on", Aleksi said. Ash nodded.

"Right, I'll give them the exact details later on", Ash replied. Aleksi then looked down at Angel.

"So, did you have fun looking around?", Aleksi asked. Angel nodded.

"Yeah, it was a lot of fun!", Angel replied. Suddenly, the smell of something fresh permeated through her nose. She lifted her head slightly and began to sniff, looking for the source of this wonderful aroma. She then looked behind Aleksi and saw Sawyer and Brock walking towards them. Sawyer had in her hands something wrapped on a towel. Angel smiled as Sawyer walked to her and bent down.

"There you are! Wanted to make sure you got this before you left. Thought you might like a little cake to eat. Be careful, it's hot", Sawyer said. Just then, someone slid across the floor and stopped right beside Sawyer. It was Milo, still greased up from working on the car. This time however he had a light blue button up jacket on, though it was open.

"Thanks baby, but I prefer some hot buns fresh out the oven if you know what I'm talking bout", Milo said. Sawyer suddenly stood up, shoved the cake into Aleksi's arms, (which she instinctively grabbed), swung her hand back, and smacked Milo across the face. Angel gasped at the sight. With the exception of the people near her, no one seemed to notice this sudden fight. Angle thought for sure Milo would retaliate. But instead, he smiled at Sawyer, his face red from the slap. "Oh man, you play rough, I like that", Milo said. Sawyer sighed with annoyance. Aleksi giggled.

"That one must of been a new record smack! Good job Sawyer!", Aleksi stated. Everyone around them except for Angel and Milo laughed.

"Haha, I guess it's a good thing I pick my "fight" carefully now!", Brock said. Misty giggled and leaned down towards Angel.

"You probably don't know this, but Brock used to be a lot like Milo here, hitting on everything with legs", Misty stated. Angel gasped in a funny way, not realizing that Brock was a pervert.

"Really!", Angel replied. Misty nodded.

"Yeah, but after being smacked and rejected so often, he stopped. Now he only does it to new arrivals", Misty explained. Angel and Misty giggled. Angel then looked around the room. Everyone that she had met that day, along with several other people she didn't know, were all there. Ash _did _say that this was where they held bigger meetings, they must of been ready to hold one. But for what? Angel figured it was for the counter attack. Ash stepped forward and held his arms in the air, telling everyone to quiet down for that moment. They did so.

"Thank you all for coming...well, most of you anyway", Ash said. Some people laughed. "I wanted to hold this little meeting here to discuss the membership of a new ally. Angel here!". Angel's eyes grew in shock. She looked around, everyone was looking at her. She didn't like being the center of attention. "Angel, now that we have given you the tour and you have made some new friends, we're ready to officially make you a member! What do you say?", Ash asked. Angel kept her eyes on everyone. She felt uncomfortable talking about it in front of them. She never really had any intentions on joining the PTA. She thought it was amazing what they did, but their actions were too dangerous. She knew she wasn't brave or skilled enough to really help them, and she couldn't bare the thought of seeing her new friends die in front of her.

"I...I c-can't", Angel said, though it was only loud enough for people close to her to hear. Ash seemed a bit taken aback from the statement. "I can't join...I can't watch as my new friends die. I'm...scared". Aleksi kneeled beside her and put her hand on Angel's shoulder.

"Angel, you don't have to be scared. We're all here for you, and we're not going to leave you", Aleksi said. Angel shook her head.

"You don't know that...I know about the mission coming up", Angel stated. Aleksi looked down at the ground, not being able to make eye contact. "I know about what's going to happen. I don't want to lose any of you. I can't be apart of this if it means people dying". Ash walked towards her and also kneeled down.

"Angel...we talked about this, we don't have a choice", Ash said.

"But can't you find another way! A way that won't kill!", Angel asked. This was a bit louder, and some people began to take notice. Nick was one of the people standing in the crowd. He walked over and was about to approach Angel when Sawyer stopped him.

"No, wait", Sawyer whispered. Nick looked into Sawyer's eyes and could see the sympathy she had for Angel. Nick couldn't help himself, he stepped back and nodded. Sawyer nodded back and smiled. Ash looked at Angel for a moment and eventually sighed.

"Alright...you don't have to join. I can't make you if you don't want to", Ash said, slightly disappointed but understanding. Angel nodded.

"Thank you", Angel said. Ash nodded back with a smile. Suddenly, the noise of running filled the room. Ash looked over Angel to see Emily running towards them. She stopped when she was right behind them, panting heavily.

"Guys, I think you _really _need to see this, and Milo, I think you should come too", Emily said, looking at Milo. He seemed rather confused over the whole situation, as did everyone else. Ash stood up and approached her.

"You got something!", Ash asked. Emily nodded.

"I got something BIG!", Emily said. Ash nodded.

"Alright, let's go, quickly!", Ash said. The gang began to head immediately towards the com room. Ash turned around and looked at everyone else "Everyone, the meeting has been post-poned for now, head back to whatever you were going before!". He then began to run towards the com room with the others. Evan, Brian, and Ryoto looked at each other, and then back to where they had run, confused over the whole ordeal. The gang quickly ran down the hall and up the spiral stairs to the com room. Emily dove onto her chair and began to work at a small electrical system, probably to receive an incoming message. Ash, Brock, Misty, Angel, Aleksi, and Milo stood there, waiting for results. Emily then clicked a few buttons and a large screen on the wall lit up. It was much like the large one downstairs but about half its size.

"We received a message from one of our guys in Viridian. He took a video of prisoners being taken into their base there. Here's the video", Emily explained. She then clicked a few more buttons and flipped a switch or two and a video began to play on the screen. It was dark green and shaky, probably taped by hand at night using a night vision lens. In the video, they saw at least forty to fifty people, all crammed in what appeared to be a large rectangular room with extremely small bars located at the top six inches or so of the room. These were there probably just for air. Everyone gasped at the sight.

"Oh my god!", Misty said, covering her mouth in shock.

"They're so many of them!", Aleksi stated.

"They must of relocated them from one of the work camps", Brock decided. Everyone looked at the people in the video. Men and women of all ages, stuck in a small room. Some of them were weak and sick, forced to sit on the ground. Their clothes looked tattered and dirty, signs that they haven't been allowed to change into other clothes. They looked as if they were digging holes or moving heavy equipment. Children cried as their mothers or possibly even just unrelated prisoners tried to comfort them. Angel found it difficult to watch. There were a few people her age or younger, suffering from the injustices that Team Rocket created. Milo looked closer at the screen and gasped. He jumped up and down in excitement, something that everyone in the room found odd.

"It's them! It's my family man!", Milo said, pointing to the video. Ash and the gang gasped and looked closer at the video and noticed a group of people huddled together. It was hard to make them out clearly from the video, but they did look similar in appearance to Milo. Emily nodded with a smile.

"That's why I wanted you to come up here too. Our spy said that these people came from Kanto and Johto, I wasn't sure if they'd be in here or not", Emily explained. Milo smiled and kept bouncing up and down, like a player who just made a touchdown in a game.

"I KNEW they'd make it! I KNEW that they wouldn't die! My family's too tough man!", Milo said. Angel smiled. She was thrilled that Milo's family was still alive. The majority of people weren't nearly as lucky. No one ever saw captured prisoners again, and most of those captured probably died from work or torture. Her parents, Evan's dad, Nick's friend, and the five PTA members were prime examples of that. She then looked back at the video. She saw the other people, moving around. Suddenly, the sound of a truck starting came from the video. The people in the room swayed as the noise occurred. The video jumped away from the group of people. But just before it did, Angel thought she saw something. Something important. Emily stopped the video.

"They were all in a large tractor trailer. The video stopped after this", Emily explained. Angel quickly stepped forward to Emily.

"Wait! Rewind it!", Angel said. Emily looked at her confused. "I thought I saw something, quick!". Emily looked at Ash.

"Do it", Ash said. Emily nodded. She turned back in her seat and clicked a button. As the video played backwards, Angel scanned the video.

"STOP!", Angel said. Emily did so. She then watched more carefully as the truck's noise occurred again and the video began to turn away. Then she saw it. "PAUSE IT!". Emily did so. Angel looked at the video, but she couldn't believe what she was seeing.

"What is it Angel? What do you see?", Misty asked. It was undeniable. Her long brown hair, his stocky figure. Angel found it difficult to breath. Her eyes began to well up with tears.

"Mommy...daddy", Angel replied.

**AND I LEAVE IT AT A HUGE CLIFF HANGER! I bet no one was expecting THAT were they! That's my goal! Some people are saying that while the story is good, it's also a bit predictable. Well considering that it's only the beginning and nothing's really HAPPENED yet, I felt it was a odd statement to make. For those saying that, I will be throwing in A LOT of twists into the story. People who you thought would survive could suddenly die out of no where. Maybe I'll have a attack occur without warning. Maybe something more. YOU NEVER KNOW! Well, ok, I got that off my chest. "With the sudden discovery of Angel's parents, will they mount a rescue? Will Angel join the PTA? Is there more at stake than meets the eye? Find out next time on EVAN AAML'S "R"!". I'm not sure when I will update again. I have a lot of free time all of a sudden, so it may be soon. Who knows? Anyway, hope you enjoy, until next time!**

**sincerely,  
evan, a fan of aaml -EVAN AAML**


	7. Chapter 7

**Well, not much to talk about here, (shocking I know, who would of thought?). So instead of dragging on in my author notes which I have a feeling that alot of you skip anyway, (which you shouldn't, I may have important notes in them!), let's get started!**

**-EVAN AAML**

The entire room fell silent. Not even Pikachu and Shinxwere making a noise. Angel kept her eyes on the screen, not daring to move them. There was no doubt about it, her parents were still alive, and in Team Rocket captivity. She fell to her knees hard, not even trying to break her fall. Her eyes welled up with tears, nearly ready to burst.

"They're alive...all this time...I thought they were dead. They're alive...they're alive", Angel said. She then bent down onto the ground and couldn't take it anymore. She began to cry. Aleksi went to the floor and held Angel in her arms, comforting her. Misty got on her knees and tried to do the same. Ash quickly walked over to the computers and looked at the info.

"When was this video taken?", Ash asked in a stern, no nonsense way. Emily quickly checked the computer herself.

"Last night. I just got it a few minutes ago though, that's when I rushed to get you", Emily explained.

"And you said it's heading for Viridian?", Ash asked. Emily nodded.

"You know what that means Ash", Brock said. Ash nodded.

"They're heading to the top facility", Ash replied. Angel looked up at Ash, tears pouring out of her eyes. She didn't say anything, but Ash knew what she would of asked if she could. "Viridian City is where Giovanni first created Team Rocket, it's where his gym was when he was a gym leader, and it's the location of Team Rocket's main base. That's where the most Rockets are located, and that's where Giovanni is. If we take out that base, all of Team Rocket falls", Ash explained.

"That's our number one goal here, to destroy their base and take out Giovanni. Without their leader and head building, the rest of Team Rocket can't operate sufficiently. Rebellion will follow immediately", Brock stated. Ash turned his attention back to the computers and Emily.

"Tell whoever is on this to follow that truck. Inform me immediately when it stops. And I want a head count of who is in there and possible I.D.s", Ash said. Emily nodded and began to try to get into contact with the spy. Ash then turned around and walked over to Angel, who was still on the ground, being held by Aleksi. "Don't worry, we're gonna do everything in our power to make sure we get your parents out safely".

"Damn right we are! We're gonna bust in there, get out our families, and take them Rockets OUT!", Milo said. He then looked at Angel. "Don't worry, we'll get them, all of them. My family, your parents, everyone". Angel nodded slowly. She then thought for a moment. Everything was happening so quickly. So much has changed her life within the one day. She felt like she was going to pass out at any second. But she held strong, her parents would want her to in times like this. And she hasn't let them down yet. She wondered if they thought she was dead. Well Angel wasn't going to let them think that any longer. She stood up quickly, shocking Aleksi and Misty. And looked sternly at Ash, the tears stopping except for those already in her eyes.

"I want in", Angel said. Ash seemed confused.

"What?", Ash asked. Angel stood tall and proud, like a soldier in line.

"I'm ready to join the PTA! I want to save my parents in anyway I can! Train me until my bones break if you have to. I won't let them down!", Angel said. There was a moment's pause before Ash smiled. He walked over and put his hands on her shoulders.

"Then I welcome you to the rebel alliance!", Ash said. Everyone smiled, Brock and Milo cheered and the girls clapped. Angel nodded with a smile. She wiped away the tears with her arm. Ash turned to Milo.

"Milo, run down and get Max and any of the coms people you can, right now this is their one and only priority. Have them come up here immediately. Then find Ryoto, tell him that I want him to talk with the remaining analysts. I want as much info as I can on the construction of the Viridian base. Especially where they would store the prisoners. Angel, tomorrow you begin your training. Aleksi will help you", Ash said. Milo nodded and bolted down the stairs to do as he was told. Angel smiled. Her family was alive, and she was going to save them. All of the sudden excitement and news was too much for her body to take. She closed her eyes and fell to the ground, blacked out.

When her eyes opened she was in a different location entirely. She looked around, unaware of her surroundings or what had happened. She was still in a daze and thought that she might of been dreaming. The room she was in seemed more decorated, not like the plain white rooms of the base. She was laying on a quilted bed, the soft and warm layers making her want to sleep again. The walls were painted a warming yellow and the one window slightly open, the curtains remaining still from the lack of a breeze. There was a long dresser with a t.v. on it and a lamp. She stood up slowly and began to walk around. The room was small, but quaint. She turned around and noticed that near the window was a small square chest with her sun dress folded on top. Angel walked up to it and found that it was clean, stitched, and in fact looked brand new. Suddenly the sound of footsteps alerted her. She turned around just in time to see the bedroom door open and Delia peeping in. She saw Angel and smiled; walking in.

"Oh, you're awake sweetie! I was worried!", Delia said. Angel nodded.

"Yeah, what happened?", Angel asked.

"Ash rushed over here with Brock and Misty, they said that you blacked out", Delia explained. Angel tried to recall doing it, but nothing came to. The last thing she remembered was stating that she would join. Delia walked into the room and stood near Angel. "Ash explained everything to me while you were sleeping. So much happened to you today, it's no wonder you passed out. I'm glad to hear though that your parents are still alive. Don't worry, Ash won't rest until they're here safe and sound". Angel nodded with a smile. She knew that Delia wouldn't lie.

"Thank you for taking care of me Delia", Angel replied. Delia smiled.

"No worries dear. Hopefully though your own mother will be able to do it instead", Delia said with a smile. Angel smiled back. She had almost forgotten what it was like to be watched over and taken cared of by her own mom. She would work in the garden with Angel and the Pokemon, and then cook all her meals without complaints. Angel would also help her father in the berry tree farm, helping them grow and protecting them. She hoped that they would be able to continue that someday. "I see that you found your dress", Delia said. Angel had lost herself in her thoughts and returned to the present. She looked in her arms to see the folded dress.

"Oh, yes. Thank you for that too", Angel stated.

"Well I figured that you wouldn't want to wear older clothes, and you look darling in your dress. It was easy really, Ash's clothes are barely recognizable when he asks me to fix them", Delia said. Her and Angel smiled at the comment. Delia then turned around. "Well it's getting late, so if you want you can go to sleep in here. If you want to change there's some clothes you can sleep in in the dresser". As she began to walk out of the room, Angel approached her.

"Excuse me", Angel said. Delia stopped and turned to face her. "Uhm...do you know where Brock is?". Delia thought it was a rather odd question, but she nodded.

"Yes, he's downstairs helping me cook something for everyone tomorrow. Why?", Delia asked. Angel didn't want to tell her the truth, but wasn't sure exactly what to say.

"Uhm, I just...wanted to talk to him", Angel said. Delia smiled.

"Alright, I'll tell him that you would like to talk", Delia said. She then left the room quietly. Angel placed her dress back onto the chest, deciding that she would change back into them in the morning. She walked over and sat on the edge of the bed, waiting for Brock to come up and meet her. It only took a few minutes for Brock to knock on the door. Angel said that he could come in and Brock entered.

"You wanted to talk Angel?", Brock asked. Angel nodded. "Would it happen to be about today's events?". Angel shook her head no.

"No, I have plenty of time for that tomorrow. I'm afraid that if I talk about it now I'll never get to sleep", Angel explained. Brock nodded.

"Ok, then what would you like to talk about?", Brock asked. Angel smiled, knowing that this would certainly be a interesting night.

"What do you think about Ash and Misty?", Angel asked. Brock immediately laughed and leaned against the wall.

"Wow, that didn't take long did it? I'm the only other person who knew they had something special since the first day I met them. Everyone else took awhile before they saw it", Brock explained. Angel crossed her legs and sat on the bed.

"When did you first meet them? What's their story?", Angel asked. Brock smiled.

"I met them a day after Ash started his journey. But I guess you'll want to know more about how THEY met first. Well, it started like this. You know how Ash has Pikachu right?", Brock asked. Angel nodded. "Well, Pikachu was Ash's first Pokemon. He woke up late the day the trainers started their journey and missed out on the normal beginner Pokemon. Ash had no problem getting Pikachu, but Pikachu wasn't exactly a obedient Pokemon".

"He didn't listen?", Angel asked. Brock shook his head.

"In fact, he shocked him quite a few times before he started to become close to Ash. Well anyway, as they began their journey, Ash and Pikachu were attacked by a large flock of Spearow. Pikachu got injured and Ash carried him away. Unfortunately to escape he had to jump into a river. Well Misty just so happened to be fishing at the time and she pulled him up. Pikachu was still hurt so Ash stole Misty's bike to bring him to a Pokemon center", Brock explained. Angel gasped.

"He _stole _it!", Angel asked.

"Well, more like borrowed. So he borrowed the bike but was caught again by the Spearow. He tried to protect Pikachu, by risking his life. Pikachu finally realized that Ash cared for him, and so attacked all of the Spearow with a immense Thundershock attack. This destroyed Misty's bike entirely. So Misty vowed to follow Ash until he paid her back for her bike. And that one incident created an amazing relationship that lasts to even today", Brock said. Angel smiled.

"Well it's not exactly a common story, but it's definitely romantic!", Angel said. She fell back onto the bed, thinking about it. "So how come they're not a couple then?". Brock sighed.

"Well, they're both in denial. They like each other, but they don't know how the other feels. They're afraid of heartbreak and ruining their friendship", Brock explained. Angel sighed as well. It was disappointing to hear that.

"Do you think we can try to get them together?", Angel asked.

"I tried that myself for years, and some of Ash's and Misty's friends have as well. So far no one was successful. But who knows? Maybe you're all it takes to finally get them together", Brock said. Angel smiled.

"Maybe", Angel said. There was a moment's silence until Brock laughed.

"Maybe we should get you some "training" in before you try to get them together", Brock said. Angel sat herself up and looked at Brock.

"What do you mean?", Angel asked. Brock stepped away from the wall and approached Angel.

"I mean maybe you should try to get other people together before you get Ash and Misty together, like practice. For instance, uhm...do you know May and Drew?", Brock asked.

"Well, I briefly met May over the computer, but I don't know who Drew is", Angel said.

"May is a friend of mine and Ash's who traveled with us through Hoenn years ago. She used to be a top Pokemon Coordinator, one of the best in fact. Drew was a friend of hers who was also her rival in coordinating. They're a lot like Ash and Misty in that they have a hidden romance. But I think they'll be a lot easier to get together. If you can get _them _together, then maybe you can get Ash and Misty together", Brock explained. Angel thought of it. She felt that she didn't know May and Drew enough to do this; but then again, she didn't know Ash and Misty that well either. She smiled.

"Ok, you're on!", Angel said. Brock smiled.

"Alright, deal", Brock said. Angel giggled.

"Actually, it may be easier to get Aleksiand Evan together!", Angel said. Brock and Angel both began to laugh. After they had stopped laughing Angel crossed her legs again.

"So then, you met Ash after his first day?", Angel asked. Brock nodded.

"Yep, I was the gym leader of the Pewter City gym. It's the first gym stop for Pokemon trainers in Kanto. I specialized in rock types. I had defeated Ash in the first fight but then miraculously, he came back and made a surprising victory. Afterwards, my father decided to take over the gym for me, so I traveled with Ash, we've been friends ever since", Brock said. Angel became more and more interested.

"Why did you leave the gym? Didn't you like it there?", Angel asked. She remembered her mom telling her how much she loved being a officially trainer at the Celadon gym, she couldn't imagine anyone who didn't love it.

"I loved my job, but it wasn't what I wanted to do. I really wanted to become a Pokemon breeder. And I wouldn't be able to do that by staying at the gym. So I thought that by traveling with Ash and Misty, I would be able to reach my dreams, just like Ash and Misty wanted to. Of course, you can't do either of those now with Team Rocket in control", Brock said. Angel nodded. It was rare for someone to have a job that wasn't Rocket related. Most were either taken by actual Team Rocket members or were shut down. But Angel didn't want to discuss about the bad, not tonight.

"What was Misty's dream?", Angel asked.

"Well, Misty wanted to become the world's greatest water Pokemon trainer. And she was close to it. She was actually the gym leader at Cerulean City, which specialized in water Pokemon", Brock explained. Angel gasped.

"Really! Wow!", Angel said. Brock nodded.

"She left the gym because her sisters always picked on her, and she refused to return to the gym until her dreams came true...of course, Cerulean City is the next stop for trainers after my gym, so needless to say, she didn't keep her word. But she still traveled withAsh and perfected her skills. It wasn't until after we traveled with Johto that she returned to the gym", Brock said.

"Why? Why did she return?", Angel asked.

"Well...she said that she wouldn't leave Ash until she got her bike back. Well unfortunately for her, a Nurse Joy from ViridianCity fixed it for her. And she felt that because of this, she didn't have a good enough excuse to stay with Ash anymore. And on top of that, Misty's sisters had asked her to watch over the gym and take over as leader. So as much as it pained her to, she left Ash and me and went back to Cerulean", Brock explained, a bit disappointed. Angel sighed. It was sad to know that after all of that she had to leave.

"So they never really got to see each other again did they?", Angel asked. Brock shook his head.

"Not really. Whenever Ash returned home he made sure to see Misty, but it was such a rare thing for him that they were lucky to see each other once a year...that was, until Team Rocket took over. The one good thing that came out of that was that Ash and Misty got to hang out a lot more. She was one of the original members in fact", Brock said. Angel recalled Gary mentioning the original members earlier today. She never asked him what he meant by it.

"What do you mean original member?", Angel asked.

"When Ash returned home from Sinnohdue to the Rocket invasion, he made it back here, where he started to form the so called PTA, you know this. Well, the original members were the people with Ash when he first created it. It was all of Ash's closest friends. Myself of course, Misty, May, Max, Gary, Tracy, Drew, and a friend of our from Sinnoh named Dawn. We sort of created the PTA together, even though everyone named Ash the leader. All of us took on an important job as head of something. Ash as the head of the PTA, me as second in command, May and Drew were the heads of Hoenn, Tracy as head of the Orange Islands, Dawn as head of Sinnoh, Max as head Analyst, and Gary as head Scientist", Brock explained.

"What about Misty?", Angel asked.

"Misty wanted to help Ash the most out of any of us there. And she was willing to do whatever it took to do it. She not only was one of the founding members, but she also took on as head of Johto and one of the leaders here in Kanto, after me", Brock said. Angel whispered "wow" to herself. "After that of course, we began to take in new members, Aleksi being the first. Some of them we rescued from Team Rocket, like you; some found us completely by accident; some even saved us while we were on missions".

"And then you got the PTA", Angel said. Brock nodded.

"Right, and you're our newest member", Brock said with a smile. Angel smiled back.

"Thanks", Angel said. Brock nodded. He then began to walk out of the room.

"Alright, you had a tiring day, so I suggest you get some sleep. Tomorrow's gonna be a big day for you", Brock said. Angel agreed. As Brock left the room and closed the door behind him, Angel immediately crawled into bed and tried to go to sleep. She didn't even take the time to change into pajamas. As she lied there, the only thing on her mind were her parents, and how she was gonna soon see them again. She drifted off to sleep with a smile on her face. The next day she woke up bright and early. She quickly ran and tooka shower, nearly forgetting to bring her sundress and undergarments with her. Within a half an hour she was showered, changed, and ready for the day. She bolted down the stairs, barely taking the time to say goodbye to Delia and letting Mr. Mime put the barrier down. She sprinted down the street and towards Prof. Oak's lab. She was almost there when suddenly she was grabbed by the arm. She panicked for a moment before she turned around and saw that it was Jonny who had grabbed her. He had in his arms brown grocery bags. He must of been sent to go shopping. He released Angel's arm and put a finger to his lips, meaning that they should be quiet. He then pointed to his left.

Angel looked to where he was pointing and noticed three people standing at the corner, near a mart. They wore typical clothes, t-shirts and jeans. But they looked around suspiciously. Angel's eyes grew wide. They must of been undercover Rocket agents! Had they come to look for her? She wasn't sure. But she wasn't going to find out. Jonny must of thought the same thing, for he stepped in-between her and the Rocket's view and hurried her along towards the lab. They kept quiet the entire was there. Angel noticed that Jonny kept one arm around the bag, but the other arm was lower and to his waist. He kept his free hand on his hidden Pokeballs, ready to strike if needed. Luckily though it never happened. They reached Prof. Oak's lab without any problems.

"Thanks", Angel said quietly. Jonny nodded.

"No problem", Jonny replied. They then reached the door. They repeated the same old routine to get in, keeping in mind the cameras. Prof. Oak opened the door and greeted them with a smile.

"Ah, welcome back Angel! And thank you Jonnyfor getting the groceries, I would of myself but I'm afraid I'm much too busy!", Prof. Oak said with a smile. Jonny smiled back.

"Anytime!", Jonny said. Prof. Oak then bent down closer to Angel.

"So are you here to learn more about the Pokemon?", Prof. Oak asked. Angel knew by now what Prof. Oak really meant, so she continued to play along.

"Yeah, today I came to learn about _Pokemon attacks_", Angel said. Prof. Oak smiled.

"Not surprising, it's something a lot of people now a days like to learn about. I always felt that children should be learning more about the role Pokemon have in the world, but who am I to judge? Have fun!", Prof. Oak said. He then left Jonny and the now slightly confused Angel at the door. It only took them a matter of minutes before they were already behind the bookcase and heading down to the base. Angel looked at Jonny as they walked.

"What exactly did Prof. Oak mean by that?", Angel asked.

"Prof. Oak doesn't exactly like the violence that occurs between us and Team Rocket. He was always a advocate for peace", Jonny said.

"But what did he mean by the role Pokemon have?", Angel asked.

"To co-exist with humans and live in peace on Earth", Jonny explained. Angel thought of these words for awhile. She didn't like the violence either. She wasn't even sure if she could use a gun or knife on someone. But she decided that she would do what she had to in order to save her parents. Soon, they reached the main room, where Ash was waiting for them. Jonny smiled and waved goodbye as he went down the hall to the left; probably to drop off the groceries at the Kitchen. Ash approached Angel.

"So then, are you ready to begin training?", Ash asked. Angel looked up at Ash and nodded.

"Yes, I'm ready to prepare the rescue!", Angel said. Ash smiled.

"That's the spirit!", Ash said. He then pointed towards the other room. "Head on down to the training area. Aleksiis gonna be withyou the entire time", Ash said. Angel nodded. She walked out of the room and began her way to the training area. As she did, she once again noticed the table with the files and Pokeballson it. Now, there was six files with red letters across them. One more was there. She didn't stop to check them out. She walked down the stairs and immediately at the bottom was Aleksi and Michael. Aleksi smiled.

"Hey Angel! Michael is gonna join us for part of the training, do you mind?", Aleksi asked. Angel shook her head.

"Not at all", Angel replied. Aleksi smiled.

"Alright then, let's begin! We'll start off at shooting...Evan's gonna teach you", Aleksi said, slightly annoyed at the last bit. Angel giggled and Michael smirked. They went past the Pokemon training rooms and approached one of the closed doors past them. Aleksiopened one and allowed Angel and Michael to step in. The room was a long shooting room. There were about five to seven booths where someone would stand and shoot at a target a couple hundred feet away. Angel noticed that already set up way at the end of the target area was a long piece of paper with a human shape on it. There were circles around the person's head, heart, and chest. Suddenly, a loud gun shot filled the entire room. Angel, Michael, and Aleksi all covered their ears from the loud noise. Angel looked at the human target and noticed that there was a hole in his head, directly in the center of the smallest circle. She then looked to her right and noticed that Evan was in one of the booths. He stood up, holding his sniper rifle, and walked over towards Angel and the others. He smiled.

"Hey, nice to see you again Angel!", Evan said. Angel smiled back.

"Same to you!", Angel said. Evan placed his sniper rifle down and approached Angel.

"Ok, in here I'm gonna teach you how to shoot. Don't worry about being a good shot, right now I'm more interested in you actually being able to fire one. Aim we'll work on later. Aleksi and Michael, you're more than free to join in", Evan explained. Michael seemed pumped, but Aleksijust shrugged. Evan walked to a cabinet door that was located behind Angel and the others. He opened it up and inside were many different types of weapons. Pistols, rifles, snipe rifles, and even shot guns. There was also ammunition for all of these guns and different types of targets. Evan grabbed a pistol and a target. This one wasn't in the shape of a human, but merely a large red circle with smaller red circles in it. He walked over and handed the pistol carefully to Angel. She looked at it closely. Just holding it scared her a little.

"What is it?", Angel asked. Evan was placing the target on a clamp that was located just above the booth. After attaching it, he punched in some numbers on a small device stuck to the wall of the booth and soon the target moved away from them and down the firing range, before stopping about twenty five to thirty feet away. He walked back over to Angel. He got on his knees and took the gun from her.

"I'm starting you off small. I'm not a fan of letting kids your age use guns, but in these times it'd be nice to know how one works. This is called a Beretta, all you have to know about it is that it's a pistol and that it's semi-automatic. That means that every time you press the trigger, you shoot a bullet. Automatics are guns where you hold onto the trigger and it continuously shoots bullets", Evan explained. Angel nodded. Evan pressed a button on the gun and a cartridge came out of the bottom of the handle. "this is where you put in your ammo. You just slid the clip into the handle like this". He did so. "And when you're ready to shoot, pull the top part of the gun like so". He slid the top half of the gun to the back and released it. "Now it's ready to shoot. Come up to the booth". Angel took the gun and, with it carefully in hand, walked over to the booth next to Evan.

"Just aim and shoot?", Angel asked. Evan nodded.

"Just aim and shoot", Evan said. Angel lifted the pistol and aimed it as best she could at the target ahead of her. The gun shook very slightly in her hands. She closed her eyes and pulled the trigger. The loud noise filled the room, but after hearing the sniper rifle, this one didn't hurt as much. The pistol shot up in her hands and then back down, the force being tremendous. Angel slowly opened her eyes and looked at the target. There was a small hole in the third ring of the target, a few inches above the center. She looked at Evan and smiled.

"I HIT IT!", Angel said proudly. Evan smiled.

"You did! Hit the third ring. Not bad for your first try! Obviously the kick back is a bit of a problem, not surprising, it usually is for first time shooters. But you'll get used to it. But do not close your eyes when you shoot, you need to see what you're shooting. It can be dangerous if you don't", Evan told Angel. She nodded. Evan then approached Michael and Aleksi. "And what would you two like to shoot?", Evan asked. Michael jumped forward.

"Give me your biggest gun here! I wanna DESTROY that target!", Michael said. Evan sweatdropped.

"Uhm...ok?", Evan said. He walked to the cabinet and looked around. Soon, he smiled and pulled out a large shotgun. He filled it with ammo and handed it to Michael. "This is a pump action shotgun, you think that's good enough for you?", Evan asked. Michael smiled.

"Oh yeah!", Michael said. Evan shook his head with a smile. He grabbed a target and walked down to the end of the shooting range, at the farthest booth from them. He placed it up and set it to go fifty feet from the booth. Michael walked over and looked at it.

"That's it? Fifty feet? This will tear that thing to shreds!", Michael said. Evan smiled and stepped back.

"Alright, fire when ready", Evan said. Michael stepped towards the booth and grinned. He pumped the shotgun and aimed it at the target. He laughed as he pulled the trigger. Suddenly, he was thrown back all the way to the wall and crashed into it with a thud. He fell to the floor, the shotgun at his side.

"Ooooooooouuuuuuuuuuuch", Michael said in pain. Evan stepped forward, looked at Michael, and then at the target. There were about three holes in it near the top of the paper.

"Well, you _hit _it!", Evan said. He then walked over and picked up th shotgun.

"I think I'm gonna stick with my knives", Michael said. Evan smiled.

"Good thinking", Evan said. He then walked back over towards the girls. He placed the shotgun back into the cabinet and looked at Angel. She was getting better with the Beretta, but could still use some work. So Evan left her be. He then looked and noticed that at the end closest to the door, only two booths away from Angel was Aleksi. She already set up a target while Evan was away withMichael. Evan approached her and noticed that in her hands she had a carbon hunting bow with arrows. "A bow?", Evan said. Aleksi looked at him with a almost cocky grin.

"Yeah, is that a problem?", Aleksi asked. Evan shrugged.

"Not really. Just a odd choice of weapon", Evan said. He walked closer to the booth. Next to her was his sniper rifle. "Oh, and you're gonna shot _that _as well?". Aleksi smiled. Evan smiled back, shaking his head. Her target was all the way to the end of the shooting range. She pulled the bow back, took aim, and released it. The bow flew across the room and planted into the wall. It was in the chest of the target, around the stomach area. Evan whistled. "Nice shot!", Evan said. Aleksi smirked.

"I don't need you to teach me how to shoot", Aleksi said. Evan smirked back.

"Oh really? Okthen, let's see how you do with my rifle", Evan said. Aleksiplaced the bow down and picked up Evan's rifle. She felt the cross with her fingers.

"Never took you for a religious person", Aleksi said. She turned to see that Evan was lighting another cigarette. He tookin the first breath and looked at Aleksi.

"Yep, I'm a believer. Not a overly religious type, but I think everyone should have some kind of faith", Evan said. Aleksi nodded. She got on her knees and aimed the sniper rifle down the target range, letting it rest onto the counter of the booth. She took a minute or so to aim, but soon pulled the trigger. The deafening sound filled the room once again. After recovering from the noise, Aleksi looked up and noticed that her bullet shot in the shoulder. She sighed, disappointed. Evan walked up to her.

"You did good, here, let me help", Evan said. He placed the cigarette down and kneeled right next to Aleksi. He placed his arm around her body and back to the rifle. He placed his other hand on the trigger with hers. Aleksi began to take aim again. "Don't let the gun bounce in your hands. You have to take charge of it", Evan whispered. Aleksi nodded, blushing. The close proximitywasn't something she was used to. Evan looked down the scope and smiled. "Good, you're in position, now just...breath". Aleksi leaned into the rifle and Evan's body. Her body twitched slightly at the feel of it. But she ignored it and looked down the scope. He breathed in, and suddenly, it seemed like time stopped. The sound of Angel shooting was quieter and slower, all she could hear well was her and Evan's breathing. She tookaim and, withone more breath, fired. This time, the gun didn't kick back as much. Evan moved aside and let her look at the target. It was directly in the heart. Aleksi jumped up and smiled.

"I did it!", Aleksi said triumphant. Evan stood up as well with a smile.

"That you did, amazing job!", Evan said. Aleksi blushed upon hearing this and quickly turned around to hide it.

"Well...you're...just saying that because you helped!", Aleksisaid. Evan scoffed and placed the cigarette back into his mouth, taking another puff.

"Ok, sure, I did", Evan said, knowing it would irritate Aleksi...it did. She turned around and faced Evan.

"Listen, I bet you're not even as good a shot as you say you", before Aleksi could finish, Evan immediately pulled out his own pistol, which was hidden on his belt. He pointed it at the target and shot three times, all while keeping his eyes on Aleksi. After firing it, he held the gun down and Aleksi looked down the range. All three shots were in the head, one close to the eye, one in the brain, and one in the lower right jaw. All three shots weren't perfect, but they would kill. Aleksi scowled at Evan. He looked at his pistol. It was a lot like Angel's Beretta, but it was much larger and silver.

"Desert Eagle, bit of a kick but powerful handgun", Evan said. Aleksi grabbed the pistol and walked towards the booth.

"Well if you can do it then I can too!", Aleksi said. Evan tried to stop her.

"Uh wait! Aleksi! You don't want to fire!", Evan said. It was too late. She took aim with one hand and fired it down range. Immediately, her hand jerked up with the gun and she dropped the pistol, clenching her hand. She fell to her knees. Evan ran to her side. "I told you they have a kick! You can't shoot it with one hand unless you're used to it! Are you ok!", Evan asked concerned. Aleksi looked up at him, still clenching her hand.

"It hurts!", Aleksi said. Evan got on his knees and held her hand.

"It's strained a bit from the kick back. Here, let me help", Evan said. He held her hand softly and grabbed a medical kit that was hidden underneath the booth. He opened it and pulled out a breakable ice pack. As he broke it and applied it to her hand, Aleksi gazed at him. He showed so much care for her even though she was being stubborn. She blushed slightly. Angel ran over to see what had happened.

"Aleksi! Are you ok!", Angel asked. Aleksi was distracted by Evan to reply. She soon realized what she was doing however and shook out of it. She looked at Angel.

"Oh yeah, just a little strain is all. I'll be fine soon. Why...why don't you head next door? I'll be over there in a second with Evan", Aleksi said. Angel looked at her concerned, but nodded. She then began to leave the shooting range. Michael, hearing this, sighed. He pulled out one last knife and whipped it down the range. It landed in the target's throat. There were several other knives on the target, all placed in different spots. He then walked towards the exit. As he did, he spotted Evan holding the ice pack on Aleksi's hand. He smirked as he left the room, seeing the obvious blush on both of their faces.

**And I think I'll leave it off right there. Next chapter Angel learns close combat fighting and proper Pokemon battling! OH THE EXCITEMENT! Anyway, hope you liked the chapter! I had off today with classes, which means it's the start of my spring break. So expect more updates. Also, like I've said before, the spell check is acting up. I already caught some mistakes that it made on me. So if you see any, I apologize! So far I noticed that it presses words together when it says that there's a mistake, AND it removes question marks! And with Lent now on it's way, I bid you all a farewell! Pity that I wasn't down in New Orleans for it. I've been down ther ebefore believe it or not, (missed Mardi Gras by 2 weeks though. -_- ).**

**sincerely,  
evan, a fan of aaml -EVAN AAML**


	8. Chapter 8

**Hello and welcome back! Glad to see that so many of you are loving this story. I tend to get the same people for reviews, but I am also getting a lot of hits as well, so that's good. Be sure to F.A.R. if you haven't already! Well I'm gonna make this update quick, my girlfriend is going to be in a musical performance of "Hello Dolly!" at the school were I graduated; and I wouldn't miss it for the world. So, hope you all like what's in store!**

**-EVAN AAML**

Angel had only walked a few steps before Michael had caught up to her. She stopped and waited for him as he approached the young girl.

"So, are you ready for your next session?", Michael asked. Angel nodded.

"Yes. Although I don't know how much I'll use a gun or knife. The idea of killing someone is just...I think I'll stick with my Ledyba", Angel decided. Michael nodded.

"I understand. We have a few members like that. Don't like to kill. Most of the time we use our Pokemon anyway. We don't kill here if we don't have to. But, as tragic as it is, sometimes we have to do both. Team Rocket members have no qualms over killing our Pokemon as well", Michael explained. Angel gasped. Ledyba was her best friend and only Pokemon. She would never forgive herself if she used her in battle and a Rocket killed her.

"They'd...do that?", Angel asked. Michael nodded.

"Yes, and the Pokemon they don't kill they take. Members of the PTA try to hide or get rid of their Pokeballs so that we can find them if they feel they won't survive. What the Rockets do to Pokemon...it's just inhumane", Michael explained. Angel nodded. As much as she hated the idea, she may have to stick with the weapons. Now she knew what Prof. Oak meant earlier by it all. Kids shouldn't be trained to kill, not like this. They reached one of the Pokemon training rooms and they stepped inside. No one was inside it so Angel and Michael simply took a seat on one of the benches. The field was a ordinary field, much like the one Jonny and Nick were training in the other day. They sat there in silence for a few minutes, not sure of what to say to the other.

"So...where is everyone?", Angel asked.

"Well, Nick was supposed to be the one to train you, but he said he was busy, something to do with helping Sawyer? I don't know. It doesn't matter really who trains you with Pokemon, everyone here is a skilled Pokemon trainer. Although the skill varies. Obviously people like Ash, Misty, and Brock are the best trainers; but they're much to busy", Michael explained.

"Everyone is trained in it?", Angel asked. Michael nodded.

"Not everyone is trained with weapons, most of our members stay at the different bases in the different regions so they don't need it. But just in case, everyone is trained with a Pokemon. About ninety percent of us joined the rebel force with Pokemon anyway. Pretty much all of us have six, and who ever doesn't use spare Pokemon, like the ones here at the lab", Michael said.

"I only have Ledyba, does that mean that I'll have to borrow some?", Angel asked. Michael nodded.

"For missions at least yes. Unless someone is nice enough to let you borrow theirs, which happens from time to time", Michael said. Angel nodded in understanding. She then thought of something.

"Well, if it doesn't matter who trains me with Pokemon, why don't you?", Angel asked. Michael looked at her, a bit shocked.

"Huh, actually, that's a good point. I mean, I usually just stick to my knives and swords, but I can battle too...alright, let's do it!", Michael said. He then stood up and walked over to one end of the field, while Angel walked to the other, closest to the door. "Ok, you said you only have one Pokemon, so I'll only use one as well, ok?", Michael asked. Angel nodded. She then pulled her necklace out from under her dress and opened the ball. After the recognizable white light shot out, Ledyba buzzed by cheerfully.

"Alright Ledyba, we're gonna do some training, ok?", Angel asked. Ledyba buzzed in excitement. "Alright, ready when you are!", Angel said. Michael nodded. He reached for his Pokeballs, which were right next to his throwing knives. He picked one and threw it out at the field. It popped open and suddenly a large green bug Pokemon came out. The Pokeball flew back into Michael's hand.

"I don't want to choose a type that's a lot stronger than yours, the battle would end too quickly. And Scyther is a very common Pokemon among grunts, so it's good training regardless!", Michael explained. His Scyther held his bladed arms out, ready for battle. Angel instantly recalled the memory of the Scyther in the woods, the one that nearly killed Ledyba. Angel was afraid of a repeat, but knew that this was only training. Plus, this would allow her to make sure it never happened again.

"Alright, but don't expect me to go easy on you then!", Angel said back. Michael laughed.

"This is gonna be good. Alright then, I'll start, Scyther, Quick Attack!", Michael commanded. Suddenly, Scyther took a stance and then quickly flew towards Ledyba. Angel was already prepared for this close range type of attack though. Scyther, like a lot of bug Pokemon, were usually close range attackers.

"Ledyba, Light Screen!", Angel yelled. Ledyba produced a Light Screen and soon enough, Scyther crashed into it and was stopped. Michael looked on in annoyance. "I battled a Scyther right before being saved by Ash, I know how to defend myself from it!", Angel called out.

"We'll see about that! Scyther, Focus Energy!", Michael yelled. Scyther flew back a little bit from the Light Screen and began to glow white. Angel knew that this attack would make Scyther's moves more powerful, it could very well break through the Light Screen. She couldn't allow Scyther to get too powerful.

"Ledyba, Hidden Power!", Angel commanded. Ledyba shot multiple beams of light into Scyther, causing him to fall to the ground in pain.

"Ergh! Dang it! She's better at this than I thought!", Michael said to himself. Then, an idea came into his mind. He smiled. "Scyther, Agility!". Scyther stood up and suddenly flew around the room at high speed. Angel and Ledyba looked around, not being able to keep their eyes on it.

"Uh oh! Ledyba, Supersonic!", Angel yelled. Ledyba began to produce loud sound waves that tried to hit Scyther. But the Scyther was moving much to quickly to catch him.

"You can't rely on just your eyes, Pokemon battling is about instinct, knowing what to do the second your opponent calls out an attack", Michael said. Angel looked on in anger. Pokemon battles were always filled with emotion, even if this was just training. This made Angel think though.

"Wait, knowing what to do when the opponent calls an attack. He's buffing up Scyther's strength and speed, which means his Scyther must not be too strong alone. So if I can land a powerful hit on him, it should bring him down!", Angel thought. She then knew of an attack that Ledyba could use; one that was guaranteed to work. "Ledyba, Swift!". Michael panicked at hearing this. Swift was an attack that couldn't miss. Ledyba began to shoot tons of tiny stars at Scyther, which instantly hit him. He crashed into the wall behind him and dust spread across the room. Angel and Michael waited for the dust to settle, unsure of Scyther's condition. Eventually, the dust cleared and Scyther was seen on the ground, unconscious. Angel cheered. "I did it! I did it!", Angel cheered. Ledyba flew into Angel's arms and they danced. Michael walked over to the unconscious Scyther.

"Well, you did good Scyther, return", Michael said. He pulled out his Pokeball and returned his Pokemon. He then stood up and walked over to Angel. "I'm impressed, you really know how to battle! That's good. Then again, I'm not exactly a strong Pokemon trainer".

"Well obviously", someone suddenly called out. Both Michael and Angel turned to see Evan and Aleksi standing at the door. Evan was the one who had said the comment. He stepped into the room and walked up to the two. "Never judge a Pokemon by it's looks or type. Angel's Ledyba is quite powerful. How it hasn't evolved already is beyond me".

"How do you know that?", Angel asked. She never doubted that Ledyba was strong, but she was never sure of how you can tell merely by looking at it. Evan smiled.

"You see, before the Rocket's took over, I was actually aiming to become a Pokemon Biologist", Evan said. This comment seemed to shock Angel, Michael, and Aleksi.

"What?", Michael said stunned.

"Really?", Aleksi replied. Evan nodded.

"I was always a bit of a science nerd, and Pokemon fascinated me. I was always interested in learning about them, so I did everything I could to do so. And in time, I not only knew a lot about them, but I became a good Pokemon trainer as well", Evan remarked. Angel seemed to love this thing about him. It reminded her of Prof. Oak in a way.

"That's awesome!", Angel stated. Evan smiled.

"I thought so too", Evan said. "I'd show you myself, but by the looks of it, your Ledyba is a bit tired. Why don't you let it rest? We'll battle some other time". Angel nodded and returned her Pokemon. After she did so, Evan approached Michael, talking about his Scyther and how he should work on training it. Angel meanwhile walked up to Aleksi.

"So how's your hand?", Angel asked. Aleksi looked at it.

"It's a lot better. Evan really knew how to make it feel better", Aleksi said with a smile. Angel giggled.

"Yeah, I bet he did", Angel replied. Aleksi blushed immensely.

"AND WHAT'S THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN?", Aleksi asked.

"Oh, nothing", Angel said with a smile. Aleksi doubted that very much, but ignored it.

"Fine. Are you ready for your next bit of training?", Aleksi asked.

"Sure, what is it?", Angel asked.

"Close combat", someone said. Once again, someone had entered the room without the others realizing it. Everyone turned towards the door. Standing there, eyeing them down was Ryoto. His signature Katana was strapped to his side, next to his own Pokeballs. Angel looked at him carefully. She believed the others when they said that he wasn't a danger to her, but she was still nervous over it. Ryoto walked down to them and stood near Angel.

"You're gonna train me?", Angel asked. Ryoto nodded.

"Right. Just me and you. I prefer to do my training one on one, with no one watching", Ryoto said. He then looked at the others. "Nothing against you, it's just how I train". The others nodded.

"Fine by me, Scyther could use a check up anyway", Michael said. He and Evan began to leave the room. Aleksi bent down and put a hand on Angel's shoulder.

"Good luck, and be sure to listen to what he says", Aleksi said. Angel nodded. She then left with the others and closed the door behind her, leaving Angel in the room alone with Ryoto. He walked over to the bench and placed his Pokeball belt onto it, along with his Katana.

"Would you like to train with actual fighting, or swords first?", Ryoto asked.

"Not to offend you, but I don't think that I will want to learn how to use a sword. I wasn't even a fan of gun training", Angel replied. Ryoto nodded.

"Fair enough. We'll start with basic combat then", Ryoto decided. He then approached Angel. "First off, how much experience in actual fighting do you have?".

"None really. I never got into a fight with anyone back at my home town, and I've avoided all fights that I could with Team Rocket", Angel answered.

"Hmm, then you'll need to get a lot of practice in then", Ryoto said. He stood a couple feet away from Angel, eyeing her down carefully. "Now you're about average size for a ten year old".

"Twelve", Angel replied. She decided not to get too angry with Ryoto about it.

"Twelve. But being a child and a girl child at that makes your strength a little low. I'd imagine though that being on the run for so long has made you strong, that's good. But it probably also made your instincts better", Ryoto explained.

"My instincts?", Angel asked. Ryoto nodded.

"The instincts to survive. One of the first things I taught the Rocket assassins was to follow instinct. Doing so gave you a never give up personality. Because instinct gives you the fight or flight response", Ryoto said.

"What's that?", Angel asked.

"It means that when you're in danger your body automatically responds without your mind being fully aware of it. You either fight back with everything you've got and more, or you run away with more energy and speed. Of course, in Team Rocket, we trained grunts to not have the flight scenario, so they always had fight", Ryoto explained. Angel nodded in understanding. "When you were running away from the grunts in the woods the other day, did you notice that you were running a lot faster and harder than normal? As if you became super human?". Angel thought back to the other day. Now that he mentioned it, she did tire out less during the run.

"Yeah, I did", Angel said. Ryoto nodded.

"That's the flight response. After you got caught you had the fight response. The only difference is, you used it towards Pokemon battling, not physical fighting. That's where I come in", Ryoto said. Suddenly, he ran towards Angel, a fist made in his right hand. Angel gasped and ducked, just narrowly dodging a punch to the face. But she didn't have time to react, Ryoto tried to kick her, and she stepped to the side. Then he tried to trp her, and she jumped over his leg. Ryoto kept trying to hit Angel and she kept dodging. She was panicking, not sure of why he was suddenly attacking her. She kept trying to avoid the hits, as if her life depended on it. Ryoto then brought his arm up and tried to bring it down on her head. Angel used her own arm to deflect it. She then made a fist and punched Ryoto in the left cheek, causing him to even step back a bit. Angel gasped at what she had just done. She panted heavily.

"What...were...you...trying...to...do!", Angel asked. Ryoto looked back at Angel and put a hand to his cheek. His lip was bleeding slightly and his face was temporarily numb.

"Good, you do have some strength after all. That hit actually hurt a bit", Ryoto said. "I was making you react without thinking, I didn't give you time to. You dodged everything and even found a opportunity to strike back. Excellent". He then stepped closer to Angel. "Now, it's your turn. Try to hit me as fast and as effective as I did to you, make it so that I don't have time to think". Angel caught her breath, and then did as she was told.

"Fine then, get ready", Angel said. She then lunged at Ryoto. She threw punch after punch and kick after kick, and Ryoto dodged them all. She kept going though, not giving up and not giving Ryoto a chance to catch his breath. But suddenly, after trying to punch him, Ryoto grabbed Angel from the back. He placed one arm around her neck and the other holding her arm. Angel was stuck. She panicked and tried to pull herself out, but to no avail.

"Relax. If you panic now then you run out of energy. It's easy to get out of this, think. But remember this, in battle, if this should happen to you, your opponent would probably snap your neck before you coud react. Make sure it doesn't happen", Ryoto said. Angel calmed herself and thought. Her one arm was caught and couldn't move, and the other one couldn't reach, so she had to use her legs. She then smiled and swung her leg back, kicking Ryoto directly in the groin. But he didn't let go.

"What?", Angel said annoyed.

"That was a good idea. Someone with my level of expertise however is trained to not get hurt by means of "dirty fighting". But that would of easily worked on a average grunt. Now, try again", Ryoto said. Angel thought again. She still thought her legs could be used, but she wasn't sure how at this point. Then it hit her. Perhaps her legs weren't the only way to get out. She twisted her body to the side, causing Ryoto to have to do the same. This left her free arm more capable of striking. She swung it into Ryoto's chest, causing him to lose his grip. She then used her legs to trip Ryoto. He fell to the ground and immediately afterwards, Angel stood over him, a fist ready to strike his face. Ryoto smiled.

"Good, you got it", Ryoto said. Angel smiled back.

"Good, what now?", Angel asked. She stood up, allowing Ryoto to do the same.

"I'm gonna show you maybe one or two more ways to get out of holds, the rest, to be honest, relies on you and your opponent. Work on your physical fitness, along with your mental. That will be the outcome out of any fight", Ryoto said. Angel nodded. "How about this". Suddenly, Ryoto grabbed Angel's neck, chocking her. Angel Held his arm, trying to pull it away. "The longer this choke holds, the quicker your death will come. After one minute, you will lose brain cells, after five, you'll go into a coma. Of course, a Rocket doesn't have that kind of patience, they'll wait until you're unable to fight back and then simply shoot you. Now...think...what can you do?", Ryoto asked. Angel didn't have much time left. She had to think of what to do. His strength meant that she wouldn't be able to pull his arm away, and she was getting weaker by the second. But then it hit her. She brought both of her arms up and swung them down as hard as she could onto his chocking arm. This forced his arm down, off of her neck. Angel collapsed onto her knees while Ryoto held his now hurt arm.

"(pant)...how...was...that?", Angel asked. Ryoto looked at Angel, and then his arm. He smiled.

"That's exactly what you do. Good job", Ryoto said. Ryoto allowed Angel to catch her breath, which took a few minutes. She then stood up, ready for the next challenge.

"Now what?", Angel asked.

"You have a lot of determination and a no quit attitude, you would of made a good Rocket", Ryoto said. Angel spat on the ground. Ryoto smiled. "Good, I think you're ready for one more test. This one is simple, but probably the most important one to learn. Because it is the easiest way a Rocket will attempt to kill you, other than using a Pokemon". Suddenly, he brought his hand to his back side and pulled a small pistol out from his belt. He aimed it at Angel's head. Angel recognized it as a Beretta, like the one she had used in training with Evan. She gasped.

"What are you doing?", Angel asked.

"Rocket's are naturally lazy, they look for the easiest way to kill you. A Pokemon is the easiest since they use no energy, but they can just as easily pull a gun on you. Now if this were real life, you'd already be dead. Hopefully after this, you won't give them that time. Now then, a grunt is pulling a gun to your face, how do you respond?", Ryoto asked. Angel looked at the gun. She knew how it worked, which was in her favor. But she needed to get it first. The gun was only a foot away, she could practically spit on it if she wanted. Suddenly, she threw both of her arms towards it. One hand grabbed the nozzle of the gun, mere centimeters away from the hole. The other was on the remaining handle. She directed the gun towards the left and kept doing it until Ryoto lost grip and the gun was in Angel's hand and pointed at him. This all happened within a second. Ryoto smiled.

"Good, you did exactly what you were supposed to. Now what do you do to finish this?", Ryoto asked, knowing the answer. Angel looked at Ryoto angrily, as if he were a Rocket trying to kill him. She clicked a button on the gun and the ammo cartridge fell out and onto the ground. She kicked it away. She then threw the rest of the gun to the other side of the room. Ryoto looked on confused. This was not what he expected. "What?".

"I'm not a cold blooded killer like them. I won't sink to their levels. You're now unarmed, I'm not gonna shoot you", Angel responded. Ryoto looked on in shock. Not once has he met someone who wouldn't shoot a Rocket. But he eventually smiled.

"Someone who won't kill a killer...now I've seen everything...fine, you're done. The rest is up to you", Ryoto said. He then walked over towards the bench, picking up his items. Angel followed him.

"Ryoto, one question", Angel said.

"Yes?", Ryoto asked.

"...why didn't you kill that family? The one Giovanni ordered you to?", Angel asked. Ryoto stood silently for a moment. The room was completely silent, not a noise could be heard, not even breathing. Ryoto then turned around to face Angel.

"You want to know why?", Ryoto asked. Angel nodded. "I didn't kill that family because...I couldn't. All of my other missions before I had to kill rebels or political rivals. They were people who were often violent, I killed them and never looked back. But for this mission, I was to kill two parents and their two kids. They weren't a threat, they weren't dangerous, they were just...a family. I was even within feet of them without them knowing it, ready to strike. But I saw the look on the kids faces. The joy they had with their family. And...I couldn't do it. I realized then that I couldn't kill the innocent, and I couldn't be apart of a group that did. So I left, and now I have a bounty on my head. That's the same reason why I'm training you, and why I won't kill you. I see you...and I see the kids I spared", Ryoto explained. Angel looked at him completely differently now. She didn't know the whole story to it. She suddenly ran into Ryoto, hugging him. Ryoto did not see this coming. He wasn't even sure how to respond.

"Thank you", Angel said. Ryoto merely looked at her, still in shock. Eventually, he put his arms around Angel's waist, hugging her back. Angel now saw that even in a Rocket, there was some goodness. Ryoto then pulled away from Angel and made his way to the door. He stopped just before leaving, not even glancing back at Angel.

"You can head upstairs now, not sure what your next training will involve", Ryoto said. He then left the room. Angel looked at him with a smile. She now trusted Ryoto with her life, just like everyone else there. She left the room and made her way up the stairs, ending up once again in the Kitchen. Angel looked around and noticed that she was not alone. Standing near the oven a few feet away was Nick and Sawyer. Sawyer was pulling something out of the oven and Nick was frosting what appeared to be cupcakes. They both seemed very happy with each other's company. Angel smiled at them, it appeared that there were hidden romances everywhere. She sighed.

"Aww, that's so cute!", Angel said. Nick and Sawyer turned around and saw Angel watching them. They both blushed immensely.

"Uhm, Nick was just...helping me is all!", Sawyer said.

"And I'm uh, done. Sorry, I should be going, bye!", Nick said. He then quickly made his way out of the Kitchen. Sawyer saw this, slightly saddened by his sudden departure. Angel walked over to Sawyer, still looking at Nick. She felt bad that she had caused this.

"I'm...I'm sorry about that Sawyer, I shouldn't of done that", Angel said. Sawyer sighed and smiled.

"No, it's not your fault sweetie. Don't worry about it. Me and Nick were just...working together is all", Sawyer said. She then turned around and grabbed a frosting tube and began to frost the cupcakes that Nick had not finished. Angel stood behind her.

"So, do you like him?", Angel asked. This sudden question made Sawyer nervous. She squeezed the frosting tube so hard that tons of frosting came out, covering about five cupcakes entirely with frosting. She turned around immediately and looked at Angel. She noticed that her face was completely red.

"What makes you think that?", Sawyer asked in a almost panicked state. Angel smiled.

"Oh nothing, I just thought that it was cute that you two were cooking together, well, that and you're blushing", Angel said. Sawyer covered her face with her hands and turned around.

"No I'm not!", Sawyer said. Angel giggled.

"Alright, whatever you say", Angel said. "I just think that you two look absolutely", before she could finish, Sawyer quickly grabbed one of the cupcakes and shoved it into Angel's mouth. This kept her quiet due to the amount of food now in her mouth.

"Why don't you try one of these cupcakes! They're delicious!", Sawyer said. Angel tried to talk, but found it difficult. "Uh uh! No talking with your mouth full!". Angel sighed and tried to eat the cupcake in her mouth. "Oh, and I almost forgot, your cake is in the fridge over there, you left it here after you ran up to the com room yesterday", Sawyer said. Suddenly, someone ran into the Kitchen from the other room. Sawyer and Angel turned around to see Brian.

"Oh, _there _you are! I was...why are your cheeks extended like a Pachirisu with nuts in its mouth?", Brian asked, looking at Angel.

"Oh, nothing at all, she's just eating and keeping quiet!", Sawyer said, still a bit worried over Angel talking. Brian sweatdropped.

"Uhm...ok? Anyway, Ash was looking for you, he wants you to meet some people, the region leaders", Brian said. Angel nodded. She swallowed the remainder of the cupcake.

"Alright, let's go", Angel said. She then turned around. "Bye Sawyer, I'll be back for the cake...and for some info!". Sawyer waved goodbye as she left, and then turned to her cupcakes, a worried expression on her face. She blushed again. Angel and Brian walked down the different halls and through the different rooms, heading towards the main room.

"So May, Drew, Dawn, and Tracy are here?", Angel asked. Brian shook his head.

"Tracy isn't. It's still too dangerous for him to leave the Orange Islands. They're under such supervision that he can't leave without being spotted. Normally when we know ahead of time that people will be in situations like that, we lend them a psychic Pokemon that knows Teleport ahead of time. But we didn't realize exactly what we were getting ourselves into when Tracy went down there", Brian explained. Angel nodded. She had heard of people talking about how heavily guarded it was down there, but most people presumed that it was only like that because the islands were scattered so they placed many guards on all of them. Now she knew better. "The girls and Drew are here though, and they would all like to meet you", Brian continued.

"That's great, I'd like to meet them too!", Angel said. They soon arrived to the main room. Standing near the entrance were Ash, Misty, Brock, and three other people. Angel immediately recognized one of them as May from the video message the other day. Apart from the orange jacket she had on in the video, she also wore black shorts and orange sneakers. The boy that was standing next to her was about her height and age. He had green hair with green eyes, a trait Angel thought to be odd. He wore a open short sleeved purple jacket with a long sleeved black shirt underneath it. He also wore teal colored pants and black shoes. Angel imagined that this had to be Drew since he was the only guy that she did not recognize. And then there was another girl, who was much younger than the rest; although she was clearly much older than Angel. She had dark blue hair and eyes. She wore a white cotton hat with a pink Pokeball on it that covered her very long blue hair. in her hair were two yellow clips. She wore a white shirt and a black sleeveless vest over it. She also wore a pink mini skirt, long pink boots, and knew high black socks.

Ash quickly noticed Angel and Brian and waved them over to approach. Brian then walked Angel over to the gang. Ash held his hand out towards Angel.

"Guys, this is Angel, the girl I told you about. Angel, these are my close friends May, Drew, and Dawn", Ash introduced. Angel took a bow.

"Pleased to meet you all!", Angel said happily. Suddenly, she felt someone hugging her. She looked up and noticed that May had grabbed her in a hug. It was something that Angel had not anticipated in the least. She exchanged maybe three words with Angel on the video and yet she was already hugging her like a long lost friend. She didn't hug May back because she wasn't sure of how to react at the moment. Angel looked down at May, who was still hugging her. She looked at Angel and smiled.

"We're all pleased to meet you too! Ash told us everything already", May explained. Dawn walked up to Angel and put a hand on her shoulder.

"I'm sorry that all of this has happened to you, we understand completely", Dawn said. Drew nodded.

"Don't worry, we won't rest until we save your parents from Team Rocket", Drew stated. Angel smiled.

"Thank you all! I don't even know you but I already owe you everything!", Angel said. Misty shook her head.

"No you don't Angel. This is what friends do. They help each other out", Misty said. Angel looked at her, not believing what she had said.

"You mean...", Angel said. Brock nodded.

"Of course, we're all your friends Angel, everyone of us", Brock said.

"We're like a family here. We all protect each other because we love each other", Ash threw in. Angel smiled. A lone tear came down her cheek. Everyone smiled at her. Angel now not only had her parents, but she had a much bigger family. Brothers and sisters that she could rely on. May released Angel and stepped back. Angel wiped away the one tear she had and nodded to the group. Brian then stepped forward.

"Well, I'd love to stay and chat, but I need to prepare for what's coming. I'll see you all later", Brian said. He then walked off towards the other room. Angel saw him leave, and then brought her attention back to the others.

"What did he mean by prepare?", Angel asked.

"Soon, we're gonna go and begin our attack on the radar at the Orange Islands. We're all preparing for it. We all came together to discuss over it. And we would like you there with us", Ash said. Angel nodded.

"Definitely", Angel said. Ash nodded back.

"Alright then, we'll grab Gary and Max and meet in the meeting room", Ash said. Ash and the others then began to walk away. Angel trailed behind with May, Dawn, and Drew, wanting to get to know them better.

"So May, you and Drew used to be Pokemon coordinators?", Angel asked. May nodded with a smile.

"Yep, in fact, we were some of the best around", May said. Drew nodded, flipping his hair back out of his face with a smirk and looking back at the girls.

"Some better than others", Drew remarked. May gave Drew an annoyed face, which Dawn and Angel giggled at. Angel then turned to Dawn.

"What about you Dawn?", Angel asked.

"I was a Pokemon coordinator too, really good in my home region of Sinnoh. I even managed to beat May once in a Pokemon coordinator contest!", Dawn said. Angel gasped.

"Really? Wow!", Angel said.

"Yep. But unfortunately, Team Rocket took over before I could make a huge name for myself like May and Drew. We all promised to enter a contest together once we bring them down and restore peace", Dawn explained.

"A contest which I intend to _win_!", May said competitively. Angel smiled. She never really got to learn much about Pokemon contests because they were banned long before she knew what they were. Perhaps it was something she would be interested in doing once Team Rocket was brought down. She never thought of what would happen if they should fall. It never occurred to her. All of a sudden though, it seemed like something not only plausible, but inevitable. Eventually, they stopped at a closed entrance in front of them. It was blocked by two large wooden doors. Ash turned around and faced Angel.

"This is where we'll hold the meeting. Why don't you all wait here while I grab Gary and Max?", Ash suggested.

"Sounds alright by me", Angel said. The others nodded as well. Ash then turned around and swung the doors open. The room inside was dark, almost eery looking. Ash flipped a switch near the door and a large light turned on. This light hung over a large oval shaped table that stretched down to the end of the room. Unlike the majority of the base, this room was relatively well furnished and wasn't just plain white. The seats were black and surrounded the large table. The walls were painted a dark blue and the ground was covered in a dark colored carpet. On the table were maps, files, and other bits of paperwork Angel figured was filled with important information. Everyone stepped inside while Ash waited near the entrance.

"I'll be back as soon as I can, see you all in a bit!", Ash said. Pikachu waved goodbye as Ash ran off to get Gary and Max. After he was gone, Angel turned around and looked at the table with the paperwork on it. Now it was time to lay out the plans to save her family and bring down Team Rocket once and for all.

**And I think I'll leave it off there! Now then, tell me what did you think? Like it, hated it? Be sure to F.A.R.! Instead of doing my typical narration for the end of the chapter, I am going to ask you all a question. I have recently received a message from a author and artist named "Yoshino in the Moonlight7" who had asked me if I was interested in a idea. This idea consisted of the possibility of working on a art project. Now I personally am not an artist, but hopefully one of you are! If any of you readers out there are interested in hearing more about this, then please send a message to Yoshino and ask for more. And with that, I'll end the chapter, hope you all enjoyed it, sorry to the OC authors who weren't as big in this chapter, (or in the story for that matter). Since the plan is beginning, you will all get a lot more "screen time". I promise. Also, I discovered that the spellchecker automatically deletes my question marks when they're next to a exclamation point, such as when someone is asking a question in shock. This is a nuisance, but there's nothing I can do about it. I'm still looking into the causes for the others problems with it. -_-**

**sincerely,  
evan, a fan of aaml -EVAN AAML**


	9. Chapter 9

**Instead of having a A.N. at the beginning of this chapter, I will dedicate this to the lives lost in Japan. For those who do not know, a 8.9 earthquake struck Japan, which also created a tsunami afterwards. So far 2800 people are pronounced dead, but that number is expected to quadruple...possibly a few times. Their nuclear power plant is also in danger of causing a nuclear explosion that could result in a radioactive problem as big as Hiroshima or Nagasaki in WWII. They are without electricity, food, water, gas, and practically every basic necessity. I have a friend who lives in Japan who I have lost contact with, and that worries me.**

**If you can find it within your hearts to help those in need, here is the link to a donation site. It allows you to pick where you would like to donate to. This site may remove the hyperlink, so you can paste it into your web browser if this is the case. If the link does not work at all, simply go to aol . com (spacing because this site deletes the web access), and on the main page it will say in red "Tsunami Relief: How You Can Help". Click on it and it will take you to the same site.**

**.org/help-survivors-pacific-quake-tsunami?source=AOL&cmpgn=NEWS**

**Our thoughts and prayers are with you Japan.**

**-EVAN AAML**

Angel and the others remained in their seats, waiting for Ash to arrive with Gary and Max. They were all talking to each other, recalling past memories and enjoying their company. It was rare for them to be able to enjoy small things like this anymore. Years ago they hung out all the time; enjoying their adventures. Now, they were lucky to be alive, let alone together and happy. Angel thought it as bittersweet almost. Regardless, she too was enjoying the conversations of their past and present.

"So Dawn, how are things in Sinnoh?", Brock asked.

"About as bad as anywhere else really. I'd say it's as bad as Hoenn is. I'm worried about my mom still being there, but she's not worried about herself. She always tells me that nothing will happen to her and that she's more worried over me than their. I'm glad that I at least got her moved to the base at Snowpoint City", Dawn explained.

"That's where your base is?", Angel asked. It was a stupid question but she wanted to be part of the conversation. Dawn nodded.

"Yes. It's the most northern city. The snow and wind makes Team Rocket less interested there. It still gets constant surveillance, but it's easier to hide in the weather", Dawn explained.

"Our base is in Sootopolis City. It's a city that's only accessible by going under water. It has a lot of cameras but few Rockets. A perfect hideout", May explained.

"Johto is still rebuilding after the major war from Team Rocket's takeover. But our base is in New Bark Town. It's a lot like Pallet Town in that it's small and uninteresting to Team Rocket. But it's also very close to Kanto, so should we get spotted, we can run and hide there", Misty said.

"Where would you guys go if your bases were taken over?", Angel asked.

"We would head to the Seafoam Islands south of Pallet, it's not to far away from Cinnabar Island", Brock said.

"In Hoenn we hide at a place called Mt. Pyre. It's a mythical mountain in Hoenn. It's rough terrain and many Pokemon protect us from Team Rocket", Drew stated.

"It's like the place we hide. Our backup base is at Spear Pillar, which is at the top of Mt. Coronet. We use the Underground to travel and then make our way up the mountain. Like Hoenn's Mt. Pyre, it's mythical and harsh terrain", Dawn stated. The idea of having backup places to hide made Angel feel safer. If this base was compromised she wouldn't want to be on the run again, especially knowing that her new found friends were as well. There was no way that they would all be able to escape with their lives. Angel decided to change the subject because she did not like the idea of talking about possible death. She glanced over at Brock and then remembered the bet that she had made with him last night.

"Hey May", Angel asked. May looked at her.

"Yes Angel?", May asked.

"Are you and Drew dating?", Angel asked. Drew immediately collapsed out of his chair. Misty and Dawn giggled and Brock smirked, instantly knowing her plan. May blushed immensely, but it was to see in the barely lit room.

"Uh, why no Angel...no, we're not dating!", May said. Angel smiled.

"Oh, sorry. It's just that, you two look so cute together, I wasn't sure", Angel said. Drew had finally managed to sit back up in his chair.

"No, we're not dating, we're just friends!", Drew said. Angel nodded.

"Oh of coarse you are! I just presumed that", Angel was cut off.

"Well you presumed incorrectly", Drew said. Misty and Dawn looked at each other and giggled.

"What made you decide that we were cute together?", May asked. She leaned on the table closer to Angel, which allowed her blush to be more visible by her. She smiled.

"Well, you both just look adorable when you're together. And you get along so well, it's practically meant to be", Angel said. May blushed even more and leaned back in her seat. She glanced away from the others, hoping that they would not be able to see her red face. Drew also blushed, but instead of hiding it, he denied it. The way they acted reminded Angel of Ash and Misty. Perhaps Brock was right in that getting these two together could allow her to get Ash and Misty together.

"Listen, me and May are just friends!", Drew said. Angel nodded.

"I understand. My parents were always the romantic types, so I just sort of inherited those traits. And plus you spend so much time together as the region leaders of Hoenn, I just figured that you might share _some _feelings for each other", Angel said. Drew face palmed. Angel looked at Brock and winked. Brock winked back. Just then, the doors opened and before anyone could see who had opened them, little Max came flying into the room and ran immediately into May's arms.

"MAY! YOU'RE ALRIGHT!", Max said thrilled. May smiled and hugged her little brother back.

"It's so great to see you Max, I missed you", May said. Standing at the door were Ash and Gary, merely looking in. Everyone watched the cute scene before them. They felt bad for Max because he was so young and always worried about his sister. Now she knew how Misty and Brock felt about their siblings during these times. She was glad she was an only child. Ash and Gary then stepped inside and Ash closed the doors behind him.

"Now that we're all reacquainted, I suppose we should get started then huh?", Ash said. The three boys grabbed a chair and sat down. Max of course sat next to May and Gary sat at the end near Brock. Ash sat in the chair closest to the door behind him. He then moved the paper work that was on the table forward so that people could see it better. "Now, as you know, we've discovered their communications array in the Orange Islands. Tracy is down there now investigating. He'd be here with us but unfortunately it's so damn covered down there that he can't possibly leave without being spotted". Ash grabbed one of the files and slid it across the table to Misty, who sat a few seats away. She opened it and showed it to the rest of the gang. It was a picture of a large dish that was aimed towards the sky. It was built around a large building and surrounded by smaller ones.

"The array is located on New Island, which is the first island you reach after leaving Kanto. Team Rocket must of felt that it was better to have it close by just in case", Misty said. She then pulled out a map of the Orange Islands. It looked old and nearly torn. She spread the map onto the table and pointed to an island towards the top of the map. "Luckily the island is not to far away from Cinnabar Island". Ash nodded.

"Because the array is up, we won't be able to communicate over long distances once we approach it. Since we're not here doing this mission we don't have the proper cloaking technology. I'd imagine that they have some kind of radar that can pick up transmissions in the area. But if we have people to communicate to on Cinnabar, we should be able to avoid their long distance detection. So the majority of the people will go to New Island to take out the array while the rest of the group remains on Cinnabar; just in case things get hairy", Ash explained. "Should the plan go south, we evacuate and head to the Seafoam Islands until things calm down. Cinnabar is just south of Pallet and we can't afford to head there if they spot us. Now unfortunately we'll have to do this entire mission in daylight", Ash said.

"What? We'll stick out like a sore thumb then!", Drew said.

"We don't have a choice. Tracy stated that there are a lot of night vessels that come out and patrol the sea. If we did it at night then we'd be spotted miles before we reached the island. We'll use the currents and get there in the light. Misty and Tracy have done their homework, and they found out that the currents between these and the Seafoam Islands are the strongest in the area. They've mapped them out so we can follow it that way. Not only will we get there a lot faster, but Team Rocket won't be able to catch up. They'll get tossed around in the sea", Ash explained.

"Plus our escape will be faster as well", Misty threw in. Ash nodded.

"Right. Now then, Blaine, the former gym leader of Cinnabar Island, has allowed us to use his boat for the mission. He's still in hiding so he can't join us for the attack, but he wishes us the best of luck. It's already stationed at the Cinnabar docks. I'll be on his boat to communicate with you all from there. We'll dock it just off the main land and use it to communicate with you. Prof. Oak has let us use his research boat for this as well. Misty's sisters, who are still hiding out in Cerulean, have also allowed us access to the Cerulean Gym's boat. And of coarse we have Gary's research boat in the Garage. Milo has already been at work to modify these three boats and remove all logos and insignias, making them untraceable in case they get captured", Ash explained.

"We're gonna need everyone for this mission, we have to take out the array and we're gonna have to take it out now", Brock said.

"But we're gonna need to plan this attack out entirely, aren't we rushing things? Why do we have to attack so urgently?", Dawn asked.

"We have reason to believe that Team Rocket is getting close to finding the bases, or at the very least this one. If we wait too long, then they'll overpower us and take over. Once they do, they can use this base to find the others. They'll wipe us off the face of the map and then the rebel force will be extinguished", Ash said.

"We found out that New Island is also home to several databases that could possibly hold the information Team Rocket has on us. While there, we'll take care of those as well. That way they'll lose everything they have on us", Brock stated.

"Aside from everyone here, we'll also be sending in Aleksi, Brian, Evan, Milo, Ryoto, Michael, Emily, Sawyer, Nick, Jonny, and other PTA members. Evan, Milo, Gary, and Max will be with me on Blaine's boat", Ash said. Misty nodded and continued.

"The rest of us will use the three boats to go for the array. Once there, we'll have to split up. Ryoto will take Emily, Brock, and myself to their communications room. Once there, we can use their computers to map out the entire island for you all. We'll also take down communications outside the island for the Rockets so that we don't get any unwanted company. If just one island gets a distress call, we'll be overwhelmed. May, you, Drew, Sawyer, and Nick will find the databases. Download as much as you can from them, and then destroy them. We'll have all of the information they may or may not have on us. Maybe we'll even get stuff on them. Angel, you, Dawn, Aleksi, Michael, Jonny, and Brian will meet up with Tracy on the island. We said that he would sneak onto it and help us out. Once you find him, head to the top of the building and destroy the array. Brian has been making some charges for it. Place the charges and get away. We'll get off the island together and blow the charges. Then we'll meet with Ash and the others and head back to base", Misty explained.

"When do we start?", May asked.

"As soon as we get word from Tracy. Once he says that he's on the island we'll leave. We'll drive the boats from here to the south of Kanto. By the time we put them in the water, hide the cars, and head to Cinnabar, the sun should be up", Ash said.

"I hope you all placed your second in commands in charge of your respective regions until you got back; this could take awhile to set up and complete", Brock said.

"Paul's at Snowpoint City and holding strong. They're not gonna move until I give the word", Dawn said. May face palmed and blushed slightly.

"Uhm...my second in command is...here with me", May said. The entire room sweatdropped.

"Obviously not _Drew_!", Brock said. Drew shook his head in embarrassment towards May.

"Oh! Yeah, Soledad and Harley are both there, taking mine and Drew's spot", May said. Misty nodded.

"Casey is set at New Bark Town", Misty said. Gary stepped in.

"My sister volunteered to be second in command at the Orange Archipelago. She's hiding with Melody and her family at Shamouti Island. Luckily she doesn't have to do anything but watch over the base. They hid the orbs so Team Rocket won't be finding the Legendaries anytime soon", Gary explained. Ash nodded.

"Good, we wouldn't want that to happen now would we? Luckily the orbs in Hoenn and Sinnoh were destroyed", Ash said. Brock brought the conversation back to the temporary region leaders.

"Right. Delia Ketchum has volunteered to watch over this base with Prof. Oak while we're gone", Brock said. Angel immediately grew slightly worried. She didn't want anything to happen to Delia and Prof. Oak while they were gone and unable to protect them. But she kept telling herself that the base was too well hidden and that Prof. Oak had more than enough Pokemon here to protect them should something happen.

"I should prepare then, what do we need?", Dawn asked.

"Well, pretty much anything you can carry. Pokemon, weapons, meds, anything and everything", Ash said. He then looked solemnly down at the table. Everyone noticed this. "I know I'm asking a lot from you all for doing this. There's a good chance that we could lose a lot of lives doing this mission. If you're afraid or don't want to do the mission, then I understand. You can leave now and we won't hold it against you", Ash said. Everyone looked at him, and then at each other. After a while they all smiled and nodded. Ash smiled back. "Thank you all. You're the best friends a guy could ever ask for".

"I agree", Angel said. She owed everything to her new friends for risking their lives to help her save her parents. They all looked at her and smiled. She knew that they would be friends forever.

"And hopefully with the databases, we'll be able to find out where they keep their prisoners in Viridian", Ash said. Angel smiled.

"And then we save my parents!", Angel said. Ash and Pikachu looked at Angel and smiled.

"Yes, then we save your parents", Ash said. "After the mission, we head back here and we can begin to discuss the attack on their main base". Everyone nodded in agreement. "Ok, we need to prepare now. Make sure you and your Pokemon are well rested. Eat a lot, get your gear in, and then get some shut eye. I'm not sure when the call will come in, so best you get some sleep when you can. Dismissed", Ash said. Everyone stood up and Ash opened the doors. Max grabbed May's hand.

"Come on May! I hav to show you all the work I've been doing!", Max said. He then began to pull May out of the meeting room.

"Ok, ok, I'm coming! Gary, you're making my brother do all this work?", May asked as she was being pulled out. Gary laughed.

"Please, that little runt gets less work than anyone, and he never even finishes it!", Gary said. Drew laughed as well. Just before everyone left, Misty grabbed Ash's arm.

"Wait", Misty said. Ash stopped and looked at her. Her face showed that of worry and concern. Ash looked at Pikachu on his shoulder and Pikachu nodded. He then hopped down and left the room. Everyone had left except for Ash and Misty. He closed the door behind him and looked at her again.

"What is it Mist?", Ash asked. Misty had her back turned at this point, waiting for everyone to leave. As soon as he asked this, she turned around. her eyes glistened, as if tears could fall at any moment.

"I'm worried", Misty said. Ash sighed.

"I know, we all are", Ash said. Misty stepped closer to him.

"If this doesn't work, if Team Rocket manages to catch us, then...", Misty said. Ash shook his head.

"They won't Misty, I promise. They will not capture any of us!", Ash said. Misty looked at Ash's face more intently, shocked at his raised voice and sense of determination. "When I made the PTA I made a vow to stop Team Rocket once and for all, and I will not allow you or anyone else to be taken prisoner by them! I...I don't know what'd I do if I lost you Mist". Ash looked down, he couldn't even make eye contact with her anymore. Misty stepped forward and put her hand on his shoulder. She bent down slightly to try and see Ash's downcast face.

"Ash?", Misty said, trying to get his attention again. Ash lifted his head slightly, just being able to make eye contact with Misty. Her Cerulean eyes penetrated his soul, much like they have for years.

"Mist...you've been in my life longer than any of my other friends. You helped me when I was on my Pokemon journey through Kanto, the Orange Islands, and Johto. You stood my be through think and thin, protecting me and making me work harder. And even today, in the darkest of times when the world is in danger, you're still with me; at my side. I...I don't know what to say", Ash said. A lone tear fell down Misty's cheek. Ash was telling her more than a simple history between the two. He was telling her how he's felt for years. Ash lifted his hand and removed the one tear from her face. "Misty...if I lost you...then I'd lose myself as well". He suddenly then ran into Misty's arms. It took a moment for her to realize what had just happened but she soon returned it.

"Ash...", Misty said. They stood there for a few moments, not talking or moving. They held each other, letting the worries of the world disappear. They kept their arms around each others backside, not daring to let each other go. But after a few silent minutes, they moved their heads and looked at each other.

"I promise...by the end of all of this, we'll be able to travel again. And then we'll never be away from each other", Ash said. Misty smiled.

"Thank you...Ash Ketchum", Misty said. She leaned over and gave Ash a quick kiss on the cheek. They released each other and Misty quickly opened the doors and walked out, making sure that Ash did not see the blush on her face. Ash stood there in the room, looking out to the doors before they slowly closed by themselves. He leaned back, fell into the wall, and allowed himself to sink to the floor. He kept one arm on his lifted knee and the other on the ground to support himself. His other leg remained extended towards the table. He however kept his eyes on the doors.

"I love you Misty Waterflower", Ash said quietly to himself with a smile. Meanwhile, everyone else had left to prepare for the upcoming strike on New Island. May had gone to see Max's work in the laboratory, which Gary checked over and applied to the computers. The papers dealt with the structure of the array and the building itself from the outside. Brock had left to explain the mission specs t the other members of the PTA and checking to see who would be joining them on it. Drew and Dawn had decided to get gear in store for the strike. Angel on the other hand seemed like a fish out of water. Everyone was running around, getting things ready, while she merely stood there, having no idea where to go or what to do. Occasionally, people nearly ran her over when she tried to move and, in fear, stopped moving all together. All of this was happening so suddenly that it was making her worried. Just then, Ryoto walked by. He was also preparing, like everyone else. He noticed Angel.

"What are you doing? Why aren't you getting ready?", Ryoto asked. He said this without stopping and kept on his way. Angel looked at him, unable to think of an answer. Then she noticed Nick walking by, also in a hurry.

"Don't just stand there, help us", Nick said. Angel turned to look at him, but once again could muster a single word. She kept spinning around, seeing everyone walk by and get ready, completely lost. Suddenly, someone grabbed her. She stopped and collected her thoughts. Aleksi was in front of her, trying to help.

"Angel...what's the matter?", Aleksi asked. Angel looked at Aleksi, unable to speak. Aleksi sighed. "Come on, let's go", Aleksi said. She held onto Angel's hand and walked her away from the activity. She led her down a hall and towards a door. She opened it and walked Angel inside. The room was dark until she flipped a switch. Angel looked around and figured that it was Aleksi's bedroom. It was exactly the same as Max's in design, but had different style. She bent down and looked Angel in the eyes. "Angel, listen...I know this is a lot to take in. You're only twelve, and it's understandable for someone your age to get lost in thought. Especially during these times. We understand that you may not be ready for this. But you can't be afraid", Aleksi said. Angel looked at her, somewhat insulted.

"I'm not afraid!", Angel said. This of course was a lie, and Aleksi knew this.

"This is a dangerous mission Angel. If you don't want to come", Aleksi was not able to finish because Angel cut her off.

"No! I...I am scared. I won't lie to you. The idea of me or my friends losing our lives for this...it's a lot to take in. And Team Rocket has been in my nightmares for years. But...I won't let you do this alone! I refuse to stand by and do nothing again. I've done it for far too long, and now that I have the means and capabilities to do something about it, I'm going to do what I can!", Angel said. Aleksi was slightly taken aback from Angel's sudden courage. But she smiled soon and gave Angel a pat on the back.

"_That's _what I want to hear!", Aleksi said. Angel smiled and nodded. Aleksi stood up and opened the door. "Now then, why don't you have Brock or one of Prof. Oak's aids come and check on Ledyba. After that I would grab any gear you can and get something to eat". Angel nodded. She then ran out the door, no longer scared. Aleksi smiled. She then looked down at her wardrobe. "Hmm, guess I should change". Aleksi walked over to her dresser and opened it up. She pulled out a tank top similar to the one she had on, but it was pink. She pulled off her jacket and took off her boots. But before she could change, she heard something, a whistle.

"Oh baby!", someone said. Aleksi immediately turned around and saw Milo standing at the doorway. Aleksi had forgotten to close it after Angel left. "Oh, don't mind me, you can change if you want", Milo said with a cheeky grin. He stepped into the room as Aleksi stomped towards him.

"Listen you!", Aleksi said. Milo held his hands up in defense.

"Woah woah! Listen, it's not my fault you kept the door open, I'm just enjoying the view man! And may I say, what a view it is!", Milo said. Aleksi was just about to beat the pulp out of Milo but then she glanced over Milo's side and noticed Evan standing at the door. A lit cigarette was in his mouth as usual. He also had a grin, but his grin was directed towards Milo. Aleksi smiled. She knew what he was waiting for. Aleksi then leaned forward towards Milo, making a point of pushing her chest out towards him.

"So, you like what you see?", Aleksi asked. Milo was at first slightly shocked over Aleksi's sudden personality change, but didn't mind it in the least. He grinned.

"Yeah baby. You're lookin _good_", Milo said. Aleksi gave Milo a seductive smile.

"Good. I always try to. Now, what about by backside?", Aleksi asked. She slowly turned around and showed Milo her back, making sure this time that her butt was extended. The tight jeans however did most of the work for her. Milo was one step from giving her a slap on the behind before suddenly, she jumped in the air and spun around. She kicked Milo in the head and the impact caused him to turn around entirely. He kept his goofy grin on his face as he collapsed onto the floor. Evan looked at Milo on the ground and then at Aleksi. He clapped.

"That...was...amazing", Evan said. Aleksi smiled and took a bow.

"Thank you, thank you. I try my best to please the crowds", Aleksi said. Evan walked into the room and bent down. He lifted Milo up, swinging one of his arms around his shoulders and lifting him by his belt.

"Come on you, let's get you back to the Garage, you can use the sleep anyway", Evan said. Milo mumbled, still out of it from the kick. He looked at Aleksi with a smile.

"Sorry that you have to put up with this", Evan said. Aleksi shrugged.

"It's alright, he's not a threat. Just a pervert", Aleksi said. She then leaned over and before he knew what happened, Aleksi pulled the cigarette out of his mouth. "Oh, and there's no smoking in my room". She flicked the cigarette all the way past Evan and out into the hall. Evan couldn't help but grin.

"I'll be sure and remember that", Evan said. He then turned around and walked towards the door, carrying Milo with him. Before he left however, he turned around partially to see Aleksi. "For what it's worth Aleksi...you really do look good". Saying this left Aleksi speechless. Evan smiled and left the room, kicking the door closed as he left. Aleksi remained still, Evan's words still going through her head. She blushed at the thought of him saying that. She shook out of it and went back to changing, smiling the entire time. During this, Max had just finished showing May everything he had worked on. They left the lab, Gary right behind them.

"So what do you think?", Max asked May. She smiled.

"I'm impressed Max! It's good to know that you're doing your part in helping out!", May said. Max seemed to be excited over May liking his work. Gary sighed.

"If only you were this enthusiastic over working when she wasn't here", Gary said. May and Max both laughed.

"There you are!", someone called out. May, Max, and Gary looked over to their right and noticed Dawn and Drew walking towards them. In their hands were backpacks and different items. "We wondered where you went to", Dawn said.

"Max was showing me his analysis work", May said. Drew stepped towards her.

"Well me and Dawn got stuff ready for you all, here", Drew said, handing May a backpack. She took it and nodded. Dawn handed Max a container. He didn't open it because he knew what was inside of it. A mic set for communication. Max sighed.

"I wish I was going with you guys on New Island", Max said. May shook her head.

"No, it's too dangerous", May said. Dawn nodded.

"Don't worry Max, you're still helping out, and you'll get time for action later!", Dawn said with a positive smile. Gary scoffed.

"Not for nothing, but we're not exactly out of the line of fire at Cinnabar either. That island is watched over just as much as the Orange Archipelago, and we'll have a lot less defense", Gary said. Drew then reached into his bag and pulled out a pistol. This was a relatively large revolver with a silver colored metal nozzleand a light colored wooden handle. He handed it to Gary.

"That's why you're getting this", Drew said. Gary looked at the gun, and then placed it in his waist.

"Hopefully I can just stick with the Pokemon", Gary said. Dawn nodded.

"Me too. Weapons scare me. I miss the good old days when I was more worried over what to wear in a Pokemon contest and what attacks to use. Now I'm worried over dying or getting captured by grunt", Dawn said. She sighed. "The sooner we take down Team Rocket the better".

"Agreed, let's get it right the first time then", May said. "I've been waiting for peace for too long. I've sacrificed more than I can bare and I miss traveling and coordinating. No one should have to go through what we have". Everyone nodded. Suddenly, someone ran towards them. They turned around to see Angel approaching. She looked like she was in a hurry.

"Guys! Tracy made contact!", Angel said. The others gasped.

"What?", Dawn said.

"Already?", Max stated. Gary became agitated.

"We barely had enough time to prepare! I doubt anyone's completely ready!", Gary said.

"He's on the big computer screen in the main room. Let's go!", Angel said. The others nodded and they ran off towards the main room. It only took them a minute or two to arrive. Ash was already there, talking to Tracy on the screen. He looked much like he did last time, cautiously looking over his shoulders to see if anyone could see him.

"I made it to New Island. I was able to hide out in the vacant tourist buildings. Pretty much everything not Rocket connected is shut down. I'm currently in the closed Pokemon Center. For some reason, they have very little security in his area. I think it's because they focus it at the array. I'll stay here until you're all set at Cinnabar", Tracy said. Ash nodded.

"Alright, good. How's it look there?", Ash asked. Tracy looked away from his wrist watch and looked what what Angel presumed was a window.

"It's quiet. I don't think that they are expecting anything. Obviously surveillance hasn't listened in on us", Tracy said. "It's still not gonna be easy regardless. How many people are coming?", Tracy asked.

"Good question. I have sixteen prepared and another ten or fifteen getting ready", Ash said. Tracy nodded.

"And with me that includes about thirty. It's small but it may work. I overheard a conversation earlier. Night vessels begin patrol around seven at night and end around nine in the morning", Tracy said.

"Ok, we'll at least be at Cinnabar by then. I'm hoping to have the three boats out in the water and on the way just before the sun rises. By the time we're within distance the night vessels should be gone", Ash explained. Tracy nodded.

"Got it, ok, I have to go, any longer and they may be able to trace this call back. See you soon!", Tracy said. Ash nodded. Tracy's screen then went off. Ash turned around and saw Angel and the gang.

"Shoot. I was hoping it would take longer for him to respond. We only have a few hours then to get ready. It's already sunset", Ash said. "May, can you, Drew, Max, and Dawn go and tell the others?". May nodded.

"You got it, consider it done", May said. She and the others then ran off in different directions.

"Gary, I'm thinking that Prof. Oak and mom are gonna want to talk to us before we leave", Ash said. Gary nodded with a hint of seriousness. Angel looked at the two. They knew that this could very well be the last time they see their family alive again. This only made Angel more nervous, but she remembered what Aleksi had told her.

"Shall we go and get them then?", Gary asked.

"Don't bother, we're already here", someone said. Ash, Gary, and Angel turned to see Prof. Oak and Delia standing by the entrance to the base. Prof. Oak looked at them with a serious expression, while Delia's was more of worry. The young boys walked over to them.

"Sorry Gramps, but we have to do this", Gary said. Prof. Oak nodded.

"I understand. As much as I hate what's going on, I know that it's for the greater good. You just be careful now. I don't want to have to tell May that her only brother died by the hands of Team Rocket", Prof. Oak said. Gary nodded.

"Right, I understand", Gary said. Gary then gave Prof. Oak a hug. Ash and Delia on the other hand had a more personal discussion. Ash was very worried over talking to his mom because he knew that she would get emotional. He looked at her.

"Mom...listen, I", Ash said. Delia shook her head.

"No, you don't need to explain. Go, do what you have to do", Delia said. Ash seemed slightly stumped.

"What?", Ash asked.

"After your little stunt at Shamouti Island and then again at Greenfield with the Unknown, I've grown used to you and getting yourself into dangerous situations. The less I think about it, the better I'll feel", Delia said. Ash nodded. He understood that he put her through a lot of stress; constantly worrying about her only child. Delia then gave Ash a hug. "Just promise me that you'll return safely with all your friends, ok?". Ash nodded.

"Ok mom, I promise", Ash said. He hugged his mom back. Angel smiled. But watching Gary and Ash say goodbye to their family made her miss hers even more. She turned around and sniffled a little, a few tears escaping. Suddenly, she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned her head around to see the hand belonging to Delia. Prof. Oak was also standing over her. She quickly wiped away the tears and turned around.

"Don't you worry dearie, you'll get your family back sooner than you think", Delia said with a smile. Angel looked at her for a moment, but soon nodded and smiled back.

"And listen. I don't like the idea of someone your age doing something this dangerous, and I know that deep down you feel the same way about it. But just remember, if your life or the life of someone you love is in danger, it may have to result in violence", Prof. Oak said. Angel nodded.

"I understand", Angel said.

"Good, now go, all of you. get ready and help bring down Team Rocket. We'll watch over the base from here until you get back", Prof. Oak stated.

"All of you, be careful, and come back safe and sound", Delia threw in. Ash, Gary, and Angel nodded.

"Promise", the three said with a smile. Although, even they knew that this was a promise that they may not be able to keep.

**This looks like a good spot to end it. Now I'm sure that this seemed a bit rushed to you, well...it was. But I have some things I need to do and so I needed to get this chapter done with! I'm sure that there's a lot of questions you may have, so feel free to ask. I have a suspicious feeling that I may of screwed up in explaining the plan. You see, the majority of that section deleted on me after I finished typing it, so I had to go back and re-type it. So I may have forgotten to mention someone or something in it. So my apologies. Anyway, I hope you enjoy it, have a Happy St. Patrick's Day, (probably my favorite small holiday), beware the Ides of March, and please pray for Japan in their time of need. I'll update again hopefully by the end of this week, no promises though. Until then, this is EVAN AAML, signing off!**

**sincerely,  
evan, a fan of aaml -EVAN AAML**


	10. Chapter 10

**I think it's gonna be hard for me to type this since I am currently watching "Mama Mia" while working on it. I have to say, it's my favorite musical. I've always been a fan of the arts, and it shows, hahaha. Anyway, Mama Mia regardless, I do have a question for you all. Do you receive responses from me when you send me messages or reviews? I am not sure if you do or not. Some people have asked me questions and I was just not sure if you got them or not. Also, great news, I received contact from my friend in Japan. He lives right by where the epicenter of the earthquake was, so it's a shock that him and his family are alright! He is still uncertain of his friends, so I am praying for him. Anywho, let's get started with the 10th chapter! (which may I say, after it's done, will officially be my longest story by number of words!)...Mama Mia, here we go again...**

**-EVAN AAML**

She lied in bed, not moving an inch. The room was silent and still. Even her breathing was barely recognizable by sound. She had been there for a couple hours now and so far she didn't get a wink of sleep. Her heartbeat was to high and her stress levels even higher. Sleep was the last thing on her mind, even though it was the first for some others. After saying goodbye to Delia and Prof. Oak, Ash had told Angel to try to get some sleep before they left. He said that he would take care of her packing for her and that she should rest.

Yeah, because that was going to happen.

She looked around the room for the first time since she layed down. The whole time her eyes were fixated onto the ceiling. Her necklace containing Ledyba remained on a bedside table next to her. She didn't even bother to take off her clothes or even her boots, she knew she wouldn't need to. She stayed in Aleksi's room for the time being, Aleksi said that she wasn't going to need it since she needed to prepare. In fact, the only people she knew were actually _trying _to get some sleep were Max, Michael and apparently Milo, who didn't look so hot when she last saw him. Evan said it was just "the usual with him".

Too many questions ran through her head. When would they leave? How will the mission turn out? Who will live and who will die? Will they get captured?

Will she see her parents again?

She knew that thinking of all of this would only impair her judgment and skills on the mission, but she couldn't help herself. Just two days ago she was hiding in the woods, simply thinking about where to go next where she wouldn't be seen. Now, she's thinking about the possible salvation or destruction of the known world. Funny how things turn out. But it was what it was, she shouldn't be thinking about it. She sat up and lifted her necklace off from the table. She looked at the Pokeball. She at least hoped that if something should happen to her, they would save Ledyba. She was the only other physical family she had. She placed it over her head and hid it under her sundress. She then looked at the table. There was a drawer that was slightly ajar. As usual, curiosity got the better of her. She flipped on the light to the lamp on the table and opened the drawer. Inside was only a book. It was a very dark green with felt covering. It also had gold lettering.

"Holy Bible"

She never took Aleksi for the religious type, but then again, she recalled Aleksi saying that to Evan before. I suppose it _was _true that during these times having a little faith helped. She lifted the book from the drawer and placed it in her lap. She felt it odd that the book was so neat. It was clearly old, but it looked like Aleksi had never even read it in her life. The sides of the pages were still crisp and unbent. The binding was strong, and even the felt was perfectly preserved. Angel opened it up and immediately it showed a page with a photograph in it. It was used as a bookmark she guessed. Angel lifted the picture from the book and noticed that one of the proverbs in the book was highlighted in yellow. She read it aloud.

"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. John: fourteen twenty seven", Angel said to herself. She then looked at the picture she had removed from the bible. It was a picture of Aleksi with a older man. She was possibly a few years younger then she was now. The man was probably in his late thirties. He had a big moustache and beard and a bulky body. He wore a black fedora hat and a brown leather jacket with dark blue jeans and boots. They were both smiling in the picture, posing over a fence in a field. Angel immediately noticed that the man had the same eye color and sincere smile as Aleksi. This could very well have been Aleksi's father.

Was he dead like so many other parents, or possibly captured like hers? She wasn't sure. Brock and Gary said that she was the first non original to join them, so this picture must of been taken after she joined. Perhaps only a couple years ago. Something must of happened. She placed the photo back into the book and placed it into the drawer, making sure to leave it exactly the way it was when she found it. Just before she was about to turn off the light, the door to the bedroom slowly creaked open. She first at the sliver of light coming in from the hall and then at the face that popped out from behind the door. It was Aleksi.

"Hey, get any sleep?", Aleksi asked.

"Yeah, I just woke up", Angel lied.

"Good. We're getting ready to leave soon. You best get moving", Aleksi said. Angel's heart skipped a few beats. It was time. She stood up, turned off the light, and slowly walked to Aleksi. She had opened the door for her and stood to the side. After Angel walked out of her room, she closed it behind her. "We're all set and ready to go. We're to meet up in the Garage. But first things first, you need your gear", Aleksi said. Angel nodded.

"Ash said he was going to get it ready for me", Angel said. Aleksi nodded.

"And that he did. He gave it to Evan, let's go find him so that he can give it to you. He said he would be waiting for us outside the Garage", Aleksi explained. And so the two girls began their long walk to the Garage. Aleksi's room was in a separate sleeping quarters from that of Max's. It was on the other side of the base. There were apparently three in total, hers being the farthest away from the main rooms. As they walked, Angel thought back to the photograph in the bible. She figured that it was unopened because it was a gift her father gave to her. There must be some reason why she never read it. Angel wanted to ask Aleksi about it, but decided to make it slightly more subtle.

"So I'm gonna be with my family soon!", Angel said, trying to make her personality more of excitement rather than curiosity. Aleksi smiled and nodded.

"Yep, and then you'll be safe and have the freedom to do what your heart desires", Aleksi said. Angel nodded.

"Right...what about you?", Angel asked.

"Hmm?", Aleksi responded.

"What will you do when all of this is over?", Angel asked. Aleksi thought for a moment.

"Not sure. Haven't really thought much about it", Aleksi said.

"Well...do you have family to go back to?", Angel asked. This struck a cord with Aleksi. She did not stop walking, but she could tell that this wasn't going to be easy to answer.

"Not exactly. My mom died years ago from a sickness, and I don't have any siblings", Aleksi said. Angel noticed that she left her father out. She wasn't going to leave it at that.

"What about your dad?", Angel asked.

"My dad...he's gone", Aleksi answered. Angel nodded in understanding, although she honestly did not know what she meant by that. She couldn't tell if she meant that he was deceased, or something else. Maybe they weren't on talking terms? If that were the case she felt it was best not to pry her of the information, it was more than likely personal. After a little while longer, they reached a hall where Evan was standing, waiting for them. He leaned against the wall, looking at them with a smile on his face. Angel could see that he was standing outside the short hall that led to the Garage. A cigarette was in his mouth again. He dug into his pocket and pulled out a square metal object. He flipped the top open, revealing a lighter. He pressed down on a circular wheel and it caused a flame to spark. He lit the cigarette just as the girls approached him.

"You know that if Team Rocket doesn't kill you your smoking will", Aleksi said a tad bit annoyed. Evan smiled, a small trail of smoke leaving his mouth and cigarette and floating into the air.

"I'll keep that in mind", Evan replied. Angel looked at the lighter in Evan's hand. Evan noticed this and showed it to her better. It was silver with a gold emblem on it. Oddly enough, it was the planet Earth. "Little keepsake. About a month after I escaped from Team Rocket, after they killed my dad, I was hiding out in Vermilion. Well, not exactly Vermilion, it was a small patch of forest outside of it, near the Diglett Cave. I noticed a Rocket messing with some people. He was a higher level grunt, although it wasn't till later that I found out he was actually a few steps away from being a leader Rocket with his own grunts to control. Anyway, he was threatening these people, and I wasn't about to let that happen. So I fought him off with my Pokemon and scared him away. He ended up dropping this lighter and I added the emblem afterwards", Evan explained.

"Why did you put Earth on it?", Angel asked.

"Well, I'm actually a really naturalist. Hence the interest in Pokemon Biology. And what better way to show it than the planet Earth?", Evan asked. Angel shrugged, not sure of what else to think of.

"How ironic, you talk about loving life in nature when you show your love of it on something related to death", Aleksi said. Evan chuckled.

"Yeah, I guess so. Now then, let's get your gear huh?", Evan said. He bent down and lifted up a backpack that Angel had not noticed previously. He opened it up and looked in it. "Aright, let's start with this". He pulled out a pistol. It looked exactly like the Beretta she had used in practice the other day. "You're good at using this now, but hopefully you won't have to", Evan said. Angel nodded and he handed it to her. She put the safety on and held onto it.

"How do I carry it around? I don't have pockets and I'm not exactly wearing a belt under this dress", Angel said. Evan reached into the bag.

"That's why you have this", Evan said. He pulled out a small, light brown colored belt. Attached to it was a holster. He handed it to Aleksi and she placed it around Angel's waist for her. After she had finished Angel slipped the gun into the holster. Evan continued to look through the bag. "Sometimes you won't be able to use your gun or Pokemon, so Ash gave you this too". He pulled out a switch blade. He flipped it open and revealed it to her. It was relatively long for a knife of its size. Angel took it and placed that on the belt as well, connected to a clasp. "Everything else in here is mostly minor medical stuff, some rope, and other basic utensils", Evan said. He handed the backpack to Angel and she placed it around her arms.

"Ok, I'm all set!", Angel said. Evan thought for a moment.

"Hmm...no, not quite yet. Ledyba is your only Pokemon right?", Evan asked. Angel nodded.

"Yes. Do I need to borrow some?", Angel asked. Evan nodded.

"Yeah, I think so. Here", Evan said. He lifted his white un-buttoned shirt slightly to grab a Pokeball that was connected to his belt. He handed it to Angel. "This will come in handy when you're on the boat. He's one of my best friends and has helped me on more than one occasion. It's a water Pokemon, so only use it if you're on the open seas", Evan explained. Angel nodded. She connected the Pokeball to the belt and nodded. "Ledyba should be enough for you in the base, but should you find yourself in need of another Pokemon, just ask one of the other members".

"Alright, I will. Thank you Evan", Angel said. Evan nodded.

"No problem. I won't really be needing him anyway since I'm stuck with security on the Cinnabar boat. I wish I could be out there, helping you both", Evan said, looking at Angel, and then at Aleksi. Aleksi shook her head.

"No, don't worry about it. We'll both me fine. If you were there it would only be one more person I'd worry about", Aleksi said. She immediately regretted saying that. She covered her mouth and blushed immensely. Angel giggled as Evan leaned in closer to her, with a smirk on his face.

"What was that? I didn't quite get it the first time, did you say that you would be worried about me?", Evan asked. Aleksi shook her head no, all while keeping her mouth covered. "Really, hmm, I may need a second opinion here. Angel, did you hear what I just heard?". Angel giggled more and nodded.

"Yep, that's what it sounded like to me", Angel said. Her and Evan leaned in closer to Aleksi.

"Well?...", Evan asked. Aleksi released her mouth.

"NOTHING! Let's get going alright!", Aleksi said. She then grabbed Angel and shoved Evan down the hall and into the Garage. Once inside, Angel looked around. There were two large pick-up trucks and a large van parked in front of three of the Garage doors. Connected to all three of these vehicles were lifts that held the three boats. One was a bright Cerulean blue with a large sail that was lowered. It was large enough to hold probably a good dozen or more people. Angel only presumed it was the one from the Cerulean gym. The two next to it looked similar to each other. They looked more like large fishing vessels. These must have been Gary and Prof. Oak's research boats. They had more room inside of the boat but less deck space than the sailboat. The Garage was filled with different people as well. Angel recognized most of them, but there were also a good number of people that she did not know. She stood there by Aleksi and Evan, unsure of what to do. As she looked around, she noticed Ash talking to Milo and two other people she did not know. Ash turned and saw her. Once he did, he said goodbye to the others and approached her.

"So, get enough sleep?", Ash asked. Angel nodded.

"Sure", Angel said. Ash shook his head; she knew that he knew the truth.

"Ok then. Here's what's going on. You're going to drive with Milo in one of the pick up trucks. You'll be with Brian and Jonny as well. We'll fit as many people as we can into the vehicles and everyone else is gonna hide in the boats. We'll drive to the ocean and the put the boats in. I'll have you go into Misty's boat. It's the large blue sailboat. It will have the majority of the people on it. Misty will be in charge there. Ok?", Ash asked. Angel nodded approvingly.

"No problem!", Angel said. Ash nodded back with a smile.

"Ok good. Now we better get going. Everyone else is here and the sooner we leave the better", Ash said, directing it more to Aleksi and Evan. They nodded. Evan ran into the diver's seat of one of the pick up trucks while Aleksi slid into Misty's boat. Angel walked over to the first pick up truck with Ash. He opened the truck door and she hopped in. Jonny was already in the back seat. He smiled at Angel.

"Why hello there, so you're gonna be my buddy?", Jonny asked jokingly. Angel nodded.

"Yep, you're not gonna get shocked this time are you?", Angel asked. Jonny laughed out loud.

"I certainly hope not. Seviper won't want to help me up twice", Jonny said. Angel placed her seat belt on and prepared for the journey. After a minute or two the second door opened on the other side and Brian stepped into the passenger seat. He buckled up and then looked back at Angel and Jonny.

"So you both ready for some Team Rocket butt kicking!", Brian asked. Angel and Jonny put their fists in the air.

"YEAH!", they both said back. Brian chuckled. Jonny then leaned forward.

"So Brian, tell me, what exactly do you have in store for the array?", Jonny asked. Brian smiled.

"Oh, I whipped up a little something special. It's so far the second biggest bomb I've ever made!", Brian said.

"Wait...only the second?", Jonny said.

"Yeah...well, the first one was actually...sort of a...mistake. I was practicing with some different powders and...well _anyway_, how's it going Angel?", Brian asked, changing the subject. Angel giggled.

"It's going fine Brian, thank you", Angel said. Suddenly, Milo hopped into the driver's seat and closed the door. He buckled up with a large grin.

"Oh baby, I can't wait to take this little beauty for a spin!", Milo said.

"What's you do to it?", Brian asked. Milo grinned even more.

"I placed a brand spankin new engine in it, giving it four hundred Rapidash power and five hundred power in torque. This baby's gonna be SICK!", Milo explained. He rubbed the dashboard on the truck. "Come on man, don't disappoint". Brian, Jonny, and Angel sweatdropped. Milo then sat up and pressed a button that was on the key chain. All the Garage doors opened at once, even the ones that didn't have a car in front of them. "Ok, we're gonna get going. Brian, there's a taser in your door compartment. Use it in case we get stopped alright?". Brian nodded, looking into the compartment. It was a gun style taser that was black and yellow.

"That will be fun to use", Brian said.

"And it will be quiet as well. A gun or Pokemon would draw too much attention", Milo said. Brian nodded. "Hey Jonny, you got the walkie?". Jonny nodded He pulled a walkie talkie off from his belt and handed it to Milo. He took it and held onto a button. "Ok, I'm on line one, Evan, you're line two, Brock you're three. You read me loud and clear?", Milo asked. He then released the button he was holding.

"Yep, read you loud and clear", Brock said on the walkie.

"Me too. Can we hurry up with this, I get car sick you know", Evan responded.

"Fine fine, let's get going. I'll go first, Evan, you follow after me. Brock you get the tail end", Milo said. He then put the walkie down and put the car into drive. After he did he pressed on the gas slowly and the truck began to move. Soon, they were out of the Garage and onto the road. Angel looked out into the darkness. The garage was actually hidden in the woods not to far from the lab. It wasn't hidden like the base itself was, but at least out of the way for the Rockets to notice. It lead to a path that wrapped around the lab and onto a road leading out of town. Milo drove the truck easily down the road, with Evan and Brock following in their vehicles. Angel looked back and could tell that everyone hiding in the boat were gonna make sure that they weren't going to be spotted.

"Don't worry about them", Jonny said. Angel turned her head to look at Jonny, who kept his eyes on the road ahead. "They'll be fine. They're hiding in the lower decks and wheel house. They won't be seen unless a Rocket were to go inside of the boat. And we're not gonna let that happen". Angel nodded. She turned and faced the road once more.

"So how long will it take to reach the sea?", Brian asked, relaxing in his seat the best he could.

"Got me. I don't know my way around Kanto that well. I barely know Pallet Town. Ash just said that this is the only road that leads to it, no turns or anything. So we'll get there when we get there", Milo said.

"Think we'll run into trouble?", Jonny asked. Milo shrugged.

"I wouldn't think there'd be a check point ahead. But who knows? My guess is if we _do _run into Team Rocket it would only be a night patrol car. That would have what, four people at the most?", Milo guessed.

"Yeah that sounds about right", Jonny replied.

"So it won't be a problem. What will be a problem will be them raising an alarm before we can stop them. Then we'd have to get moving, get the boats in, and destroy the cars. Leaving no evidence", Milo said. Angel grew worried. She didn't know of any locations ahead that grunts would keep secure, but she also didn't know this area too well. She was only here for a couple of days before Ash saved her, not long enough to map out the area. And if there was a check point, then would they be able to go through without raising suspicion? Not likely. Suddenly, Angel began to think. She knew that this mission was dangerous, but everyone had simply said that she didn't have to worry about it. No one would level with her. She wasn't sure if it was because of her age or because she was new, but she wanted to know.

"Hey guys...I have a question", Angel said.

"Alright, shoot", Brian replied. There was a moment's pause.

"...how many of us are going to die doing this?", Angel asked. The car was silent once again. No one was exactly sure how to answer this question. They didn't want to actually tell her the truth, but they felt that there was a good chance that Angel could tell when they were lying.

"What do you mean? No one's gonna die today!", Brian said. Angel shook her head.

"I want the truth! No one's been leveling with me, I want to know!...I need to know", Angel demanded. Brian and Milo looked at each other, unsure of how to respond. Jonny felt just as helpless, but finally gave in.

"The truth...the truth is, there's a good chance that people are going to die", Jonny said with a sigh. Angel looked at him. "We obviously don't know who will, and we all hope that it won't happen, but considering the dangers of this mission and how important it is...yeah, I'd say that some people won't be coming home after this one". Angel was not exactly happy to hear this, but was thankful that someone told her the truth.

"Alright...thank you", Angel said. Jonny looked at her and nodded.

"No problem", Jonny replied. Milo continued to drive along the road without any problems. Occasionally the four in the truck made some discussion over one thing or another. They all tried to lift the mood, even though they knew it wasn't going to last. Pretty soon, they were arriving at a forest. It was much darker here and Milo had to put his high beams on just to see well.

"Man, this is some spooky shit", Milo said. He then paused for a moment and looked back at Angel. "Sorry bout that". Angel shook her head.

"Whatever", Angel said. Brian laughed.

"Anyway, I guess we're getting closer to the ocean", Milo said.

"Oh really? I thought we were driving away from it", Jonny joked. Milo sarcastically laughed.

"Oh ha ha...wait, what's that up ahead?", Milo asked. The four of them looked ahead of them and could see bright white lights directed at them. They were a few feet apart and at the same level.

"A car's coming", Brian said.

"Do you think it's just someone passing by?", Angel asked.

"We'll find out soon enough", Jonny replied. They drove towards the upcoming vehicle casually, not trying to swerve away or speed past them. As it got closer, they could see that the vehicle was a large black Jeep. Suddenly, the Jeep stopped and the driver door opened. Milo slowed the car down so that he could better see what was going on. The truck's high beams managed to hit the person who had left the Jeep. He carried with him a flashlight that he waved towards the truck. He was a taller man with a clean shaven face and dark brown eyes. He wore all black, from his long sleeve shirt to his pants to his hat and boots. There was also a splash of red on his shirt.

A Rocket grunt.

"Uh oh, looks like we have trouble! Hide any gear you guys got, I'm stopping", Milo said to the others. Jonny hid a gun he had on his belt and looked directly at the approaching Rocket. Milo slowly stopped the truck. Angel turned around and noticed that Aleksi had poked her head out from the boat; knowing that the truck had stopped moving. She looked as if she was relieved that they had made it to the ocean. Aleksi then made eye contact with Angel from the back window. Angel shook her head and told her to get down. Aleksi's face changed to that of concern and she nodded. She then ducked back down into the boat. Angel then turned to see that the Rocket was now closer, only a few feet away from the door. She also saw that another Rocket had come out of the Jeep and was now going around to the passenger seat. He looked very similar to the first Rocket, only slightly shorter. Milo rolled down the window.

"Where are you all heading?", the Rocket by Milo asked. Brian leaned over towards the window with a smile.

"Fishing trip, gotta get out early if you wanna catch anything! Me and my brother back there are taking my friend here and my little cousin", Brian explained. The Rocket pointed his flashlight at Brian, without any emotion.

"Did I ask you?", the Rocket asked. Brian's smile disappeared. He shook his head. "Alright, sit down and shut up". The second Rocket had arrived and clanked on Brian's window, he rolled it down. The first Rocket pointed his flashlight back at Angel and Jonny. "So...fishing trip?". Jonny and Angel nodded.

"Yeah...I never have been fishing before, and they wanted to take me", Angel said. The second Rocket flashed his light down the road and looked at Evan and Brock's vehicles.

"And what are they doing? Fishing as well?", the second Rocket asked. Jonny shrugged.

"Well it IS Seaking season", Jonny said. Both Rockets looked at them and then at each other. They nodded.

"Ok, let me see your I.D...NOW!", the first Rocket said. The second Rocket put his hand on his belt, over a small uzi. Milo looked slightly nervous but nodded.

"Alright man, just a sec...", Milo said. He then began to reach down to the door compartment. He looked frustrated. "Ah shoot, can't reach it, but it's right there, see?". The first Rocket leaned into the window to look with down the flashlight. Suddenly, Milo rolled the window up at top speed. The Rocket tried to pull his head out, but quickly got stuck. His neck was being squeezed by the window. His face turned red as he tried to get out, but to no avail. Brian quickly grabbed the taser in his door compartment and aimed it at the second Rocket. He backed up one step and tried to pull out his gun, but Brian fired. Two wires shot out and stuck to the Rocket's chest. He twitched violently and then fell to the ground, unable to move. Milo swung his arm back and then punched the trapped Rocket dead in the face. The Rocket was knocked out cold. Milo rolled down his window and he fell to the ground. Milo and Brian then quickly stepped out of the car and began to drag the incapacitated grunts.

"We gotta hide them and fast!", Brian said. They dragged them over to their Jeep and opened the doors. Brian pulled out a small gun and aimed it at the back windows, looking to see if anyone else was inside. When he saw that no one else was present, he put his gun away and began to drag the tased Rocket into the open Jeep door. Him and Milo propped them up in the Jeep and gagged them. They also tied their hands together with rope found in the back of the Jeep. Milo reached into the driver's seat and put the Jeep in Neutral. Afterwards, he and Brian ran to the back of the Jeep and pushed with all of their might. The Jeep slowly rolled out of the road and into the forest. Milo and Brian then rushed out and back into the trucks. They slammed the doors shut and Milo put the car in drive.

"We're no longer safe. I don't think they called for back up but we can't take that chance, let's get moving!", Milo said. He then drove down the road, faster than before. The other vehicles followed closely by, going just as fast.

"Do you think they'll get spotted?", Angel asked worried.

"Most likely, but hopefully not for at least a few hours. By then we'll be at Cinnabar", Milo said.

"Hopefully they don't call in the troops. If they think we're the PTA then we're screwed. They'll bring in everything they've got", Brian said.

"Fuck! This isn't good!", Jonny said worried. Just then, the forest cleared and Milo could see the ocean up ahead.

"Bingo! We're here! Alright, let's get moving and into the water. As soon as we're in open seas we'll have some distance!", Milo said. He revved the engine and the truck moved faster down the road. Within no time, they arrived. It was a small section of beach, but big enough to allow boats to come in and out without a problem. They drove onto a concrete section that was made purposely for towing boats in and out of the water. Milo pulled around the tow zone and then faced the road they had just driven down. As he began to reverse the boat into the water with hast, Evan and Brock pulled up. Evan rolled down his window.

"What the hell! We got spotted?", Evan asked.

"Yeah, we gotta get these in the water asap!", Milo said. Evan grew frustrated and began to back the truck up just as Milo did previously. Brock did the same. Within about ten minutes, all three vehicles were backing the boats into the depth of the water. Angel and Jonny opened their doors and ran out of the truck, Brian did the same.

"We have to hop into the boat, Milo, Evan, and Brock have to hide the vehicles", Brian explained. They then ran to the boat and tried to climb up it. Brian managed to pull himself up as Michael helped up Jonny and Aleksi helped up Angel. Everyone else began to do the same, jumping into the boats just before they were disconnected to the lifts. As soon as everyone was in, the lifts were disconnected and the boys drove the vehicles off the concrete and through the sand. Angel watched as the three vanished from sight. She began to worry, thinking that they may have gotten stuck, lost, or even captured. If they took to long, they'd have to leave without them. Her blood was pumping and she could barely stand still. Her adrenaline had taken over her since the Rockets saw them and now she was finding it hard to think logically.

"Come on, hurry hurry hurry!", Angel said to herself. As if they had heard her, Milo, Evan, and Brock appeared out of no where and ran to the boat. Since Angel's was the closest, they ran to that one. Misty had already taken control of the driving and began to back the boat up as they got on. Aleksi, Brian, and Michael helped the three guys get on. Milo and Brock got on no problem and thanked those that help them. Evan fell and landed on the deck, gasping for breath. Aleksi sighed.

"I TOLD you to stop smoking! You can't even make a run without gasping for breath!", Aleksi said. Evan shook his head.

"It's not that", Evan said. Angel raised an eye brow in confusion.

"Then why are you breathing so heavily?", Angel asked. Evan looked up to her.

"I...get...car sick", Evan said. Aleksi and Angel looked at each other and then everyone on the boat laughed. Evan sighed.

"You know, I think it's a good thing I'm not going with you guys. I couldn't put up with you all!", Evan said with a bit of a laugh.

"Get your laughs out now", someone said. Everyone turned to see that Misty was the one that had spoken. She kept her eyes on the ocean ahead of her, steering the boat. "Because after we reach Cinnabar...everything's gonna change forever".

**GASP! DRAMA! Well, now it all begins. Their mission is going to start and now we'll see exactly what Angel is really made of. I hope you all enjoyed this little update as well as I did. Rushed? Perhaps a little bit, but I've been busy. Now then, I am not sure of when my next update will be since my classes will start up again soon. If I don't get out one this weekend then it may be awhile. "Angel is now about to face the biggest dangers of her life, will she be able to overcome her fear and get herself one step closer in finding her parents? Find out next time on EVAN AAML'S "R"!". By the way, I apologize for any and all spelling errors. I ask you, do the words "mouth" and "gun" seemed miss-spelled to you? I didn't think so, and yet apparently spell checker says they are. Oh, and the best part, only the "th" in mouth and the "un" in gun are wrong, not the entire word...yeah. **

**sincerely,  
evan, a fan of aaml -EVAN AAML**


	11. Chapter 11

**Well here I am again for an update, I hope you will all enjoy it! First off, my notes. I would first like to thank AshK for sending in his OC for the story. His OC, Ashley, will appear later on. Now then, I noticed that some people did in fact not receive replies from me if they asked questions or what not, and I have discovered why. My aol account receives reviews, but when I send the replies, it does not send them to the person, it just says it does. So if you have any questions, please send them to me in a private message. Do know though that I have read and responded to your reviews, you just never got them. Also, there is a good chance that I will be needing OCs for the upcoming battle. If you are interested, I will send you a "OC Sheet". Please note though, there are some things I will need. For one, NO UNOVA! I know absolutely nothing on the 5th generation;the people, the Pokemon, or the geography. So I will not be working with it. I gave one friend an exception and he is the only one who will get it, (mostly because I asked him to change it up a bit and he did). Also, I will need people who are willing to die. I am forever thankful for the OCs I received so far, but most wanted to live, and I will respect their decisions. If you want your OC to live as well, I suggest you don't bother sending me one. I apologize if I sound rude. I already have many minor OCs in mind for the upcoming battles. Well, now that that's off my chest, I hope you enjoy!**

**-EVAN AAML**

The water was calm and the breeze light. If it were any other day, it would be a good day to simply sit out and relax. But it wasn't an ordinary day, and something as simple as relaxing was nothing more than a dream. It seemed so real by this point that simply enjoying the weather would be impossible. Angel hung over the railing of the sailboat, overlooking the horizon. Nothing but sea for as far as she could see. Occasionally, they would pass shallow waters with coral or rocks protruding through the water; or a rare whirlpool or Pokemon swimming by. Angel watched as they passed through her line of vision and soon disappeared. Her mind was elsewhere.

"Enjoying the view?", someone asked. Angel glanced over to her left and could make out Aleksi from behind her. Angel nodded and looked back to the waters. Aleksi walked over and leaned against the rail as well. "I'm guessing that you're thinking about so much right now that you can't even appreciate what's in front of your eyes". Angel nodded.

"My parents had always wanted to take me to the ocean. Celadon wasn't to far from it considering the Cycling Road went over it. But because we only went to Celadon for work, we were always busy. Mom would talk about how we could go swimming and laying out on the sand. She even joked about burying my dad in the sand and leaving him there. And my dad always talked about going fishing and visiting Cinnabar", Angel explained. Aleksi nodded, listening closely to her story. "And now that I'm here, it makes me think of them. I never would of imagined me going to the ocean without them with me".

"I understand. My parents had always wanted to take me to see one of the Pokemon League competitions. We watched it on t.v. every year and always had favorites. Sometimes we would even have someone we know compete. I even remember seeing Ash do a few of them throughout the regions. My mom was never much for Pokemon battling, but my dad loved it. He told me how he planned on taking me to see as many as we could, and that soon enough, I myself would be holding the League trophy", Aleksi explained.

"Obviously that didn't come true", Angel said. Aleksi nodded.

"Right. Now if you're lucky enough to make it to the League it's always rigged so that a Rocket wins. The gyms are just as bad. Few people are able to win one of their battles due to the constant rules. Oh well...one more thing that will change by the end of this", Aleksi said. They both looked out to sea once more, taking in the sights. Angel looked up and saw several Wingull flying overhead. She looked at them with envy. They were so carefree, enjoying each and every day like it was their last. Always with a smile across their face, enjoying what the ocean gives to them. She used to live like that, carefree. Not anymore.

"The ocean wasn't as much fun as I had hoped", Angel said. Aleksi looked at her with pity. She knew that Angel wanted to enjoy it, but couldn't. No twelve year old should have to be put through this. She soon came up with an idea and smiled.

"Tell you what Angel. How about after all of this, I take you and your parents on a trip through the ocean around here", Aleksi said. Angel looked at her, mostly confused and curious. But Aleksi could see a slight hint of excitement in those blue eyes.

"What do you mean?", Angel asked.

"I actually grew up around the sea. I used to have a little job teaching people, mostly kids, how to sail. I even have my own small boat in hiding. I would of brought it on the mission but it's too far away right now. I know a lot about sailing and swimming, and when Team Rocket is gone, I can go back to doing it. And I would like to take you with me on a trip", Aleksi explained. Angel looked at her in anticipation. She smiled and ran into Aleksi for a hug.

"Thank you! That would be amazing!", Angel said. Aleksi was quite shocked from the sudden hug but was glad that Angel was feeling better. She looked down at the brown colored head pressed against her. She smiled and hugged her back. It was as if she suddenly found herself a younger sister. Above, the Wingull squawked happily and flew on by, towards the slowly approaching sunrise. Meanwhile, Misty was steering her boat through the water. She was used to rough waters, so being able to steer in such calm weather relaxed her a bit. Much like Aleksi, her home was the sea as well. She closed her eyes and felt the warm sea breeze hit her face, leaving a few droplets of cool water on her cheeks. She smiled. The ocean was one of her many loves.

"Speaking of loves", Misty thought to herself. She looked to her left and could see one of the two boats that was carrying members to Cinnabar. The other boat was to their right. But the one on the left was the one that got her attention. She knew that Ash was on that very same boat. Ash, the one person who could brighten her day even on the darkest of them all. The one who, despite it all, still showed as much compassion and bravery as before the takeover. Ash. She sighed slightly thinking of him. Her mind on the raven haired boy who stole her heart and soul. Misty turned around and looked over her boat and saw the people on it. Aleksi and Angel were by the side of the boat, holding their arms out and pretending they were flying. This made Misty giggle, it was a cute sight. She then glanced over towards the middle of the boat. She saw Evan, Milo, Brock, and several other people playing Poker on one of the closed compartments leading to below the deck. But Misty caught several occasions within a few minutes where Evan would glance over to Aleksi. She even caught a glimmer of a smile once in awhile.

On the other side of the boat, sitting on a bench alongside starboard were Sawyer and Nick. They were talking and laughing together, over what though Misty wasn't sure. They smiled at each other often, and at one point, Misty noticed Nick touching Sawyer's hand. She took his hand in hers and smiled at Nick. Misty sighed. She looked away from the cute couples and looked over to the other boat to her right. She knew that on there, May and Drew were probably doing something similar to Sawyer and Nick. It seemed as if everyone had someone to love and be loved by, except her. She looked back over to Ash's boat, thinking of what could be.

"Misty?", someone asked. Misty quickly snapped out of her trance and turned around. She noticed Emily standing next to her, a slight look of worry on her face. In her hands was Shinx, who seemed to be sleeping. "Are you alright?", Emily asked. Misty shook her head slightly, trying to get Ash and everything else out of her head. She then looked over to Emily.

"Yeah, I'm fine, what is it?", Misty asked. Emily could tell that Misty wasn't exactly fine. She felt bad for taking her mind off of things, but she needed to speak with her. She pulled out a Pokenav from her belt and showed it to Misty. It reminded Misty of Max's red one, only this one was orange.

"I received contact from Ash. We're gonna be arriving soon. He said that we have to go around the island and stop near Blaine's ship. Then we'll drop of Ash and the other guys and make our way to New Island", Emily said. Misty nodded.

"Ok, got it. Thank you Emily", Misty said. Emily nodded. She placed her Pokenav back and walked away from Misty. Misty then went back to steering her sailboat, directing it towards a small speck of land growing in size as they closed in on it. Although she knew what she was doing, her mind still occasionally drifted back to their fearless leader, her best friend, and her one true love. It had only taken about another ten to fifteen minutes before they arrived at Cinnabar. The island was large, but it did not take long to drive around it by boat. From the water they could make out several buildings, some large, some not. It looked peaceful, but everyone knew that it was heavily watched over by Team Rocket. Ash made sure that everyone kept their distance from it. They went around the public area of the island and began to drive around the volcano. On this side, there were no buildings at all, and it was much more isolated. After about five more minutes of searching, they found what they were looking for.

It was a large boat anchored away from land. The boat was actually more like a ship in size, but seemed bare of the typical ship parts. It was actually a sail boat much like Misty's, but it was more modern. It had a spinning radar on top and nicely decorated sides. Slowly, they approached this vessel. Ash's boat was the first to arrive to it. From a couple hundred feet away, Misty could make out the body of who she presumed was Ash jumping from his boat to this one. She looked around on it and then waved over the other two boats. Using minimal motor power, Misty steered the boat to the side of Blaine's. When it was close enough, Misty cut the power and the boat settled near Blaine's. Brian threw over a rope to Ash and they connected the boats together. Milo and Evan then stood up from their game.

"Well, it's been real, but now we've gotta leave", Milo said, stretching out and getting ready. He picked up his backpack and tossed it over to the other boat. He then stood on the railing of Misty's sailboat. But before he hoped over, he turned and looked at everyone else. "Now don't go missing me too much alright?". Most everyone sighed in annoyance. Milo sweatdropped. "Geez man, no respect!". Milo then hopped over to the other boat. Evan approached the rail next. He put one foot on it and stopped. He turned his head and looked at Angel and Aleksi, who both watched him. He smiled, his cigarette hanging in his mouth.

"Well...good luck to you both", Evan said. Angel nodded. Evan and Aleksi then made eye contact for a moment. Their eyes remained fixated onto each others before Evan turned and looked back to Blaine's ship. Just before he stepped over, Aleksi ran forward.

"Wait!", Aleksi said. Evan stopped and looked at her. She stopped in between Angel and Evan, looking at him with worry in her eyes. "St...stay safe". Evan nodded. He smiled and pulled out the now extremely short cigarette from his mouth. He flicked it onto Blaine's boat and then hopped over. Milo untied the rope and tossed it back over to Brian. Misty then began to drive the boat slowly away. Angel kept her eyes on Blaine's ship. Ash, Milo, and Evan waved goodbye as Gary and Max came aboard from the other boat. She waved goodbye back, not even knowing if they would ever see each other again. She then turned to look at Aleksi. She was still looking at Blaine's ship, her eyes fixated on it. She seemed just as worried as Angel was now. Angel smiled slightly; it appeared that now she cared for Evan a lot more than she let on.

All three boats were now away from Blaine's and made their way out to the ocean. They were closer to each other now, and moving at a much faster pace. Misty turned to everyone on her boat, her mind filled now not with Ash, but the mission.

"Alright, we're heading to New Island. Everyone get ready, we'll be there in about an hour", Misty yelled out. Everyone either nodded or yelled out a yes mam. "Quick, how many of you here CANNOT swim?". Angel, Jonny, and about two or three other people raised their hands. Misty sighed. She knew that this would be a problem if they were attacked and forced to abandon ship. "Ok, if you cannot swim, be sure to stick with someone who can, otherwise, use a Pokemon!", Misty yelled. They all nodded. Angel reached to her side and pulled out a Pokeball. It was the same one that Evan had given her before they left the base.

"I hope you can help, whoever you are", Angel said. The sun gleamed off the Pokeball, as if to say _don't worry, I won't let you down_. The three boats made their way through the ocean, towards the Orange Islands. As they moved, Misty noticed that the boat to her right was closing in on her. She turned and could see that Drew was the one driving. He waved her down.

"Hey!", Drew yelled. They were close enough were they could speak to one another if they yelled.

"What is it?", Misty yelled back.

"Where exactly are these ocean currents we're supposed to follow? I don't see them!", Drew yelled.

"They're coming up, they should be wide enough to carry all three boats if we stick close together. But you have to be careful. We can't crash into each other!", Misty said. Drew nodded and gave a thumbs up, understanding. Misty then turned towards the main deck of her sailboat. "Emily!". Emily turned to face her. "Try to get into contact with Tracy, tell him we're approaching the island and to get in position!". Emily nodded and ran to a small set of stairs, her Shinx following her. These set of stairs led to a lower level, below the deck. She ran down and disappeared from sight.

Meanwhile, Dawn was trying to direct her boat along with Misty's and Drew's. She had less experience with them as Misty, but knew how to drive one. She had remained quiet since dropping off Gary and Max. The only other person on the boat she was relatively acquainted with was Ryoto, who kept to himself at the end of the boat; near the motors. Most of the PTA members in her boat were below deck anyway, preparing to land. Although she would of liked to talk to someone, the silence did give her time to think. She thought out what would happen if they got separated from the other boats upon landing; or if they were stuck out to sea. Most of the rebels here weren't exactly prepared for something like that. They came to get the job done and that was that. She felt that it was up to her to get them out of a sticky situation.

"Ok, if the boat capsizes and we have to abandon ship, we use any and all water Pokemon to reach land. Piplup won't be able to support me in the water, but his Whirlpool attack will come in handy for defense against the sea. I'm sure at least half of the people here have at least one water Pokemon to ride, hopefully they're big. Once there, we have to meet up with the others. I need to get with almost everyone on Misty's boat and find Tracy. I'll let the others decide where to go from there", Dawn thought to herself. Suddenly, she was interrupted.

"Excuse me?", someone said. Dawn snapped out of her train of thought and glanced over to her side. It was a PTA member she did not recognize. He was about her age, possibly a bit younger.

"Yes?", Dawn asked. The boy handed her a piece of paper.

"We just got this warning from Tracy on New Island, he sent it out to the other boats as well", the boy said. Dawn took the paper and read it. Her eyes then filled with that of worry and concern.

"Run and grab Ryoto, tell him to meet me here immediately!", Dawn commanded. The boy nodded and ran off down the stairs and towards the end of the boat. She then looked towards Misty's boat. As she did, she caught sight of Emily running over and handing a familiar piece of paper to Misty. She read it and nodded. She then glanced over to Dawn. Both girls nodded. Suddenly, Dawn's vision of Misty was covered by that of Ryoto. He looked both curious and concerned.

"What is it? I was told to see you", Ryoto said. Dawn handed him the paper.

"Check it out", Dawn said. Ryoto looked at the paper and read it.

"Rocket boats left island, five of them. Coming from around other end of currents. Be prepared for trouble", Ryoto read out loud.

"Tracy sent that to us just now from New Island, they must have spotted us", Dawn said. Ryoto became frustraited and crumbled up the piece of paper.

"Damn, how'd they spot us?", Ryoto asked.

"They must of seen the boats go by Cinnabar", Dawn guessed.

"Do the other vessels know?", Ryoto asked. Dawn nodded.

"Yes", Dawn replied.

"Good, I'll go prepare the crew, we're gonna be heavily out numbered if we don't get to New Island fast", Ryoto said. he then ran down the stairs and towards the boat's bow. Dawn grabbed the throttle and moved the boat faster towards their destination. On Misty's boat, concern was beginning to grow. Emily, under Misty's orders, was told to warn everyone of the possible danger heading their way. They began to prepare for the worst. Angel's heartbeat grew steadily as she watched everyone run about, either getting their gear together or preparing their weapons. She put one hand on her Pokeballs and another on her Beretta, ready for what may come. She glanced over to Drew's boat and saw that they were doing the same there. She could see May, Michael, and several other people running around.

"This is it", Angel thought to herself. She felt her heart beat faster. "Our first actual fight, I'm ready. I won't let Team Rocket stop me, not now". Suddenly, the wind picked up more, causing her hair to fly in her face. She turned and began to pull it down and back into its hair tie. As she did, she looked out to the sea behind them and spotted something. It was small and black. She stepped a few feet closer and squinted her eyes, trying to focus her vision. She couldn't make out what it was, but soon, another black speck appeared, then another. She ran to the stern of the boat and leaned over the rail. There were five total specks, and they slowly began to increase in size. Her heart skipped a beat. She couldn't make them out, but she didn't have to, she knew what it was. She turned and ran back towards the others.

"ALEKSI!", Angel yelled. Aleksi stopped what she was doing and looked at the now distraught little girl.

"What is it Angel?", Aleksi asked.

"THEY'RE COMING!", Angel yelled. Aleksi gasped and ran to the stern of the boat. Angel followed. When they arrived to it, Aleksi pulled out a small brass colored handheld telescope. She pulled the end of it and it extended longer. Aleksi then looked through it and could easily make out the specks. They were indeed the five Rocket boats. Aleksi gasped.

"Oh no", Aleksi said. Angel grew more worried.

"What?", Angel asked.

"They're speed boats, they're not that big, but they'll easily catch up to us if we don't move it!", Aleksi said. She then put the telescope away. "Angel, quickly run and warn Misty that they're on our tail. We'll be within their attack range in a couple of minutes. Go!". Angel nodded and ran as fast as she could to the captain's wheel. Aleksi turned back and looked at the upcoming boats. She unbuttoned her midriff jacket and let it whip back and forth from the wind. She then pulled out of her inside jacket pocket a pair of brown gloves. She slid them onto her hands and pulled on them tight. "Alright, let's do this", Aleksi said. She then suddenly slapped herself in the face, getting her blood pumping and ready to go.

By this time, Angel had reached the captain's wheel. She panted heavily.

"Misty! They're on our tails! Aleksi said they can reach us with their attacks in a couple minutes!", Angel explained. Misty gasped. She grabbed a walkie next to her and clicked three switches.

"Everyone, listen up, they're on our tail, I repeat, they're on our tail, get ready for a fight!", Misty said. She then grabbed a lever and spun it around in a clockwise fashion. The sails opened more and the boat began to pick up speed. She then increased the power in the motors. Angel looked around and could see that Dawn and Drew also increased the speed of their boats. "If we don't time this right, then either the Rockets will kill us, or the currents will", Misty said. She then looked at Angel. "Sweetie, listen, this is going to get ugly, watch out for yourself ok?". Angel nodded.

"Ok, I will", Angel said. Misty nodded. Suddenly, someone from the end of Misty's boat yelled.

"THEY'RE COMING IN FAST!", the person screamed. Misty and Angel turned to see the five boats closing in. Now they were much more recognizable. All five of them were in a straight line going across. They were relatively large speed boats, but they were still smaller than the three they were all on. They were completely black, perfect for hiding in the night. They also each had mounted machine guns on the front and back on the boats. Their motors made a loud noise that would scare away any Pokemon for miles. Each boat had about five to ten Rockets on it, and all of them looked ready to fight.

"This won't end well", Misty said. Suddenly, the boat on each end of the line split away and sped up. They were trying to go along the right side of Drew's boat and the left side of Dawn's. Although it would be some time before they reached them, Misty knew that this wasn't good. They were beginning their attack. From the middle speed boat, a white flash appeared and a large flying Pokemon came out. It was a Fearow. It screamed loudly and began to fly overhead, above the three fleeing boats. From the deck, everyone watched in horror. Brock looked up and gasped.

"They're gonna try to attack us from above. If they hit our gas tanks or motors we're screwed!", Brock yelled. Brian grabbed a Pokeball and scowled at the Fearow.

"Not if I have anything to say about it!", Brian said. He then threw his Pokeball into the air as hard and as high as he could. "Skye, go!". The Pokeball burst open and a elegant bird Pokemon appeared. A Pidgeot. It screamed, ready to fight. "Skye! Stop that Fearow!", Brian commanded. Skye nodded and flew up high towards the Fearow at a speed unmatched. The Fearow barely had time to even notice the Pidgeot before it was struck in the chest by the giant bird. Pidgeot then took advantage and flew up just above the Fearow. It's wings grew white and it slammed once again into the Fearow. It continued to fly and strike, fly and strike, fly and strike. The Fearow couldn't react in enough time to defend itself. Before it fainted, it turned back, towards the Rocket speed boats. A Pokeball was thrown in the air and Fearow was returned. Brian cheered. he jumped up for joy.

"Yeah! Showed you huh!", Brian yelled. Suddenly, he noticed that a Rocket member from the same boat ran to the front of their vessel. He grabbed the handles to the machine and aimed it towards Skye. He then opened fire. Bullets zoomed into the air, barely missing the giant bird. Brian gasped. "They're trying to kill Skye!", Brian yelled. Skye flew this way and that, dodging the bullets as they whizzed by. Sawyer stood up and ran to Brian's side. She pulled out her own Pokeball and threw it into the air.

"Ace! Twister now!", Sawyer yelled. The Pokeball flew in the air, opened, and released another Pidgeot. It looked similar to Brian's Skye, but was lighter in color. It flapped it's mighty wings at the bullets, causing them to direct off coarse. Brian looked at Sawyer.

"Thanks!", Brian said. Sawyer nodded.

"No problem, but we need to recall them, using flying Pokemon is too dangerous here!", Sawyer exclaimed. Brian nodded. Both he and Sawyer held their Pokeballs into the air.

"Return!", they both yelled. A red light shot out and within seconds, both Pidgeots disappeared. Brian, Brock, and Sawyer then looked towards the boats. The machine gunner lowered his gun from the sky...and aimed it towards them.

"SHIT! DUCK!", Brian yelled. Just as they did, bullets flew by the sailboat. Misty tackled Angel onto the ground, protecting her from shrapnel and bullets. The main mast was hit several times and nearly broke off. Glass and wood flew all over the place. One person on the sailboat was hit in the chest and fell overboard into the water, splashing into the depths. Jonny ran up the stairs, making sure that he was low enough to miss the bullets. He took the captain's wheel and looked at Misty.

"I GOT THIS! YOU GET DOWN AND PROTECT ANGEL! WE NEED TO GET RID OF THOSE GUNS!", Jonny yelled. A bullet zoomed by and barely missed him, he ducked.

"ALRIGHT!", Misty yelled back. She then covered Angel and brought her to the deck towards Brock, Brian, Sawyer, and Nick. "WE NEED TO TAKE OUT THOSE MACHINE GUNS!".

"TELL ME SOMETHING I DON'T KNOW!", Brian responded. Suddenly, the noise of more machine gun fire was heard. The two boats that pulled away from the line were now firing on the other two boats. Bullets were coming from left and right.

"WAIT! I HAVE AN IDEA! WE NEED A FAST FLYING POKEMON THOUGH!", Sawyer yelled. Nick nodded and pulled out a Pokeball.

"I GOT ONE RIGHT HERE!", Nick yelled. Sawyer nodded and then grabbed two of her Pokeballs. She opened them both and two small little rodent Pokemon popped out. They looked similar to Pikachu, but one was partially red and the other partially blue. It was a Plusle and Minum. They hopped in joy, but soon ducked when a bullet zoomed in between them.

"LILY! DAISY! I NEED YOU TO FLY OVER TO THE BOATS AND USE THUNDERSHOCK TO DESTROY THE MACHINE GUNS! CAN YOU DO IT?", Sawyer yelled. The two Pokemon looked scared, but determined. They nodded. "ALRIGHT! PLEASE, BE CAREFUL!", Sawyer said. She then gave them both a big hug and looked at Nick. "DO IT!". Nick nodded and threw his Pokeball in the air. It opened and a large winged blue dragon appeared. It roared in anger and looked down at the trainers. It was a rather large Salamence. It flew down towards the deck and Lily and Daisy hopped on. Salamence then flew high into the air, jerking left and right to dodge the bullets. Salamence first flew towards the boat on Dawn's left since it was closest. It swooped down and Lily and Daisy charged their attack. Once they were within range, the two Pokemon fired a Thundershock at the machine gun. The Rocket ran out of the way just in time. The machine gun sparked and then exploded. Salamence flew back in the air and then directed itself towards the other boats.

They were now completely aware of the dragon Pokemon and began to fire at it. Salamence spun around to dodge, nearly knocking the electric Pokemon off. It roared in anger and flew down to the other boats. Lily and Daisy charged again and fired their attack. The three machine guns on the three boats sparked and exploded. Now only one remained. Salamence flew over towards Drew's boat, ready to swoop down again. The machine gunner fired round after round towards the Salamence, hoping to take it down. Salamence did a barrel roll and barely missed the bullets. It roared and increased its speed. Now two other Rockets pulled out their Uzis and fired alongside the machine gun. The others watched as the dragon Pokemon now had to dodge three streams of bullets. One of the bullets flew and struck Salamence in the right wing. It put a large bloody hole into it, causing Salamence to nearly fall. Nick gasped in fear.

"SALAMENCE! NO!", Nick yelled. Salamence winced in pain, blood slowly oozing out of the fresh hole. It would be fine, but it needed to stop the attack. It then eyed the Rocket boat angrily. It roared and suddenly a large yellow ball appeared from its mouth. The ball grew in size and was soon about to be launched towards the boat. The Rockets fired bullets at it, but they melted as soon as they struck the attack. Salamence then fired the attack, a Hyper Beam. The Rockets watched in horror as the Hyper Beam crashed into the boat. It instantly exploded. Salamence roared and flew back towards Misty's boat. On Drew's boat, May and Michael looked over towards where the Rocket boat once was. The few remains of the vessel were now sinking into the water in the distance. Not a single head popped back out of the water and to the surface.

Salamence reached the sailboat and hovered just above it. Lily and Daisy hopped off and into Sawyer's arms. She hugged them tightly. Salamence winced in pain and nearly crashed into the boat before Nick recalled it into its Pokeball.

"Salamence is gonna need to get medical attention the second we reach land! I promise to help, but we can't do it now, not with four of the boats still here!", Brock yelled. Nick nodded, still worrying for his injured ally. Sawyer returned her two Pokemon, thanking them for their help. All of them stood up now, safe from most of the firing.

"Now that they're main weapons are gone, let's take them out!", Brian said. Brock shook his head.

"Those weren't their main weapons, not by a long shot!", Brock said. Misty nodded.

"They still have guns! And God only knows what Pokemon! We have to stay alert!", Misty said. The others nodded. Meanwhile, Dawn's boat was still under attack. The bullets had stopped, but the Rocket speed boat was still on their port side. Dawn looked around carefully. There were two people down on the boat, both bleeding badly. One was presumed dead, the other was receiving medical attention by another rebel. Suddenly, a grappling hook flew overhead and landed just by Dawn's feet. She turned and watched as it was dragged back until it clung to the side of the research boat. Dawn gasped. They were trying to board the boat. She yelled out to the deck.

"Ryoto! They're trying to board, stop them!", Dawn yelled. Ryoto, who was crouching behind a small window pane near the front, looked at Dawn and nodded. Just then, a grappling hook swung over and stuck onto the side of the boat. Ryoto quickly pulled out his Katana and cut the black rope connected to the hook. He then looked down the boat as several more hooks clamped on the side. He looked at his sword and then at the hooks.

"Well, it looks like it's going to be one bloody morning", Ryoto said. Just then, a Rocket climbed up one of the grappling hooks and pulled himself onto the boat. He looked at the PTA members with a evil grin on his face. He then quickly pulled out an Uzi and aimed it at the defenseless members. Ryoto rolled out from cover and ran as fast as he could towards the Rocket grunt. He turned and saw the oncoming assassin. He aimed the gun at Ryoto and fired it at will. Ryoto ducked just in time to dodge the bullets and raised his sword. The Rocket saw only a glimmer of the blade before it cut through his neck. The Rocket dropped his Uzi and held his neck, blood oozing out from between his fingers. Ryoto watched as the Rocket clenched his throat and then fell backwards over the side of the boat and into the water below. The Rocket's blood was all that remained. He then turned to see the other PTA members.

"PREPARE YOURSELF! WE'RE IN FOR THE FIGHT OF OUR LIVES!", Ryoto yelled. All of the rebels yelled, their weapons and Pokeballs in the air. They were ready to fight to the death.

**I would continue from here, but it's getting late, and I still need to do some work. I hope you all enjoyed it so far. Now the action is beginning and we'll see just how many lives are lost. Expect a lot more screen time from the OCs and a lot more romance scenes. "With Team Rocket now attacking the boats, can Angel and the group make it to New Island? Will Team Rocket be expecting them there? And will they survive? Find out next time on EVAN AAML's "R"!"...yes, I know, you're ALL jealous of my narrating! Well, I know the suspense may possibly kill you, so I will update as soon as I can, but now that school is restarting and I have even more classes to take, it's gonna be a bit longer than normal. I have a lot of my "tree hugger" classes to take, and now some extras. Stupid college. Oh well, such is life. Until next time friends!**

**sincerely,  
evan, a fan of aaml -EVAN AAML**


	12. Chapter 12

**Alright, I'm back for my next update, sorry for the wait everyone. For some odd reason, fan-fiction was not letting me update "R". It said it was an error of sorts. I actually had my previous chapter done since the 21st, but oh well, I figured that I would still write out the chapters and then give them to you when the problem was fixed. Well I hope you're all beginning to get excited over the action sequences that are taking place, and hope that you're ready for more! The next few chapters will have a lot more action, a lot more adventure, and a lot more romance. "And oh yes...there will be blood". **

**-EVAN AAML**

The blood began to wash away from the waves that crashed onto the boat. The high speeds and currents made the water splash over the sides and onto the deck. Ryoto watched as the water and blood quickly moved past his feet and towards the end of the boat. But he had no time to get distracted. They were being boarded. about five or so hooks were still connected to the boat, and Rockets began to climb over to their boat. Three of them had just climbed over while two more were making their way up. Ryoto lunged towards the closest Rocket, his Katana close at hand. The Rocket immediately noticed this and pulled out a Pokeball. Just as Ryoto was about to strike, he threw the Pokeball onto the ground in front of him. Ryoto instantly stopped charging as the Pokeball opened and a Machoke popped out. It flexed its muscles and looked at Ryoto with a cocky grin. Ryoto scowled at the Pokemon, putting away his blade. He pulled out his own Pokeball and looked at the Pokemon.

"It's strong, but not too bright. I have the perfect Pokemon to use", Ryoto said. He tossed his Pokeball and it landed on the ground. Machoke and its owner watched as it suddenly opened and a white light appeared. As the Pokeball flew back into Ryoto's hand, the light took form and a blue dog looking Pokemon appeared. It stood on its hind legs and prepared to fight. It was a Lucario. The Rocket grinned.

"A Lucario? That will be a nice Pokemon to add to our collection", the Rocket said. Ryoto Ignored him and focused on the other Rockets. One Rocket had already begun a battle with another PTA member, and another was being tackled by three or more rebels. A forth Rocket was climbing up but was not quite onto the boat yet, and one more had reached the Captain's wheel and was trying to attack Dawn. He knew that he had to reach up there soon. He had no doubt that Dawn could defend for herself, but he was not going to take the risk of finding out for sure. Suddenly, Ryoto glanced back to the battle and saw that Machoke was charging at Lucario. He had to act fast.

"Lucario! Aura Sphere now!", Ryoto commanded. Lucario nodded and held his paws out towards the charging Pokemon. Suddenly, a large blue ball appeared from his hands and was fired at the Machoke. It hit directly in the chest and Machoke flew back a foot or so to the ground. The Rocket growled angrily.

"Ergh! You've got some nerve doing that! I'm gonna kill you!", the Rocket said. Ryotosmiled to himself. This Rocket was new to the organization; he didn't even know who he was fighting. The Rocket mistook the smile for cockiness however and became angrier. "Machoke! Seismic Toss!". Machoke jumped up and charged once again for Lucario, but due to the close proximity, Lucario was unable to dodge. Machoke picked up Lucario and jumped high in the air. Ryoto watched as they went up about twenty or so feet in the air. Machoke then spun around and fell back down at great speed towards the boat.

"Lucario! Close Combat!", Ryoto yelled. Lucario heard the order and began to pry himself loose from Machoke's grip. He managed to get both of his arms free and punched Machoke several times in the chest and head. This caused Machoke to release Lucario entirely and fall further away. Lucario flipped in the air and landed safely onto the boat with one foot. Machoke fell onto the Rocket's speed boat with a crash, unconscious. the Rocket grunt yelled in anger. He stomped his feet and looked at Lucario and Ryoto.

"THAT'S IT! PREPARE TO DIE!", the Rocket yelled. He pulled out an Uzi and aimed it at Lucario and Ryoto. Ryoto gasped.

"Lucario! Protect!", Ryoto yelled. Lucario put up an invisible force field just as the Rocket began to fire. The light from the flash of bullets obstructed the view of his target, but it didn't matter; he knew his aim was well. His eyes seemed to show the joy he had in trying to kill the Pokemon and his trainer. He grinned evilly as he fired, loving the thought of the blood and death everywhere. After a few seconds, the Uzi clicked repeatedly, showing that it was out of ammo. The Rocket looked at his gun, and then at the target and gasped. Lucario's right paw was held out towards the Rocket, he had stopped every single bullet. They fell to the ground in a loud fashion as Ryoto and Lucario looked at the Rocket with more annoyance than hatred in their eyes.

"YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!", the Rocket yelled out.

"Lucario...please finish this", Ryoto said. Lucario nodded and aimed his paw at the Rocket. He yelled and fired a blue sphere at him. It was a Aura Sphere like before, but much smaller. It hit the Rocket and he rolled back to the end of the boat and crashed into the sides, unconscious. Ryoto nodded and then looked up to where Dawn was. He could not see her. He panicked and ran. "Lucario! Help the other rebels! I'm going to help Dawn!", Ryoto yelled. Lucario nodded and charged towards the other Rockets. Ryoto ran through the people and lunged up in the air. He grabbed the window pane of the driver's section of the boat and flung himself over to the top. Once there, he found Dawn. She was smacking her hands together, as if removing dirt from them. To the corner of the area was a Rocket. He was on the ground and unconscious, blood coming out of his nose and mouth. Dawn noticed Ryoto and smiled.

"Took you long enough, you can dispose of the dead weight if you want", Dawn said. Ryoto could do nothing more but laugh slightly at the sight. He hopped over and grabbed the unconscious Rocket member. With one easy toss, he was overboard and into the water. Dawn became serious now and was ready to fight.

"How bad is it?", Dawn asked.

"Well, their machine guns are down, but they're coming aboard. We've got one, maybe two dead already, and who knows how many more on the other boats", Ryoto explained.

"We need to get them of the boats and help the others as soon as possible!", Dawn said, grabbing a Pokeball.

"My Lucario is already taking care of it", Ryoto said. Suddenly, he heard loud noises and turned towards them. He ran to the side of the captain's house and overlooked the deck. Lucario was putting up a good fight but was getting tired. He was surrounded by two Rockets, a Gengar, a Marowak, and a Donphan. Lucario eyed them carefully, but then fell to his knee. He was too tired to carry on. The Rockets laughed.

"Well, it looks like this battle is over, let's kill the others and bring him with us, shall we?", one Rocket said. The other nodded.

"Right, Gengar, you know what to do", the second Rocket said. Gengar nodded and suddenly his eyes glew a bright red. Beams shot out and wrapped around Lucario, hurting him more. Ryoto watched on in horror. Watching Lucario in pain reminded him of the people he had killed for Team Rocket. The fear they had before he ended their lives. And then he thought of the family he had spared, the kids. He scowled at the Rockets in anger, clenching a fist tightly.

"That's it! I have had it with these Rockets! I AM ENDING THIS!", Ryoto yelled. He then reached for another Pokeball and opened it. After the white flash, a large dark green Pokemon appeared. it roared angrily in the air with power. A Tyranitar. "TYRANITAR! HYPER BEAM ATTA", suddenly, Ryoto felt someone grab his arm. He turned and saw Dawn holding him down.

"NO! DON'T! IF HE FIRES THAT THEN YOU'LL BLOW THE ENTIRE BOAT UP!", Dawn yelled. She grabbed her Pokeball and threw it out at the Rockets. It hit the ground and opened right in front of Lucario. It was Piplup. He jumped up, ready to fight.

"PIPLUP!", Piplup yelled.

"Piplup! Bubblebeam!", Dawn commanded. Piplup jumped in the air and then began to spin around. As he did, bubbles fired out in all directions, like a whirlpool. The bubbles smacked into the Rockets and their Pokemon. One Rocket flew back and smacked into the side of the boat, the other into the water. All three Pokemon fell to the ground, fainted. Piplup landed on the boat and danced up and down in joy.

"Piplup! Piplup!", Piplup yelled. Dawn smiled and looked back to Ryoto.

"You see, we know what we're doing", Dawn said. Dawn however did not realize that the Rocket who was still on the boat was not unconscious. He shook off the hit and scowled angrily at the little penguin Pokemon. He opened up his jacket and pulled out a large knife and slowly crawled towards the Pokemon. Piplup was to distracted by its victory to notice the approaching danger. Ryoto quickly caught eye of this and moved into action.

"TYRANITAR! FLAMETHROWER!", Ryoto commanded. Tyranitar glanced over and saw the Rocket just as his blade hovered over Piplup's head. He glared and opened his mouth. Large flames shot out and flew towards the Rocket. Piplup, seeing the flames, panicked and ducked just in time. The flames hit the Rocket as he was engulfed in flames. His screaming echoed throughout the boat. Piplup and Lucario turned and watched as the Rocket fell to the ground, still ablaze. Piplup almost became traumatized as Lucario ushered Piplup away from the flaming corpse. Dawn looked on in just as much horror. She covered her mouth in shock. But then she turned away and looked at Ryoto.

"Thank you for that", Dawn said. Ryoto nodded, holding out two Pokeballs.

"No problem, but we need to help the others. I'm guessing the boat's on auto-pilot?", Ryoto said as he returned his two Pokemon. Dawn did the same for Piplup and nodded.

"Yes, I placed it on just as the Rocket attacked me", Dawn said.

"Alright, take it off and start driving again. I'll check on the others", Ryoto said. Dawn nodded. She ran over and began to drive once again as Ryoto jumped down and checked on the survivors of their boat. Dawn steered the boat closer to the others since they slightly veered off coarse from their fight. Bullets still buzzed by through the air however, so she was cautious. Meanwhile, Misty's boat was still being fired at by the remaining three boats. They were still behind them, but their Uzis were taking their toll on the survivors. Misty, Angel, Brock, Brian, Nick, and Sawyer were ducking from the attacks.

"WE'RE IN A TOUGH SITUATION! WE'RE APPROACHING THE HIGH CURRENTS AND WE STILL HAVE FOUR BOATS TO TAKE CARE OF!", Brian yelled over the noise.

"THREE!", someone yelled. They all turned to see Emily coming up from below, her Shinx in her hands. She ducked her head and approached them. "I JUST GOT WORD FROM DAWN'S SIDE, THEY GOT RID OF THEIRS".

"GOOD! NOW WE JUST HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT THESE THREE!", Misty yelled. Suddenly, they felt a bump coming from the side of the boat. Misty and Brian turned and ran over to the right side by Drew's boat. One of the Rocket boats was in-between them, and trying to board both sides. Misty gasped. "THEY'RE BOARDING!", Misty yelled. Two Rockets climbed over onto Drew's boat. They grabbed their Uzis and opened fire. Three PTA members were hit and everyone else ducked for cover. Michael hid at the end of the boat and looked at the Rockets. If they stood there they would kill everyone soon. he had to act. He pulled out two Pokeballs and held them out.

"I have HAD IT with Team Rocket! Come on out guys!", Michael yelled. The Pokeballs opened and the white light took form. As he placed the Pokeballs to the side, two small blue Pokemon popped out. One was a Squirtle, the other a Totodile. "Squirtle, Totodile, Water Gun!", Michael commanded. The two Pokemon nodded and fired a stream of water at the two Rockets. They both flew back and crashed into some storage crates. Once seeing that they were down, Michael ran to the side of the boat to see the Rockets still coming. He then spotted the others on Misty's boat. "THEY'RE STILL COMING!", Michael yelled. Just then, one Rocket climbed over and grabbed Michael. Michael fought back, trying to get him off.

Squirtle and Totodile jumped onto the Rocket and bit him, but he still held on. Brian and Misty saw this from the other boat in worry.

"IF HE DOESN'T LET GO THEY CAN FALL OVER BOARD!", Misty yelled. Brian sighed.

"ALRIGHT! I'M GOING OVER THERE!", Brian yelled.

"NO, WAIT!", Misty yelled back. Before Misty could stop him, he stood up and ran over to the side of the boat. Without stopping, he dove over, and grabbed the side of Drew's boat rail. He pulled himself up just behind the Rocket who held onto Michael. He grabbed the back of the Rocket's shirt. This distracted the Rocket just long enough for Michael to stomp on his foot and be released. Seeing that Michael was free, he pulled the Rocket overboard, and he landed onto the Rocket speedboat. Brian then pulled himself up onto Drew's boat.

"Thanks for that!", Michael said.

"No problem", Brian replied. They then brought their attention to the speedboat. The Rocket that Brian pulled off the boat looked up at them in anger. Brian smirked and pulled out a Pokeball. He threw it onto the boat, right next to the Rocket. The Rocket saw this and tried to grab the Pokeball to throw it back. Michael however pulled out one of his throwing knives and threw it into the Rocket. He fell back, holding his arm. Brian immediately pulled out a pistol and fired it at the motor of the speedboat. It killed the power and the speedboat quickly stopped moving. The other four boats sped well past it. Michael looked at Brian hysterically.

"What about your Pokeball?", Michael asked. Brian smirked.

"It wasn't an ordinary Pokeball", Brian said. Suddenly, there was a large explosion. The boat that Brian stopped blew up in the distance. Some Rockets on the other two boats turned and watched as pieces of the boat flew high in the air. Michael looked at Brian stunned. Brian smiled. "Pokeball explosive, one of my little toys I made", Brian said. Michael laughed.

"I like it!", Michael said. The two boys then turned to Misty's side. They looked at the others.

"We took care of it! Two more to go!", Brian yelled over with a smile. Suddenly, all of the boats jerked violently, and then stopped. Everyone looked at each other confused.

"What was that?", Michael asked. No one seemed to know exactly what was going on. All five remaining boats had the faces of confused riders. Misty soon realized their problem.

"Oh no...the currents!", Misty exclaimed. Just then, the boats all jerked again, and again. Brian and Michael nearly fell off the boat as it suddenly veered well off coarse, and to the far right. They could only watch in horror as they separated from the others. Dawn's boat suddenly did the same, but to the steep left. Ryoto fell over onto the deck as he was about to jump to Misty's boat. Another poor soul fell forward, into the water. He disappeared under the strong currents. Misty and the others watched as their allies began to veer away from them.

"THEY'RE GETTING SEPERATED!", Angel yelled.

"THE CURRENT IS PULLING THEM AWAY!", Brock realized. Misty stood up and looked up to the captain's wheel Jonny was still driving it and they remained on coarse, but they were going much faster than the motors would normally take them. She turned around. Both Rocket speed boats were still on their tail.

"WE'RE IN THE MAIN CURRENT! THE OTHERS GOT PULLED AWAY BY THE SIDE ONES!", Misty yelled.

"WILL THEY MAKE IT TO THE ISLAND?", Emily asked.

"YES! BUT TO OPPOSITE SIDES! WE'LL HAVE TO REGROUP LATER, RIGHT NOW WE STILL HAVE THEM TO DEAL WITH!", Misty said, pointing to the Rockets.

"MISTY! WE HAVE A PROBLEM!", someone yelled. Misty turned to see that it was Jonny. He was turning the wheel, as if it wasn't working. "I CAN'T SHAKE THEM! THE POWER'S DEAD!", Jonny yelled.

"THE CURRENT OVERPOWERED THE MOTORS AND SHUT THEM OFF. WE HAVE TO RELY ON THE CURRENTS AND SAILS TO GET US THERE NOW!", Misty replied. Nick thought of something from this statement.

"Wait, that means that the Rocket speed boats lost their engines too right?", Nick said. Sawyer and Brock thought for a moment, and then nodded.

"Probably", Sawyer said.

"So then we can just veer them off coarse and they won't be able to catch up!", Nick exclaimed. Brock smiled.

"Right! We'll lose them in the currents!", Brock said. He began to think of a strategy in his head. "Uhm...ANGEL! Where's Aleksi?".

"Last time I saw her, she was at the end of the boat!", Angel said. Brock nodded. He then looked around. He saw a male member of the PTA holding onto the rail next to them.

"Hey! You there!", Brock yelled. The trainer looked at him. He was about Michael's age, possibly a little older. "Run to the back of the boat and find Aleksi. Tell her to use something that will throw the Rockets off coarse!". The trainer nodded and made his way slowly to the back. Brock then stood up and ran to the captain's house. He stood by Jonny and looked at the controls.

"What are you doing?", Jonny asked, still trying to steer the boat in the direction they needed to go.

"Looking for the sail controls!", Brock said. Jonny pointed to a couple of levers near him.

"Those there!", Jonny said. Brock saw them and nodded. He kept his hands on them, but did not move. "Well? What are you waiting for?", Jonny asked.

"The right moment!", Brock said. During this, the trainer had finally made it to the back of the boat. Aleksi was leaning over the rail, trying not to fall over from the currents. The trainer did the same.

"BROCK SENT ME BACK HERE TO TELL YOU THAT WE HAVE TO THROW THE BOATS OFF COARSE! THEY'RE MOTORS ARE DEAD!", the trainer said. Aleksi looked at him bewildered. Then she gathered her thoughts and nodded.

"Great! But we need to think of a way to do that!", Aleksi said. The trainer looked around, unsure of how exactly they would go about doing this. Aleksi looked around as well. As she did, she found a storage compartment behind her. She doubted that anything was in there, but she had to look. She opened it up and peered inside in a hurry. She saw something that just might work. "I GOT IT!". The trainer looked inside as well and saw what she was looking at. They were small bombs. Ones that Brian had probably stored there for the mission.

"What exactly are those?", the trainer asked. Aleksi smiled.

"Land mines. But they should work just as well out here!", Aleksi said. She picked one up and examined it. "The sensitivity detector is off, but they can still blow up. If we throw them in the water and then shoot at them, they should creates shock waves that throw them off course!", Aleksi explained. The trainer nodded. As he walked inside to grab some land mines, Aleksi pulled out from her belt a Pokeball. She aimed it at the ground and opened it. The white light appeared, took form, and soon a elegant looking blue and white Pokemon appeared. Absol. "Absol, we need your help. When we throw these land mines into the water, we need you to destroy them. The explosion will get Team Rocket off our trail, understand?". Absol nodded. Aleksi smiled. "Thank you".

"I got them!", the trainer said. He stepped out of the storage room and had about three land mines in his hands. Aleksi nodded.

"Good on the count of three, toss them overboard. One...two...", suddenly, Team Rocket began to take fire at the two trainers and Absol. They ducked from the fire. Bullets zoomed over their heads. Aleksi and the trainer looked on, unable to stand up. Just then, a bullet flew by and struck the trainer. He fell back, near the storage compartment. Aleksi gasped. "NO!", Aleksi yelled. She slid over to his side to check on him. The bullet went straight through his forehead, dead on the spot. Blood poured out of him and onto the deck. Aleksi felt his pulse, but got nothing. Suddenly, more bullets zoomed past. She would have to be sympathetic later, the time wasn't now. She grabbed the land mines that the trainer dropped and prepared to throw them.

"One...two...three!", Aleksi said to herself. She threw them into the air and they landed in the water between them and the Rockets. "ABSOL! NOW! RAZOR WIND!", Aleksi commanded. Absol whipped his head back and then forth, towards the Rockets. Blades of wind came out from the sickle on his head and into the water where the land mines landed. They struck and the land mines exploded. The Rocket speed boats were not warmed, but the shock waves did throw their trajectory off a bit; which was more than enough for the currents. They veered left and right. Aleksi smiled and hugged Absol. "Great job Absol!", Aleksi said. Absol smiled.

"Ab, sol!", Absol said. Suddenly, Aleksi felt that something had changed. Absol and her looked around, noticing that the boat was much slower than before. She stood up and looked around. She could make out the currents from where she was, the waves were high and the water moved at a fast pace. And yet the entire area where the boat was remained still. Aleksi walked over to the edge of the boat and then looked to the front, where the others were. She could see that Misty and Angel were also looking around, wondering what was going on.

"WHAT HAPPENED?", Aleksi asked from across the boat.

"WE REACHED A SECTION OF CALM WATERS. THE CURRENT STOPPED!", Misty yelled back. Aleksi sighed. The only movement the boat was now making was from the sails and wind. And due to the attack, there were many tears and holes in the sails; so their progress was slow. She leaned over the rail and sighed.

"This is gonna take awhile then", Aleksi said. She then reached to her belt and pulled out a Pokeball. "Thank you Absol, for all your help!", Aleksi said. Absol smiled and within a second he was gone. Aleksi returned the belt to her side and merely waited. But suddenly, she came to a realization. "Wait, if we're dead in the water here, then maybe". Aleksi looked out to sea and to her horror, saw that the Team Rocket boats were only about a quarter mile away. The currents ended before they could really take them away. Aleksi quickly pulled out her telescope and looked through it. The two speed boats were only about ten feet away from each other. On both boats, Aleksi could see that they were trying to fix the engines, but to no avail. "Well, at least they're dead in the water too. And we're too far away for their bullets to take much effect. All we have to worry about are their Pokemon. Hopefully the wind will take us back on the current before they can use them", Aleksi said to herself.

As she continued to look in, she saw that one of the Rocket was going through a large container. It was green and long but that was all she could make out very well. "What are they doing now...". She kept her eye on the Rocket, wondering what he was pulling out. Just then, she saw it. And she gasped. She put the telescope away and ran to the side of the boat. "EVERYONE GET DOWN!", Aleksi yelled. Misty, Jonny, Angel, and Brock looked at her confused.

"Why?", Jonny asked.

"RPG!", Aleksi yelled. She then looked back to the boat. She couldn't see the RPG, but she did see a large puff of smoke and an incoming object. "No, no, no, NOOOO!", Aleksi yelled. She then began to run to the front of the boat, past the lifeless body of the trainer. Within seconds, the RPG crashed into the back end of the sail boat and exploded on contact. Aleksi and a couple other survivors near the back end of the boat were blown into the air and then in the water with a large splash. Angel ran to the side of the boat, seeing their splashes.

"ALEKSI!", Angel yelled. Emily ran to the side of the boat as well.

"I got this!", Emily yelled. She threw a Pokeball into the air and towards the water. A white light appeared and a extremely large creature popped out. It dove into the water and large waves caused the boat to rock back and forth. Suddenly, a large blue dragon appeared out of the water, it was Gyrados. "GYRADOS! SAVE THE PEOPLE OVERBOARD!", Emily yelled. Gyarados dove under water. After a minute or so, it resurfaced, with four people on his back. Two girls, one guy, and Aleksi on the tail end. Angel sighed.

"Thank you", Angel said, looking up at Emily. She looked down back to her. She also smiled, but soon hid it again.

"Uh, don't worry about it", Emily said. Just then, another explosion rocked the boat. The RPG had caused Brian's stored bombs to go off. Angel was thrown to the other side of the boat as Emily crashed into the stairs. Shinx dove into her arms for protection. Angel looked and watched as the large mast slowly creaked and fell into the water with a loud splash. The boat was not only dead in the water, it was sinking. Angel knew that Team Rocket would simply blow them out of the water. She reached for her necklace and pulled out Ledyba's Pokeball. But then she realized that Ledyba would not be enough to save them. She placed the necklace back and pulled out another Pokeball; the one Evan gave her to borrow.

"I hope you can help!", Angel said. Another explosion occurred, this time, the boat began to fall apart. Angel knew that it was now or never. "GO POKEBALL! STOP TEAM ROCKET!", Angel yelled. She threw the Pokeball in the air over the water. A white light came out and went under water. The white light took form and a very large shadow appeared under water. Angel caught the returning Pokeball and looked towards it. She couldn't tell what it was, but it looked large and almost torpedo shaped. It suddenly zoomed under water and towards the Rocket speedboats. Angel looked on as the shadow disappeared beneath the depths. All was silent, everyone left watched as Team Rocket prepared to fire again.

Suddenly, a large figured burst out of the water next to one of the speedboats. The Rockets looked up and saw a large Pokemon diving on top of them, its jaws wide open. It was a Sharpedo.

"SHARPEDO!", the shark Pokemon yelled out. The Rocket yelled in fear as the Pokemon sunk its teeth onto the boat. It was torn in half and the Rockets plummeted into the water. The Rockets on the second boat saw this in horror. The surviving Rockets from the first boat quickly swam to the remaining one. Several Rockets pulled out their Uzis and took aim. Sharpedo noticed this and opened his mouth wide. A yellow light appeared and took form. The Rockets recognized this as a Hyper Beam. They panicked. "SHAR...PEDO!". The beam fired and hit the boat. Sharpedo spun around and swam at incredible speed away as the boat exploded. Shrapnel flew about in the air and into the water. Sharpedo, after seeing that its target was destroyed, quickly swam back to Misty's boat. It stopped right by where Angel had released it. It looked up happily at Angel. "Sharpedo!", it exclaimed. Angel giggled.

"Well, thank you for helping me, I can see why Evan trusts you so well", Angel said. During this, Misty ran to the end of the boat. It was on fire and the boat began to sink into the water.

"This isn't good! This isn't good!", Misty said. Brock ran up to her.

"Angel took out the remaining Rockets, we're safe for now", Brock said.

"I wouldn't count on that", Misty said. Suddenly, a trails of flames began to move around the boat. Misty and Brock moved out of the way just in time. There were several lines of what appeared to be gasoline that the fire was following. Misty gasped. "Oh no...IT'S HEADING FOR THE GAS TANKS! EVERYONE! ABANDON SHIP!", Misty yelled. The remaining people on the boat panicked and began to dive off the wrecked sailboat. Angel looked around, seeing that everyone was fleeing.

"ABANDON SHIP?", Angel yelled out. Nick suddenly grabbed Angel and stood on the rail of the boat.

"NO TIME FOR DISCUSSION! LET'S GO!", Nick yelled. He then dove off the boat with Angel in his arms. Sawyer was right behind him. Sharpedo quickly swam to their side and allowed them to hold onto him. Nick placed Angel on top as Sawyer and him held onto a fin. Sharpedo then swam away from the boat. Jonny ran down the stairs and towards Misty and Brock as people dove off the boat.

"EVERYONE'S OFF, LET'S GO NOW!", Jonny yelled. Misty and Brock nodded. They stood on the rails and readied to dive. But they waited to long. The fire made it to the gas tanks. The boat exploded and Misty, Brock, and Jonny flew into the air. A large fireball spewed into the air. Remains of the boat flew high and began to fall from the sky. One large piece of burning wood landed on top of two people in the water, they screamed as it crushed them. A large burning support beam flew directly at Aleksi and the people on Gyarados. Gyarados roared and released a Hydro Pump attack on it. The beam instantly was no longer on fire and flew back, far away from anyone in the area. The remains of the once large sailboat sunk beneath the depths. The survivors watched as their main basis of transport to and from New Island sunk under the waves.

Misty popped out of the water, spewing out the water that entered her mouth. She coughed and looked around. There were only about fifteen to twenty people left. Everyone else was dead or missing. She gasped.

"WHERE'S BROCK!", Misty yelled. Just then, Brock popped out of the water, a few feet away from them. He yelled in pain. Misty reached under water and pulled out a Pokeball. "Come out Gyarados!". Soon, a second Gyarados appeared, next to Misty. It quickly picked her up and then swam to Brock. Misty helped lift her friend out of the water. He was holding his arm and was in pain. It was bleeding badly and looked dark in color. "ARE YOU ALRIGHT?", Misty asked.

"No, burnt my arm in the explosion...salt water didn't help", Brock said. Misty sighed.

"But we can't do anything about it, all of our gear sunk with the ship", Misty said. She then looked around. "Anyone who has a large water Pokemon, let it out now! We need to get to New Island quickly!". Soon, a couple Pokeballs were thrown into the water. A Wailmer and Walrein appeared. Two people hopped onto Wailmer and one onto Walrein. Emily quickly swam to her Gyarados, Shinx in her arms. The two girls that were already on helped her up. As she pulled herself up, she placed Shinxdown. It coughed up water and shook itself dry.

"Are you ok Shinx?", Emily asked. Shinx seemed slightly dazed but smiled and nodded.

"Shinx!", Shinx called out. Emily smiled

"That's good. And thank you too Gyarados, you saved us", Emily said. Gyarados roared in reply. Three others grabbed onto Misty's Gyarados and pulled themselves up. Misty looked around and noticed that someone was missing. She wasn't sure who exactly at first. She did not know who had died from the Rockets attack and who died from the explosion. She remembered that Brian jumped onto Drew's boat before they got separated, so it wasn't him. But then it dawned on her, the person who was also blasted off the boat with her and Brock. "Oh no...JONNY!", Misty yelled.

"Jonny said that he couldn't swim!", Angel yelled. Aleksi stood up on Emily's Gyarados' tail.

"I'll look!", Aleksi said. She then dove under the water. She swam as fast as she could towards the now sinking boat. Her swimming was phenomenal but she couldn't get to close to it for fear of being dragged down with it. Aleksi stopped and hovered under the water. She kicked her feet back and forth just enough to stay where she wanted to. She looked around under water. Her eyes burned for a few seconds from the salt water but soon stopped. The water was crystal clear but she still couldn't see all the way to the bottom; it was too deep. The remains of the boat sunk below the depths. She looked and looked but could not find Jonny anywhere. But then, she spotted something. It was small but the color stuck out from the constant blue. She swam over and found Jonny's bandanna, floating in the water. She grabbed it and felt something inside. Aleksi looked and it was a Pokeball, most likely Jonny's Seviper. Aleksi looked around more, but found nothing else. She began to run out of breath, so she swam quickly to the top. Within a couple seconds her head popped out of the water.

She gasped for breath and panted heavily. When she stopped, she glanced around the surface, just to see if Jonny had popped up when she went under. But she did not see him. Her heart sunk deep in her chest with the realization. Everyone looked at her in worry. She looked to Misty and shook her head, tears beginning to form in her eyes. Misty sighed, tears beginning to swell up as well. Angel gasped at seeing this and covered her mouth.

Jonny, along with many more allies and friends, were now gone.

**I expect that this may come as a surprise to a lot of you readers. I already killed off one of my main OCs! Well, hope you're liking the story so far. I know that the last two chapters were a lot to take in for both action and Pokemon fighting. I think that I'm pretty good at writing about it, but my main problem was time. I wanted to get the chapters over with and I couldn't remain on one battle for too long, so I needed to switchback and forth to the boats. "With Jonny and many more dead and their transportation lost, how will Angel and the others reach New Island? Did the other two boats make it there safely? Find out next time on EVAN AAML's "R"!". Goosebumps! Hahaha. Well, be sure to F.A.R.! (Favorite, Alert, Review)! I appreciate them!**

**sincerely,  
evan, a fan of aaml **

**p.s.- This story was completed entirely on the 23rd. Mark it. If it's not posted on this date, the fan-fiction took longer to fix itself than anticipated. Who else is going through this? I know of two other people so far.**

**-EVAN AAML**


	13. Chapter 13

**Hello hello! I'm back already with another update! Although the fan-fic problem is not quite fixed yet in its entirety, it is fixed enough to allow me to update. So here I am. Since you waited a little longer than normal for my updates, I decided to give you two chapters to pass the time. And this one will place me back on schedule! Also, as another A.N., I may be updating a chapter or two for "The Alphabet Game", since I have not done so since I started this. I thank you all for your support for me and this story thus far. This story so far (not including this chapter), has over 78,000 words, 66 reviews, over 1300 hits...and yet only 6 favs and 6 alerts. Although the last two are lacking the rest are pretty high! So thank you all! Now I haven't had my morning coffee yet, so my apologies if there are some spelling errors or improperly spaced words at the beginning of this. Let's go!**

**-EVAN AAML**

"Ash, you can stop pacing".

"Yeah man, you're gonna end up going through the deck if you keep that up".

Although Evan and Milo were trying to make him feel better, they couldn't really blame him for being worried. They were just as worried in fact. They've been alone for a couple hours on Blaine's ship and the nerves were getting the better of them all. Their job was to be the easy one, simply communicate with the group from Cinnabar and follow them home once the mission was complete. They weren't expecting much communication from the three boats, but this didn't stop Ash from becoming a nervous wreck. His pacing has so continuous that Pikachu had to jump off. He was resting on the ground near Evan and Milo's feet. Evan approached Ash.

"Ash, listen. I'm worried for them too, we all are. But the more you worry about them, the worse it's gonna be. It's not healthy for you to get this worked up", Evan said. Ash knew that this was true, but he couldn't help himself. His friends were on a mission that could very well mean the death of them. The thought of losing his closest friends was too much for him to bare. Brock, Dawn, May, Drew, Tracy...

Misty...

"I'm gonna contact them", Ash finally stated after nearly a half an hour straight of pacing. He tried to move past Milo and Evan but Milo stopped him.

"No way man, you can compromise them!", Milo said. Evan nodded.

"He's right. You would only be hurting them if you tried to call and they were hiding", Evan explained. Ash looked at the two boys with worry in his eyes. He wanted to at least hear that they made it to the island. But they were right, and he knew it. Calling them would be dangerous. He stepped away and leaned over the rail, looking out to the sea where the three boats had traveled down only hours ago. Milo and Evan looked at each other, not sure of exactly how to respond. Since everyone appointed Ash as the leader of the PTA, he took it upon himself to be there for everyone when they needed it. But now, when they could possibly need him the most, he was stuck miles away from them. Evan and Milo walked to the opposite side of the boat, letting Ash have some time alone to think. Pikachu stayed, worried for his friend and master. Evan leaned over the rail and pulled out a cigarette from the chest pocket of his white un-buttoned shirt. He placed it in his mouth and then pulled out the silver lighter. It clicked in his hand as he pressed down on the spark.

"Do you think they're alright?", Milo asked, trying to start a conversation. He walked over and leaned against the rail as well, but his back to the ocean. Evan looked out to sea, the newly lit cigarette burning at the end. He put the lighter away.

"In all honesty, I highly doubt it", Evan said. Milo glanced over at him. "I didn't expect them to be in constant contact with us the entire way there, but they should of reached the island by now. They would of at least told us that they made it there safely...", Evan said.

"...unless they didn't make it there safely", Milo continued. Evan nodded. He took in a huff from the cigarette. The smoke came out of his nose and mouth.

"We did get something earlier. It was Misty, but we couldn't make it out to well. She was yelling though, so it couldn't of been good. That's what got Ash in such a tizzy", Evan explained. Milo looked across the boat and saw Ash, still spacing out over the rail.

"Poor guy. Unlike us, he's actually got a girl to worry about", Milo said. Evan smirked slightly.

"Yeah...", Evan said. Milo grinned, but kept his eyes towards Ash.

"Although...maybe he's _not _the only one on this boat who has a special someone out there", Milo said. Evan kept silent, although he knew that Milo was referring to him. Milo laughed and glanced over to Evan. "So, is it official? Is Aleksi off my infamous "Single Ladies" list?". Evan pulled his cigarette out and looked at it. It still had plenty of the tobacco and paper remaining; only the tip of it was burnt off.

"I don't know what you're talking about", Evan said. Milo turned around and moved in slightly closer to Evan.

"Oh come on man, don't play that with me! You've got yourself a girlfriend! Admit it!", Milo said. Evan couldn't help but smile.

"No, I don't have myself a girlfriend", Evan said.

"But you've at least got a crush!", Milo said. Evan remained silent. Milo laughed and punched Evan playfully in the arm. "Ahhh, I KNEW it! Playa playa!", Milo said. Evan laughed, a slight blush apparent.

"I'm not the "playa" type, but...I guess you can say crush", Evan said. He looked again at the cigarette. "You know, she hates it when I smoke". Milo shrugged.

"Everyone's got at least one bad habit. You smoke, I'm a pervert; no one's perfect", Milo said. Evan nodded.

"Yeah...I guess so", Evan said. He then put the cigarette back into his mouth and took in another huff. "I just wish we were there instead. Helping them on the front lines".

"Yeah, I hear ya. I understand why they picked us to be guards though, I mean, what good are we gonna do? A mechanic and sniper aren't going to be much help on a island when you're all inside and running around", Milo said. He then slumped over the rail, his arms dangling over the water. "Although this _is _pretty boring. I don't think anyone's gonna be coming over here anytime soon".

"Right", Evan said. He was only half listening to Milo by this point. The majority of his attention was on another figure. A certain young woman over at New Island, who had become much more than a mere crush.

Much more.

Suddenly, Max ran out from the inside of the boat. He looked around and found Evan and Milo. He rushed over to them with worry in his eyes. When he reached them, he bent over and panted heavily.

"Woah man, take it easy. What is it?", Milo asked. Max looked up to them.

"The others are in trouble!", Max said. Evan and Milo looked at Max in worry. Over hearing the conversation, Ash quickly turned around and looked towards them. The entire group then sprinted towards the inside of the boat. Ash ran ahead and made it into the captain's house of the boat. The boat was large enough for one or two people to actually live in, and had an entire Kitchen, bedroom, and bathroom built inside. The captain's house was were the driver would stay and drive the boat. It also had all of the communications gear. Gary was leaning over a large radar, checking in on the others. In his hand was a walkie; much like the ones Misty, Dawn, and Drew had.

"What's going on?", Ash asked worried. Gary looked over to him.

"I just received contact from Dawn. She said that they were all attacked by Team Rocket before they made it to the island!", Gary said.

"What!", Ash yelled. Evan, Milo, and Max had now reached the room.

"Dawn said that on the way there they received a warning from Tracy that Team Rocket sent out a patrol to investigate. They figure that they must of seen them leave here. That means that we're in just as much danger as they are!", Gary explained.

"Aw SHIT!", Milo said. He ran to the other end of the captain's house. He opened a large cabinet and pulled out a Spas twelve, a combat shotgun. He then looked out the window of the captain's house, seeing if anyone was approaching them. "We're not prepared for a large group of Rockets!", Milo yelled.

"He's right, we should probably move the boat, at least until we know that we're safe", Evan said. Max shook his head.

"We can't leave! Blaine didn't just stick this boat here because it was hidden! It's the only spot on the island where the communications is safe! Anywhere else and Team Rocket and pick up everything we say!", Max said. Evan sighed angrily.

"Dammit!", Evan yelled.

"That's not all", Gary said. Everyone looked at him, even more worried. "There were five Rocket speedboats in all, and all five attacked them. On Dawn's boat there are at least three confirmed casualties, they don't even know the numbers on the other boats".

"Why not! Shouldn't they all be together?", Ash said. Gary looked at him.

"While they were being chased, they hit the currents. But since they were under attack, they weren't prepared for it...they all got separated from each other", Gary said. Everyone gasped. Ash ran to the captain's wheel and grabbed a walkie that was connected to the boat.

"I'm gonna try to contact Misty's boat!", Ash said. Pikachu hopped up onto the table near Ash and watched as he tried desperately to contact Misty. His ears fell back and he looked worried. Max ran up to Gary.

"What about May? Are they safe?", Max asked worried. Gary switched a knob on the walkie.

"Let me check", Gary said. He then pressed a button and began to speak. "May? Drew? Are you there? Report!". There was silence. They waited for a few seconds and then Gary tried again. "May! Drew! Are you there? Report!". Still silence. Max began to worry more as the others listened in. "GUYS! ARE YOU THERE? REPORT!", Gary yelled into the walkie. Suddenly, there was a beep from the little machine.

"We're here!", someone yelled from the walkie. It was May's voice. The others sighed and their hearts eased a bit. Max grabbed the walkie from Gary and pressed the button.

"MAY! I'M GLAD YOU'RE ALRIGHT!", Max yelled.

"I'm glad you're alright too Max", May responded. Gary took the walkie back.

"May, report, what the hell happened?", Gary asked.

"We were attacked by Rocket patrol and got separated. I don't know where the others are or if they're even alive", May said, worry in her voice.

"I received contact from Dawn, they're not there yet, but coming in close. They finally regained control of their boat from the currents. They have about three dead", Gary said.

"We made it to the island. We're hiding the boat as we speak. We're gonna wait until we get word from the others before we move though. We have five dead here", May said. Gary sighed.

"Shit...alright. Stay hidden. We'll leave you be for now, we don't want to get you anymore attention, over and out", Gary said. He placed the walkie down onto the table and put his other hand to his face. He rubbed his head as if he had a migraine. At least eight dead, and they're just estimating. Gary then looked over to Ash. "Ash, you get word from Misty?". Ash kept turning a dial to get a signal, but then threw the walkie into the side of the boat. It smacked into the hard sides, making a loud noise before dangling in the air from its cord.

"Nothing! We've lost contact from Misty's boat!", Ash said frustraited and worried.

"You got nothing at all?", Evan yelled.

"Nothing! Something must of happened to them!", Ash said. Evan looked down at the ground in worry. His heart nearly stopped beating entirely from the shock. That was the boat that Aleksi and Angel were on as well. Ash ran past Evan and Max, grabbed the walkie that Gary placed on the table, and then ran out of the room. Gary quickly followed him; leaving Pikachu, Max, Evan, and Milo alone in the captain's house. Gary had lost track of Ash quickly, but found him on the boat's deck. He was still trying to get into contact with Misty.

"Misty! Are you there? Misty! Please, respond!", Ash said. Gary approached him and held the walkie down from Ash's mouth.

"Ash! We've lost contact!", Gary said. Ash looked at Gary. He refused to accept that Misty and the others could be dead. He pulled away from Gary and walked over to the front of the boat. He looked out to the sea, lost in thought. Gary sighed. He slowly walked up there and stood right by Ash's side. "Don't worry about them Ash, you need to keep your focus on the mission". Ash looked at him, almost offended that he would say such a thing.

"Focus on the mission? We could of just lost half of our best friends Gary! What do you mean focus on the mission!", Ash yelled. Gary looked at him.

"Do you honestly think that Misty would let Team Rocket take her down? You know her better than I do Ash!", Gary said. Ash fell silent. He was right. He never knew Misty to not put up a fight. And considering everything that they have gone through since they met, dying now would seem impossible. "Think about it, Misty is a born leader Ash, we both know it. She probably just lost contact with us momentarily. And remember, Brock, Aleksi, and Angel are there too! They're in capable hands", Gary explained.

"Yeah but...what if Team Rocket overpowered them, what if...what if...", Ash couldn't even manage to say the words. He wouldn't say them, he wouldn't.

"Ash...if perhaps the worst _did _happen, do you think Misty would want you to mope around while they still have a mission to do? She would want you to carry on", Gary said. He then put his hand on Ash's shoulder. "But we don't have to worry about it, because they're fine! We have gone through too much already to be brought down here and now! I assure you, soon enough, within the next couple of days even, Team Rocket will be history and we'll bring peace back to Earth. Then we'll be able to do what we've missed out on in years". Ash was still worried, but he smiled and nodded. He then looked back out to the sea.

He knew that they were alive, and he knew that soon, they would all be back together again. He knew that soon...Misty would be in his arms. "Misty...", Ash thought to himself. While Ash and the others remained hopeful, the others who were still without a boat tried to think of a strategy. Aleksi had just popped out of the water and confirmed that Jonny was gone. Angel, who was in complete shock, was being consoled by Sawyer. She had pulled herself up onto Sharpedo's back and held Angel in her arms. Nick remained in the water, holding onto Sharpedo's fin. He remembered all the fun times he had with Jonny, and all of the training that they went through in preparation for this. It reminded him of the death of his friend months ago. Sawyer rocked Angel back and forth slowly.

"That's it, let it out", Sawyer said. Angel cried in her arms. Sawyer herself found it difficult not to cry with her, but she had to stay strong in these times. Aleksi pulled out a Pokeball and threw it in the air.

"Go Pokeball!", Aleksi yelled. The Pokeball opened and a large blue serpentine like Pokemon appeared in the water. It was a long and elegant Dragonair. She pulled herself up onto it. Once she was on, she looked at the items she had pulled out of the water. Aleksi placed Seviper's Pokeball onto her belt next to hers and then looked at the bandanna. Water dripped off of the red piece of cloth and onto Dragonair. She squeezed the rest of the water out of the bandanna and put it in her jean pocket. She then looked over at Misty. Although her mind was still on her fallen comrades, she knew that they had to leave soon before the New Island base realized what had happened. "So where do we go from here?", Aleksi asked. Misty looked up to her.

"We're almost there now. It's just south of our current location", Misty said, pointing to the direction where her sailboat was heading before they were attacked. Emily pulled off her backpack and looked inside it. She pulled out a now wet Pokenav, shook it off a bit, and then clicked some buttons on it.

"Based on our current location and the remaining currents, I'd say we can get there within a few minutes if our Pokemon hurry", Emily said. Suddenly, the Pokenav sparked in her hands. She held it out away from her face as it smoked slowly. "Damn...well, so much for contacting the others". She sighed and put the Pokenav away.

"Alright, we'll have to ride the currents to New Island. The Gyarados will take the lead, followed by Sharpedo, Walrein, and Wailmer. And Dragonair, you take the back end. The bigger Pokemon will have less difficulty swimming through this than the smaller ones. We'll have to mourn for our friends later, it's too dangerous to stay here. Let's move!", Misty said. Although everyone was still in shock and depression, they nodded and began to move out. As they began to move, Aleksi had Dragonair move in towards Angel and Sharpedo.

"Sawyer, why don't you and Nick hop on Dragonair. Sharpedo aren't able to travel far distances very well. The current will help, but it will be easier with a lighter load", Aleksi said. Nick and Sawyer nodded. As Nick swam over towards Dragonair, Sawyer gave Angel one last squeeze.

"Angel, I know this is a tough time for you, and I understand what you're going through. But right now we have to be strong. Ok? Jonny wouldn't want you crying at a time like this", Sawyer said. Angel looked up to meet her purple eyes gleaming back at her. She knew that Sawyer was right. She wasn't sure if she would be able to get it completely off her mind, but she was going to try. She wiped away the tears on her soaking wet sundress and then nodded back to Sawyer. Sawyer nodded back and then slowly jumped into the water. She swam over and Nick pulled her up onto Dragonair. Angel positioned herself tightly onto Sharpedo and looked forward.

"Alright Sharpedo, let's get going! We have to stop Team Rocket before this happens again!", Angel said. Sharpedo nodded and began to swim in the direction of the others. Dragonair followed closely behind. Nick held onto Aleksi's waist and Sawyer onto Nick's waist. Nick could feel that Sawyer was holding onto him tightly. He glanced back slightly and could see that small tears were coming down her eyes. She had stayed strong for Angel, but was hiding her true anguish.

"Sawyer", Nick stated quietly. Sawyer looked into Nick's brown eyes, seeing the sincereity in them. She quickly looked away and wiped her tears off her face. "Sawyer...it's ok to cry". She stopped suddenly and looked at Nick confused. "Saying that you have to be strong to Angel was a good idea, but crying doesn't show weakness. It shows that you have emotion, and that's true strength". Sawyer gasped, her eyes gleaming in the sunlight from the tears in her eyes. They shared eye contact for a moment, not daring to look away. They both felt their hearts twitch at the thought of each other, and wondered if the other felt the same thing they did. After a minute or so, Nick looked back to the front of the pack.

Sawyer leaned in closer to Nick and wrapper her arms around his waist and stomach area. Nick blushed at the embrace, and then blushed even more as Sawyer rested her head onto his back. He removed one of the arms around Aleksi and placed it onto Sawyer's intertwined fingers. Aleksi, who had secretly heard the entire conversation, smiled for them both. In times like this, it's good to have someone you care about with you. But thinking of this only made her seem saddened. She thought of people in her life, and how they weren't with her now. She thought of her mother, and her father. And then she thought of Evan, which caused her heart to beat faster than normal. But after this, she looked ahead and saw Angel, riding Sharpedo along the waves. She still had someone she cared about with her; and she was going to protect her with her life.

Suddenly, the waves started to slowly get higher, everyone held onto their Pokemon and passengers tightly. Angel held onto Sharpedo's dorsal fin as she bounced this way and that from the waves. Salt water splashed in her face and into her eyes. But she pressed on, not wanting to stop now. Misty held onto Gyarados' scales tightly, knowing that if she fell off it could possibly be the end of her. She looked to everyone else who were trying to press on.

"We're about to enter the current again, everyone hold on tightly and don't let go for anything! With the current and Pokemon, we should make it to New Island soon!", Misty yelled. She then looked ahead of her and could see where the water began to move much faster than before. They approached it. "HERE IT IS! HOLD ON!". Suddenly, the waves began to pull onto the Pokemon. They moved faster along the surface of the water as the waves crashed back and forth into them. The current dragged them through the water and towards New Island, where Misty hoped the others were waiting safely.

By this time, May and her crew were already hiding out on New Island. The island was particularly large and had a lot of hiding spots for them. They hid their boat on the side of the island with the deepest jungle; that way it would be least likely to get spotted while they were there. Drew and a few other people volunteered to scout the area to make sure that there weren't any Rockets near them. May stayed with the rest of the group to take charge. She sat on a rock near the trees, overlooking the ocean. One leg dangled over the edge of the rock while the other was near her body. It was being used as support for her arm. The sun was up and rising in the sky in the distance. Normally May would enjoy this weather with a bikini and sun screen, but not today. It wasn't a day to relax, no. There was much to much danger for that. She looked to her left and could see Brian and Michael just finishing their new job.

Gravediggers.

Five holes were made for the five dead rebels. They were already buried and the two boys had just finished placing markers on their graves. Brian stood up and wiped sweat off of his forehead, looking solemnly down onto the graves. Michael was still on his knees. He was placing flowers on the final grave. The Rocket attack took a bit of a toll on the sixteen year old. He was used to fighting, but he had yet to be on a mission where the people he worked with died. The realization that this could be not only his hardest mission, but his final one sunk in.

"You know...I wasn't anticipating this", Michael said, looking at the newly placed flowers. They swayed gently in the ocean breeze. Brian looked down at him and sighed.

"No one was. Or at least if they did, they're keeping it to themselves", Brian responded. Michael then stood up. The sun was beating down hard on them now. It was still early morning but the Orange Archipelago was famous for warm weather all day. Michael looked to his right and could see one girl crying on the rocky beach, being hugged by another girl. A older male stood next to them. One of the people who died was the crying girl's friend Michael guessed.

"Five dead and we just made it to the island. Who else is going to lose their life here?", Michael asked. Brian thought for a moment.

"To be honest...I don't know anymore. I'm always trying to keep up the mood and stuff...but this isn't one of those times where you can tell a joke and cheer everyone up. I was telling people that we would get in and get out easy, no death, no trouble. But in the back of my mind I sort of knew that there were some who wouldn't return to base. But this...", Brian said. May, who was listening in on their conversation, kept her eyes on them. "...no one could of possibly foreseen this".

The two boys remained silent as the wind blew at them. Michael closed his eyes and looked up towards the sky. It was as if the wind was whispering to him; telling him that the deceased are in good hands now. The jungle trees swayed gently to the wind. The bright green colors seemed to almost sparkle in the sunlight. It was hard to see from the rocky beach below, but Michael could see that there wasn't the slightest bit of darkness in the jungle. He found it kind of ironic; a place so bright and welcoming housed the biggest evil of the world. Michael turned around and faced Brian.

"So what do we do now?", Michael asked.

"May told me that we're gonna wait for contact from the other two boats first. From what she said, Dawn's party should be arriving soon. No one knows about my boat", Brian explained. Michael sighed.

"You know, I don't think we're ready for this, perhaps we should turn back?", Michael said.

"No", May said. Brian and Michael looked up at May, who remained on the rock in the same position as before. They weren't aware that she was listening in on them. "We can't turn away, not now". May hoped down from the rock and approached the boys. "If we turn away now, then not only will we lose this opportunity forever, but all of our friends here would of died in vain!". There was silence from the two at first, but they both nodded, now filled with determination.

"Right!", Michael said.

"We're not gonna give up, our fallen comrades deserve that!", Brian threw in. May smiled.

"We have to take down Team Rocket and save the world from oppression and terror. And I for one am not about to run away when we stand a chance!", May said, her fist clenched.

"Spoken like a true leader!", someone stated. May and the boys looked up towards the jungle to see Drew standing above them. He looked down at May with a smile.

"Drew!", May said happily. Drew nodded.

"No wonder you were the official leader of Hoenn, you have the determination and courage you had even when we were coordinating together", Drew continued. May smiled, a blush appearing. Brian and Michael noticed this, but it wasn't the time to point it out to her. Drew then hopped down from the higher elevation and walked to them.

"So how is it out there?", Brian asked.

"The jungle goes in deep, there's a lot more to it than I thought. According to our maps, we're on the exact opposite side of the island from where the array is. When we receive contact from the others, we'll travel along the beach to their boats. It's too dangerous to go through the jungle and then the abandoned town with this many people", Drew explained. May nodded.

"We should be hearing from Dawn at any moment", May said, pulling a walkie out from her belt. "Then we'll decide if we should meet with them or wait for Misty and their group".

"If they take to long, we'll have to start without them. It will be dangerous, but so will be waiting out in the open for them. Brian, do you have the explosives?", Drew asked. Brian thought for a moment.

"Well, the majority of my explosives were on board Misty's boat, I wasn't expecting to get stuck on yours. I did however keep the main bomb in my backpack just in case something happened like this", Brian explained. Drew nodded.

"Good, what else do you have?", Drew asked. Brian thought again.

"Well, my backpack isn't with me at the moment, so I can't say for sure, but I would imagine about three or more big ones...oh! And more of these little suckers!", Brian said, pulling out of his pocket several shrunken Pokeballs. Michael stepped to the side as Brian grinned mischievously. He remembered all to well the power of those explosive Pokeballs.

"Great. It's not a lot, but it will do the job. We still have our Pokemon and weapons as well", Drew explained. Suddenly, a noise caught the group off guard. They all looked at May, the source of the noise. She lifted the walkie talkie and turned a dial on it. She kept doing this until the noise coming from the walkie was distinguishable.

"Hello? Are you there? Hello?", someone spoke from the walkie. It was Dawn's voice. She was quiet, but it was very noticable. May and the others smiled.

"You made it! That's good!", May exclaimed.

"You did too!", Dawn replied just as happily.

"Quick, where are you guys? What happened since we got separated?", May asked.

"We're not that sure ourselves. We got seperated right after you all did. As to where we are, we're...hold on", Dawn explained. There was a moment's pause before she spoke up again. "According to this map, we're just east of the array. We're hiding our boat in one of the old boating houses along the shore. There are a few Rockets walking around, but none of them are searching this building".

"So you're in the town!", Drew said, shocked.

"Yes, the building we're in is big enough to hide us all. I think it was a marina or sorts before", Dawn explained.

"Alright, Dawn, how many people did you lose in the attack? We lost five", May said. There was silence from the other line for a moment.

"That's not good. That's not good at all. We lost three people", Dawn stated.

"Ah shit!", Brian said, stepping away from them for a moment.

"We've got more bad news, we can't contact Misty's group!", Dawn said. The others looked at each other with horror in their eyes. It seemed as if time had stopped and all was quiet. May slowly raised the walkie closer to her mouth.

"You...can't reach Misty...and the others?", May asked.

"No...we can't", Dawn replied. May nearly dropped the walkie talkie entirely from shock. The others feared the worst for them.

"Oh no", May replied. Drew took the walkie from May's hand and held it up to his mouth.

"Alright, we'll try to contact them from here, we're not to far from your location by the jungle side. If we can't contact them then we'll have to go through with the plan. We'll go around the other side of the island and surround the array. We'll meet up and split into our groups. We all know what to do from there", Drew explained.

"Got it, understood", Dawn replied. Drew then lowered the walkie talkie and looked at May, Michael, and Brian. He handed the walkie to May, who slowly took it, not taking her eyes off of him.

"Try to get a hold of them", Drew said with a hint of worry. May nodded and walked away from the group, leaving the boys alone.

"This is bad, this is really really bad", Michael said.

"If we lost them, then there's no way we'll be able to complete this mission, it will be suicide!", Brian stated. Drew thought for a moment, but the only thing he could think of was the possibility of them all dying on this god forsaken spit of land. He shook out of his train of thought and looked at the others.

"I know, but we don't have a choice, we'll have to try to do this without them...hopefully they're just running late", Drew said. "Dawn's group is right by Tracy, he'll meet up with them and they'll get on their way; which means we have to do the same. Regardless of whether the others are alive or not, we have to get moving soon".

"...alright. Agreed. I'll get the others ready", Brian said. He then walked off towards the majority of the surviving PTA members. Michael looked over towards May, who was standing near the rock that she had been sitting on earlier. She was speaking into the walkie, but she wasn't getting a response.

"Hello, Misty? Brock? Anyone? Please, respond!...hello?...is anyone there? Hello?", May said into the walkie. She was getting more and more anxious after every moment of silence.

This wasn't looking good at all.

**A bit slower paced from the last two chapters, but still just as much drama! I have not been getting a lot of responses from the previous two chapters, so please be sure to F.A.R.! I'm hoping it's merely because it's a lot for you all to read. Anyway, I am not sure when my next update will happen. I am a bit preoccupied at the moment with homework and classes, so I will only be able to work on this when I have the time. So my apologies ahead of time. I will also be updating "The Alphabet Game" soon, (which by the way I JUST realized I never picked a letter for! So I guess the topic for the next chapter will be a bit of a surprise to me as much as you!). "With everyone thinking the worst for Angel and the others, will the mission go about as planned? Will Misty be able to lead the others safely to New Island before it's too late? Find out next time on EVAN AAML'S "R"!". And as a little irrelevant question, who do you think is going to win the NCAA Men's Basketball Championship? My fellow New York team Syracuse already got out early, so my bracket is...well, let's face it, it's not really a bracket anymore. Now I don't pay major attention to college sports, I am more into the professional ones. But I do watch a bit of college basketball. I personally HAD Arizona winning the whole thing. If they can beat heavily favored Texas AND number 1 Duke, then they'll probably take it all. But of course, they lost to Conn. WHAT THE HECK! But to me, it no longer matters who really wins. What are YOUR opinions? **

**sincerely,  
evan, a fan of aaml -EVAN AAML**


	14. Chapter 14

**Here I am again, ready for another update. As a little note, get ready for the appearance of AshK soon in the story. His OC, Ashley, will appear soon; possibly even in this very chapter if I can find a good spot for her. I have also been making a OC from author timprime1, so be on the look out for him as well. It may still be a chapter or two before his OC, Trent, becomes part of the team however, as I am still working on him. As a completely irrelevant note, last night I watched "Tangled" for the first time with my girlfriend and may I say it was one of the best Disney movies ever made! The animation is amazing, the plot is good, and it had the typical romance and comedy that Disney is known for. Overall, a great movie for the family. Now then, let's stray away from my "movie critic" genius and get to my "writing" genius...why yes, my ego is looking rather well today! **

**-EVAN AAML**

The sun was high in the sky and the weather was warm and inviting. Dawn however was not paying much attention to the beautiful day and was more interested in the current hiding spot. Although she was sure that Team Rocket wouldn't search the building, she didn't want to give them reason to. Her group were remaining quiet, everyone huddled along the wall or hiding amongst the various boxes and crates in the boat house. Ryoto and a couple other people were on guard duty, making sure that no Rockets would come close to the hide out. Dawn was currently looking at a map of the island, using only the little bit of sunlight that shown through the building from a hole in the ceiling. The map was lying on a wooden table near the boat entrance to the building. Although sunlight was little due to the large roof, the ocean breeze was plentiful. Dawn would continuously have to hold the paper down with her body to prevent it from blowing away. She looked at the details intently.

"Alright, we're here; May and the others are there; and the array is there", Dawn thought to herself, pointing out various spots on the map. "Now we're right next to Tracy, so we'll have to find him, and then move on with the plan. We'll meet up with May and the others and then...oh who am I kidding? How could we possibly do this without Misty and her group? Oh...I hope they're alright. I'm worried". She ran her hands through her long hair on the sides of her hat and looked nervously at the map. But then she glanced over to the others. Some of her team members were looking at her, just as worried as she was. She had to be a strong leader for them, she couldn't show weakness.

"No! I can't think like this! If I panic, then they will, and it will compromise the mission! No, I will not act this way. I have to be a good leader for them and help them through these difficult times", Dawn thought to herself. She then looked to the boat in the dock of the building. It was covered completely in a dark boat cover that made it invisible unless you were close to it. She knew that inside were three people who would never see the light of day again. Their bodies were placed in body bags and stored below the main deck. She knew that she couldn't let more innocent people die under her command. She shook her head and approached some of the group members, folding the map and placing it in her skirt pocket.

"Don't worry, everything is going to be alright. We're gonna leave soon, we have to find Tracy and make our way to the array, understand?", Dawn asked the others quietly. They nodded. "Good. Alright, tell the others quietly, we have to get moving soon". The rebels nodded and they walked off to tell the others the new directives. Dawn looked once more at the ocean behind her. The calming breeze and bright blue waters made her smile. She took it in well, because she knew deep inside that it could very well be the last time she ever sees a beautiful sight like that again. She stared at the sight for a minute or two before someone touched her shoulder. She snapped out of her trance to see Ryoto standing behind her.

"We're about ready to go", Ryoto said. Dawn nodded.

"Alright, good", Dawn exclaimed. Ryoto then looked behind Dawn to see the ocean.

"Taking one final glance out there?", Ryoto asked. Dawn tried to hide the truth from him.

"What do you mean?", Dawn asked. Ryoto sighed and stepped past her to get a better look at the ocean.

"I know what you're going through Dawn, quite frankly we all do. Because we all feel the same way", Ryoto explained. "We know that there's a good chance that many more people here are gonna die, and no one knows if it will be them or not. The boat attack is evidence of that. It makes sense to get one last look at the world around you. I have been doing that since we left the base".

"Really?", Dawn asked. Ryoto nodded.

"Yes. In this world, it's important to live every day of your life like it's your last...because it very well could be", Ryoto said. Dawn remained silent for a bit, but then nodded. As morbid as this statement was, it was true. You never know just when your life will end, so live it the way your heart tells you to. Ryoto turned around and faced Dawn. "Let's go". Dawn nodded and then the two made it to the front entrance of the building. Everyone was waiting for them there. Dawn and Ryoto slowly approached the wide open barn style doors and peeked out of them carefully. There was a couple of Rockets walking past a distance away. They were talking to each other and laughing; but their hands were on a pair of large sub-machine guns.

"Heavy security here", Dawn said. Ryoto nodded.

"They carry heavy machine guns and have much more powerful Pokemon. There is also a security camera at three o'clock, five o'clock, and ten o'clock. They're all moving back and forth", Ryoto explained.

"It's gonna be tough getting through here without being spotted", Dawn said. She then eyed the outside carefully. She paid close attention to the cameras and the two guards who were walking away. Once they were far enough from them, Dawn nodded. "Ok, let's move!".

As Dawn and her group moved in on Tracy's location, May and the others began to move along the shore line of the beach. They kept their guard up and their weapons ready as they quietly and quickly moved over the soft sand. Occasionally, they had to hide behind large rocks and the small cliff side to avoid detection from small groups of Rockets patrolling the sides of the island. After about an hour or so of walking straight, they decided to take a short break. They sat on the soft sand or on large rocks as they took a breather. May sat next to Drew on a rock and looked to where they were heading.

"How much longer do you think?", May asked Drew. Drew shrugged.

"I'm not sure. I'd say maybe another half an hour to an hour. If we didn't stop so often from the Rocket patrols we'd probably of been there by now", Drew exclaimed. May nodded. She then suddenly stood on the rock and jumped up to grab hold of the ledge above her. She pulled herself up just enough to be able to look over the land. They had long since left the forested side of the island and would now be out in the open had they traveled on land. The soft grass was held tightly in May's hands as she tightened her grip. From a distance, May could make out the dish of the array. It gleamed in the sunlight and was aiming in an angle to the sky. She could also just make out the top half of one of the buildings near the array before her vision was blocked by the hills of the small fields.

"What do you see?", Drew asked. May released her grip on the grass and carefully landed back down on the rock below.

"The array isn't too far away. But we'll still have to travel along the shore to reach it. Otherwise we'll stand out", May explained. Drew nodded.

"No surprise there", Drew said.

I'd say it will only take us about twenty minutes or so if we keep up the pace and don't stop again", May continued.

"Good. The sooner we get this over with, the better. I'm sure by now they know that the Rocket boats aren't returning anytime soon and that we're probably either on the way to the island or already on it. They'll buff up security and will only make this harder for us", Drew explained. May nodded.

"I know. We're lucky to have been able to avoid detection already", May said. Upon hearing this, Drew nodded, but then began to get lost in thought.

"Yeah..we are pretty lucky", Drew said. May could tell from his expression that he was in deep thought.

"What's the matter?", May asked. Drew looked towards the ocean.

"Don't you think that since we've arrived here that it was...really easy? To avoid detection and get moving?", Drew said. May thought for a moment, and then nodded. Drew then looked up at her. "Exactly...I think we're gonna walk into a trap".

"You think so?", May asked, started to get worried.

"Yeah. They must know already that we're on the way here. In fact, the only thing that I think is protecting us is that they probably don't know we've landed already", Drew said. May nodded.

"I see what you mean", May said.

"But what I don't get is...why not call for reinforcements? If they know we're coming?", Drew asked.

"Maybe they think that our numbers were heavily depleted from the boat attack; and that they don't need to call for more help...or maybe they don't think we're that big of a threat. Hell, for all we know, they don't even know that we're here", May said. Drew nodded.

"I know...and that's what worries me. We don't know what they're thinking", Drew said.

"Uh oh", someone said. Drew and May quickly looked behind them to see Brian looking through a pair of binoculars; sitting on a rock and looking out to the ocean.

"What is it?", May asked, worried now more than ever.

"I think we're gonna have company", Brian said. Michael, who was sitting next to him, looked out to the ocean as well. He held his hand over his eyes to prevent the sunlight from blinding him. He looked to where Brian was facing, but couldn't see much.

"All I see is water", Michael said. Brian shook his head.

"Well it's not just water out there", Brian explained. He then lowered the binoculars and looked at May and Drew. "I think there is a Pokemon Rocket patrol going by". May and Drew gasped. Everyone else backed up closer to the cliff and readied themselves for either running or fighting. "I can't tell from here who is riding them, but I know that there are quite a few people with them".

"Do you think it's Misty and the others?", May asked. Brian looked again. He adjusted the binoculars as well as he could, but still could not make out a well enough view.

"I'm not sure, but I highly doubt it. There's no boat with them, and I'm pretty sure that they would of contacted us by now if it were them", Brian said. Drew thought for a moment.

"Then odds are they're Rockets...where are they heading?", Drew asked.

"Not towards us luckily, but it looks like they're heading for shore, between us and the array", Brian answered. Drew sighed heavily in worry.

"That's not good. We can't afford to run into them. They'll likely raise an alarm", Drew stated. He thought heavily over the situation until he came to a solution. "Alright. We'll send out a scout to see who it is. If it's Misty and the others, we're fine, if not...then we'll have to make a break for the array", Drew said. May grew worried.

"That's dangerous", May said. Drew nodded.

"I know, but we can't afford to go around the other way, it would take to long. And going across land would be just as dangerous as the shore", Drew exclaimed. He then looked to the others. "Ok, who's gonna volunteer to go ahead and see who's coming?". There was a moment of silence for a few seconds until someone stood up from sitting on the sand, swung her backpack onto her back, and approached them. Michael watched as she walked by and noticed that it was the same female who consoled the crying girl earlier.

She had very long blonde hair that reached her waist and was covered on top by a red and white cap with a Pokeball on it. She wore a white spaghetti strap shirt with a black sleeveless vest over it. She also had short jean shorts and black and white sneakers. Her brown eyes were filled with a form of fear and determination. She stopped in front of Drew and May.

"I'll do it", the volunteer said.

"What's your name?", Drew asked.

"Ashley", the girl responded. Drew nodded.

"Alright then Ashley, thank you. Run ahead and check to see if it's Team Rocket coming to the shore. Run back to us once you find out. Don't engage them, it will be too dangerous. Stay hidden and quiet, we don't want you to get yourself killed", Drew explained. Ashley nodded.

"Ok, I got it", Ashley stated. She then quickly made her way down the shore and towards the possible upcoming danger. During this, Angel and the others were finally reaching New Island. After a long ride through the strong currents they made it to their destination. The waters were calm now and they slowly and quietly approached the shores. Misty looked at the island, making sure that where they were landing wasn't dangerous. They were heading towards a rocky beach, completely void of sunlight from the high cliffs above. From a distance she could make out the array. It was not that far away from them. After deciding that it was safe to land, she faced the others behind and next to her.

"Listen, we're gonna land soon. Once we get there, we have to get ready to move out. I'd imagine that by now the others are already making their way towards the array. We have to meet up with them and help. Keep quiet and low!", Misty ordered. The others nodded. She then looked forward and held onto her Gyarados tighter. "Ok Gyarados, let's go!". Gyarados nodded and swam faster through the water towards land. The other Pokemon did the same. Within minutes they made it to shore. Misty jumped off of Gyarados, landing in the thigh high waters. The others jumped off as well, one of them making sure that Brock got off without putting his burnt arm in the salty sea.

"Thank you for everything Gyarados, return! You deserve a long break!", Misty said, holding out her Pokeball. Within a matter of seconds Gyarados was safely stowed away inside his Pokeball. Emily and the others jumped off of her Gyarados and she also placed it inside it's Pokeball. The other Pokemon were able to get closer into land. Sharpedo made it all the way towards shore before stopping. Angel carefully hopped off, making sure not to cut herself on Sharpedo's rough skin. She then smiled and hugged Sharpedo.

"Thank you so much Sharpedo, you saved me today", Angel said thankfully. Sharpedo smiled.

"Shar! Pedo!", Sharpedo yelled back happily. Angel then pulled out Evan's Pokeball and aimed it towards Sharpedo.

"Return!", Angel yelled. Sharpedo was then pulled back inside its Pokeball. Angel looked at it with a smile, forever thankful to the shark Pokemon for saving her. Suddenly, she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned to see Aleksi behind her with a smile on her face.

"Looks like you made another friend", Aleksi said. Angel nodded.

"Yep, looks like it", Angel replied. She then placed the Pokeball back onto her belt. By this time everyone was walking onto the shore. Carefully, the rebel who helped Brock get to shore helped him down onto the ground. Brock held onto his arm, grinding his teeth in agony.

"Thanks", Brock said to his ally. He nodded.

"No problem", the PTA member said. He then walked off. Misty approached Brock now. She bent down and looked at his arm. It was still very much red and had blisters scattered here and there. The salt water had taken its toll and made it look worse than before.

"How you feeling?", Misty asked. Brock, who still gritted his teeth, looked at his arm.

"Like I just had my arm ripped off from the explosion", Brock said with a pained expression, although he managed to slip in a smile.

"You're not gonna be able to do much with it like that. We'll get it bandaged up, we can't get sand in it", Misty said. She then turned to the others.

"Anyone here have any medical experience?", Misty asked. Everyone shooktheir heads no. Misty sighed. "Alright. Does anyone have any bandages? Dry ones?". Three people looked into their bags, but shook their heads. Everything was soaked. Aleksi looked into her bag and pulled out a medical kit. She opened it and looked inside. The band-aids and gauge were soaked and the labels peeled off of the medicine containers. But she pulled out a small plastic bag that had bandages in it. The water had not penetrated them.

"Here!", Aleksi said. She then ran over to Misty and handed her the bandages.

"Thank you", Misty said. Aleksi nodded. Then, with Aleksi's help, Misty began to wrap Brock's arm. As they did this, Misty looked around the shores. She wasn't sure if Team Rocket had seen them come in, and was keeping an eye out for possible danger. But she couldn't do this _and _help Brock at the same time. "Ok, we need someone to check each side of the shore line! I don't know if Team Rocket saw us or not, and we're sitting sucks here!", Misty called out. Nick nodded and walked past them and along the shore towards the location of the array.

"I'll check this way", Nick exclaimed. Angel watched as Nick walked along the shore, keeping an eye out for any possible threats. Angel then turned around and noticed that no one was searching the other end.

"I'll look down here!", Angel yelled. Aleksi and Misty smiled and nodded.

"Thank you Angel!", Misty called back. Angel then walked along the beach, acting as a lookout. Meanwhile, Ashley had carefully walked along the cliff side of the beach. The cliff was now much higher than before, so she was sure that no one from above would see or hear her. She slowly walked on the sand, her feet sinking slightly in it. She kept looking ahead and behind her, making sure that she was alone.

"Man, this is nerve wracking. I should of asked someone to come along with me!", Ashley said quietly to herself. Her heart was beating particularly fast and she began to sweat; the weather didn't help. Suddenly, she thought she heard something. She panicked, looked around, and dove behind two large boulders on the beach. Quickly and quietly, she pulled out from her waist a pistol and prepared herself. Her breathing was quieter and she listened closely. She could make out the sound of voices from behind the rock.

"This isn't good. I'm alone and by the sounds of it Team Rocket is right behind me...I can't run or else they could spot me!", Ashley thought to herself. She then heard the sound of the sand being stepped on from the side of the boulders. She slowly made her way to the noise, standing ready for whoever would approach her. "It's now or never Ashley, you have to do this!". Just as someone walked past the boulder Ashley aimed her gun at the person's head. "You move you die!", Ashley said quietly yet sternly. She looked at the person her gun was aimed at. It was a young girl. Her face was filled with fear and shock. Ashley looked at her quizzically.

"Wait...you don't look like a Rocket", Ashley said. The girl looked up to see Ashley's face. It was Angel.

"That's because I'm not!", Angel said back, her fear gone and filled with anger. Ashley seemed slightly apprehensive. Angel then realized something and became excited. "Wait! Are you in the PTA?". Ashley nodded, her gun still on Angel's head. "I am too! I'm from Misty's group! We just landed!". Ashley gasped and quickly put her gun away.

"You are? I'm so sorry about that, I wasn't sure! I'm from May and Drew's group; they sent me to scout the shore! My name's Ashley", Ashley explained. Angel nodded.

"That's what I was doing, and my name's Angel!", Angel said. She then waved towards the opposite direction. Ashley walked out from behind the boulders and saw the others, all sitting on the beach and preparing. Ashley sighed. They had made it. Angel turned to her. "Come on! We need to talk to Misty!". And so Angel ran towards Misty, Ashley right behind her. Misty looked up from helping Brock and saw Angel running towards her. Aleksi also glanced over towards the girls.

"Angel? Who's that?", Misty asked, slightly worried.

"It's ok! Her name's Ashley, she's from May and Drew's group!", Angel said. Misty gasped.

"Really? That's great! Where are you guys stationed right now?", Misty asked.

"Not too far away in that direction. They sent me out to scout ahead. We saw you guys coming to shore but thought it was a Rocket Pokemon patrol. What happened?", Ashley asked.

"After you guys were pulled away from us our ship was blown up by the remaining Rockets. We managed to get rid of them but we had to ride our Pokemon here", Aleksi explained. Misty stood up.

"Listen, we need help, Brock is hurt badly from the attack. Do you have any medical experience?", Misty asked. Ashley looked at Brock, seeing the mostly bandaged arm.

"Uh, I have some yes", Ashley said. Misty sighed in relief.

"Great, can you help Brock?", Misty asked.

"Yeah! No, wait! I can't, I was ordered to report to the others if I found you or Rockets", Ashley stated. Angel stepped forward.

"I'll go and get May and Drew! You stay here and help Brock!", Angel said. Ashley looked down at her. She didn't know Angel and was not sure if she could manage it.

"Are you sure a ten year old can do this?", Ashley asked Misty and the others. Angel gave her a scowl.

"I'm twelve!", Angel said. "And yes I can, you'd be surprised!". Ashley was still not so sure, but she nodded.

"Fine. They're about ten or so minutes that way, if you run you'll get there faster. Once they see you they'll head this way", Ashley explained. Angel nodded. She then turned around and ran towards the opposite direction. Ashley then brought her attention to Brock. She bent down and looked at him. "Ok, what happened?".

"Third degree burn. It's possibly infected", Brock explained. Ashley nodded.

"Good, you seem like you know more than I do. I have just the thing", Ashley said, looking through her bag. She then pulled out a small spray bottle with a green liquid inside of it. Brock smiled.

"A Burn Heal, that'll work. Most of the medical supplies I had were lost with the ship", Brock explained. Ashley nodded and aimed the spray at Brock's arm. Brock gritted his teeth as Ashley sprayed the Burn Heal into his arm several times. After she felt it was sprayed enough, she put the spray away.

"Since it's on the bandage as well, it will last a little bit longer", Ashley said. Brock nodded.

"Right, it should feel a bit better in a few minutes", Brock stated. "Thanks". Ashley nodded with a smile.

"No problem", Ashley said back. Meanwhile, Angel was still running towards where Ashley said May and the others were hiding. She panted heavily but kept on running, not wanting to waste any time. She knew that they had to act quickly and take down the array before they were spotted. She jumped over rocks and occasionally slipped on the sand but always got back up and kept running.

"I have to keep moving! I have to find them!", Angel kept telling herself. She looked up and could see that the cliff was getting lower and lower. She positioned herself closer to the cliff side so that it would be harder to be spotted. Just as she did this however, she tripped over a small rock and flew forward. She gasped as she landed into the sand, her face buried in it. She sighed, lifted her head, and spat out tons of sand. "Just my luck", Angel said. Just as she was about to stand up and keep running, she heard voices coming from above. She quickly and quietly crawled over to the wall of dirt and rocks and pressed herself against it, making sure to be as hidden as possible.

From above, she could make out two male voices. She looked ahead and could see two shadows on the sand. Close to the water. She kept quiet and looked above.

"See anything?", one voice asked. It sounded gruff.

"Uh...nah. Nothin", a second, much younger voice stated. Angel guessed that they were a Rocket patrol. She was relieved though that they did not see her. "So why do you think they got more people looking along the shores?", the younger voice asked.

"I guess they lost contact with those patrol boats. I think it's cause those boats are pieces of shit and can barely drive, but they're not takin any chances", the gruff voice stated.

"Ah. You's think it's the PTA?", the young voice asked.

"Got me. I bet it's just some stupid fishermen or something. I mean, how would they find out about the array here on New Island?", the gruff voice said.

"Good point...alright, nothin here. Let's get moving", the younger voice stated. Angel then listened as the noises grew quieter. They were walking away. After a minute or so it was completely silent and she began running again. It was obvious that they hadn't spotted May and the others, but they could still find Aleksi and her group. She hoped that they were hiding well enough. She wanted to go back and warn them, but she had to continue on. She could see a turn ahead and ran towards it. She quickly turned and stopped, looking ahead. From not to far away, she could see people sitting on the beach and boulders. She squinted her eyes and could make out some of them, including May and Drew. She gasped.

She found them.

She ran towards them with a smile on her face. She was glad that they were alright. As she ran, she saw that May had turned and noticed her. She looked at her at first with bewilderment, and then excitement. She jumped down from the boulder and looked at the others.

"It's Angel!", May yelled. She then ran towards Angel. The others saw her as well and were overcome with joy. They quickly followed. Angel and May kept running towards each other until May fell on her knees with her arms wide open. Angel dove into them and May hugged her tightly. "I'M SO GLAD YOU'RE ALRIGHT ANGEL! I WAS SO WORRIED!", May said happily.

"I was worried about you too!", Angel said back, squeezing May's waist. She looked up at May, tears in her eyes. May smiled and wiped them away, the tears being absorbed by her gloves. Drew and the others had just made it to them. Drew smiled.

"Glad to see you're alright!", Drew said happily. Angel nodded back.

"Are you alright?", Michael asked. Angel nodded.

"Yes, I'm alright, just a little out of breath from running to find you", Angel answered.

"Did you see Ashley? We sent her out to scout ahead", Brian explained. Angel nodded.

"Yes, she's with the others. Brock got hurt and she's helping", Angel explained.

"Brock's hurt? Oh no!", May said. Drew bent down to get closer to Angel.

"Angel, what happened?", Drew asked. May released Angel and she looked up to them all.

"After we all got separated, me and the others were still being chased by the two remaining speed boats. We managed to get them off our trail for a moment, but then we were stopped because the currents ended. The Rockets fired upon us and blew the boat up. But luckily we were able to get rid of the Rockets as well", Angel explained. The others gasped.

"Oh no...how...many people did you lose?", May asked worried. There was a moment of silence before Angel finally had the courage to speak up.

"...we lost about half of our crew", Angel answered. Everyone's hearts felt like they had stopped beating. The realization that so many of their allies and friends died took its toll on them all. Brian put his hands through his hair and looked away from the group, trying to cope with the losses. Michael fell to his knees in shock.

"Oh god...", Drew said. Angel nodded knowingly.

"That's...not all", Angel replied. Everyone looked at her. "We...we lost Jonny...he's dead". Brian gasped. Only a few hours earlier they were sitting together in the car and again on the boat. He clenched his fists and looked out to the sea.

"You stupid bastard...you weren't supposed to die on us!", Brian said, referring to Jonny. The only thing stopping him from yelling this out to sea was the fact that they could be heard and spotted. Michael fell to the ground, his head buried in his arms. No one could tell if he was crying or merely trying to get over the shock. Angel looked at the gang and understood what they were going through. Although the pain was difficult she knew that they had to get moving.

"I...know, this is hard for you all...but we have to get moving. I passed a Rocket patrol on the way here. They're suspicious, they think that we could be here. We need to meet up with Misty, Aleksi, and the others as soon as we can!", Angel stated. They all looked at each other for a moment before May and Drew nodded. May stood up and looked to her crew.

"Alright, we're moving out. We need to rendevous with the others. Let's get going", May ordered. The others nodded and started to walk down the shore. Drew helped Michael up to his feet, but he was still in a bit of shock. Drew had faith that he would snap out of it soon but was still concerned. He then looked over to Brian. He was still looking out to the ocean, thinking of his fallen friend. Brian glanced over and caught Drew's eyes. He knew that they had to carry on. He nodded and they all walked along the beach, heading towards the others with Angel in the front of the pack.

Meanwhile, back towards the abandoned town, Dawn and her group were making their way towards Tracy's location. It was a slow and steady pace since they had to avoid detection from not only the few Rocket patrols, but also several cameras scattered about. Dawn, Ryoto, and their group hid behind a large building, close to the forest. Dawn peaked out from behind it and looked around carefully, making sure that she would not be spotted.

"So where is Tracy anyway?", Ryoto asked, somewhat impatiently. Although it was easy for him to move about silently without detection, he found it difficult having to do it with several people with him. Dawn kept her eyes out to the open.

"He said that he would remain in the former Pokemon Center until we arrived. I'd imagine that he's still there", Dawn explained. She continued to look around until she spotted it. It was partially hidden but the red roof was more than recognizable. "There! It's down there. Only a short distance away! We just have to run out of the path of those few cameras and we're home free". She looked behind her and nodded to the others. They nodded back. She brought her attention towards their destination and, after the cameras moved away, bolted towards it. She ran across the open area, the others right behind her. She looked around and could see that there weren't any Rockets in the area near them. Soon, she made it to the Pokemon Center. Her and the others lines up along the wall of the building, being sure to keep quiet.

They all nervously looked around, making sure that no one had spotted them. Their hearts were beating unsteadily and sweat poured down their faces from the combination of heat and nerves. Dawn looked through the wooden boards that blocked the broken windows. She could not see much, only a few empty chairs and a large desk where Nurse Joy once sat behind. Dust and cob-webs covered the entire area. Dawn pushed the boards, only to find that they weren't nailed to the wall as previously expected. She had just managed to catch the boards before they hit the ground. Dawn sighed in relief as she gently placed them down and climbed inside.

"This must of been how Tracy came in...Tracy?...Tracy?...Are you here?", Dawn whispered. She walked around as the others climbed in after her. Her footsteps clicked on the tile floor as she looked around. What once was a bustling building filled with trainers and nurses was now empty and cold. It actually creeped Dawn out. Once everyone was in, the last person to enter placed the boards back to where they were before to avoid suspicion from outside. Dawn walked past the desk and towards the back room where Nurse Joy took trainer's Pokeballs to be checked over. Once she stepped inside, she called out again.

"Tracy?", Dawn whispered. Suddenly, she heard rustling. She stopped dead in her tracks and squeaked in fear. The hair on her arms and neck stood up and her heart beat increased. She looked around nervously, wondering where the noise came from. Just then, she saw someone come out from behind a large machine. She reached for her Pokeballs, but stopped when she noticed that it was Tracy. He looked just as nervous as she did, but smiled upon seeing her.

"Boy, am I glad to see you! I thought you were Team Rocket!", Tracy said. Dawn smiled back.

"Likewise", Dawn replied. He then approached her and gave her a hug, which she gladly returned. Tracy was always a big of a hugger, and she could really go for one right about now. After a few seconds he released her and looked into her eyes.

"So...are you ready to take down the array?", Tracy asked. Dawn nodded sternly.

"I've been ready for this for years!", Dawn replied determined.

**I think this is a good spot to leave it off on. Hope you all enjoyed it. Well, May and Drew know that Misty and their crew made it to the island, although the casualties are heavy. And Dawn finally found Tracy. Now that they're together, they'll have to meet up and prepare for the mission ahead. Think they'll make it out alive? Not if Team Rocket has anything to say about it! Oh, and I also have a few surprises in store for the gang once their mission starts. But you'll have to wait and see to find out what they are. Expect a lot of shocks, more problems, and possibly even another shocking death or two! Not much more for me to say, except to be sure to F.A.R.! Oh, and to relate back to my "movie genius", I will be watching "Hop" Friday with my girlfriend and her family to see if it will be as good as I hope it will be. But I digress, I will see you all...eh, eventually. **

**sincerely,  
evan, a fan of aaml -EVAN AAML**


	15. Chapter 15

**Hello everyone and welcome back to the latest update of "R"! So I was reading this little information page and I discovered that "Pokemon" is only the 11th most popular type of story to write about in fan-fiction with a little under 40,000 stories. As such, I decided that we must write many more stories for this theme! We should at least be bale to get close to the top and with the number of dedicated authors I know here I know we can do it! We have to topple the number one story on fan-fiction, Harry Potter. That shouldn't be too hard, it only has...over 500,000 stories...ouch. Well, maybe we can at least make top 10! Also, I just found out the other day that there is a chance I may be able to go to New Orleans once again for "Operation: Southern Comfort"! Allow me to explain, during the "break" I was one between "Eternal Darkness" and "The Lake House", I was chosen along with 11 other seniors from my high school to go down to New Orleans during our Spring Break. We left to help rebuild homes and lives of those affected by Hurricane Katrina. Well, my high school is doing it once again and I guess they are short on a chaperon or two. So, they said that they may want a former participant to come along and they said I'm their number one choice! Nice! Well, enough about me, let's get started with the chapter!**

**-EVAN AAML**

Tracy grabbed his backpack from behind a large machine and pulled it onto a stretcher. He opened it and pulled out a few items. One was a large map, one a wrist watch with a small Pokenav attached to it, and one a small I.D. card. Dawn picked it up and looked at it carefully. It had a picture of a Rocket member on it and a few numbers.

"We're gonna have a tough time getting into the base, so I thought it would be easier if we had those", Tracy said. Dawn kept inspecting it.

"An I.D. card?", Dawn asked. Tracy nodded.

"Yeah. They're used by Team Rocket to enter and exit the building. I managed to swipe a few from passing by guards while I've been here", Tracy explained. Dawn nodded. "I didn't have time to put pics of us on them, but I don't think it would matter. We don't have any Rocket outfits anyway", Tracy explained.

"How many?", Dawn asked.

"I have three. One for each group. Although I don't think we'll need all of them. There's no way we'll be able to all get in the same way with the number of people we have. At least one group will have to break in. I highly doubt we'll be able to get away with this without being detected, but we have to at least be able to plant the bomb before they get suspicious", Tracy explained. Upon hearing the plan, Dawn looked down in worry. Tracy noticed this and became confused. "What's the matter?". Dawn looked up to him.

"...we lost contact with Misty's group. We were all attacked by the Rocket boats you warned us about on the way here. During the fight we got separated by the high currents. I made contact with May's group earlier, but none of us have been able to get a hold of the others...we don't know if they made it", Dawn explained. Tracy gasped.

"You...you think they...oh god", Tracy said. He leaned over the stretcher, looking down in complete shock. Dawn was not sure how to respond to this. She herself couldn't bare the idea of losing so many friends. She was never very good at helping people with situations like this. She knew what Tracy was going through, but could barely help herself let alone him. After a moment or two of complete silence, Tracy responded. "There's no way this mission will succeed...we can't do this with a third of our team gone...I was worried about this".

"Then...what do we do?", Dawn asked. Tracy looked up to her.

"Pray", Tracy answered. Suddenly, there was a very quiet static sound. Dawn's heart jumped slightly from it, not sure of where it was coming from. She suddenly felt something in her backpack vibrate. She pulled it off and opened it. It was the walkie talkie. She pulled it out of the bag and listened carefully to it.

"Dawn, this is May, are you there?", the walkie transmitted. Dawn clicked the button on the side of the walkie and replied.

"Yes, I'm here", Dawn replied.

"Listen, great news, we ran into Angel! She said that her and the rest of their group made it to the island. We're on the way right now to rendezvous with them!", May stated. Dawn and Tracy both smiled immediately.

"Wow! I didn't think praying would work that fast!", Tracy replied. Dawn nodded.

"That's great to hear May! We just found Tracy, he's with me right now!", Dawn replied.

"Perfect. We need to get together then. Can you all meet up with us on the North side of the island? We'll be close to the array there", May asked.

"Yes, we're in the abandoned town right now. We're very close to your location. We'll leave now and look for you", Dawn replied.

"Alright. We'll be on the shore line. Hurry, we don't know how long we'll be able to stay there undetected", May replied. Dawn nodded.

"Right, we're on the way, over and out!", Dawn replied. She then placed the walkie talkie away in her back pack. Tracy had already begun to put his items away while Dawn was talking. As soon as he was done, he looked to Dawn and nodded.

"Ok, let's hurry up and get to them. It's dangerous to stay in one spot too long", Tracy said. The two of them then walked out of the room and back to the main lobby. Everyone was hiding away from the windows and were preparing to move out already. Dawn approached them.

"Alright, listen up! We just made contact with May; she said that Misty and the others are on the island already. They're going to rendezvous with them right now. We have to do the same, but we have to hurry!", Dawn ordered. Everyone nodded. They packed their belongings and got themselves ready. Dawn then turned to Tracy. "Tracy, what's the fastest way to the shore?", Dawn asked.

"Just West of here. It's not even ten minutes away. But we still have to worry about Rocket patrols and cameras", Tracy answered. He then walked over to the side of the lobby and carefully looked out from one of the boarded windows. He pointed to a direction. "Right there. It's a path leading to the shore. We just have to make it passed the next few buildings and then it should be relatively easy to reach. The jungle doesn't have cameras like here". Dawn nodded and approached the window.

"Got it", Dawn replied. She then carefully pulled the boards off the window and looked around outside. There were no guards in the area and only one camera; which was directed towards the public beach. Luckily the path they were taking lead the opposite way. Dawn looked behind her and saw that everyone was ready to go. Dawn nodded and stepped outside. She took a few steps forward and then waited for everyone else to crawl out of the window. After a few minutes, everyone was out. She pointed towards the path and then pressed her fingers to her lips. Everyone nodded. Dawn then ran towards the path with everyone behind her.

They scurried behind a large building and then looked around once again. No cameras this time. There was only one more building in their path; a small circular shaped one made out of what appeared to be dead Palm Tree leaves. Dawn ran to this one and then stopped once she reached it. She slowly walked along the side of the building, making sure not to press up against the leaves in the process. Tracy, Ryoto, and the others were right behind her. Dawn looked to the path but then gasped. Right near the beginning of the little trail was a toll booth, with two grunts standing guard. Both of them carried heavy machine guns and had their backs to the rebels. Dawn slowly backed up and turned to Tracy and the others. She held out two fingers and pointed them towards the direction of the Rockets.

As she thought of a way around the Rockets, she noticed a small rock on the ground next to her feet. Suddenly, an idea came to mind. She picked up the rock and looked back to the Rockets. One was merely standing on the side of the booth, smoking a cigarette and seeming pretty oblivious to the area. The other one was walking back and forth from the booth to the other end of the trail and back. Dawn held the rock back and then threw it as hard as she could. It flew in the air and over the Rocket's heads, crashing into a tree in the woods past them. Both grunts looked towards the noise, their hands on their guns and more alert.

"What was that?", the smoking grunt asked. The walking grunt looked to the standing one.

"I'm gonna check it out", the grunt said. The smoking grunt nodded as the second one walked into the woods. As he did, Dawn ran up to the toll booth with lightning speed, Tracy right behind her. She positioned herself right behind the smoking guard, pulled her back pack off, and then swung it into the grunt's head. He immediately fell to the ground, unconscious. Dawn quickly pulled the guard away from the booth as Tracy ran over to the other side of the trail, close to where the second grunt was. He hid behind a tree and waited patiently for the other guard to return. After a minute or so, Tracy heard rustling in the brush and the second guard popped out.

"Eh, probably just some Pokemon or somethin", the guard said. He then noticed that his fellow Rocket was missing. "Huh, what the f...", before he could finish, Tracy had ran out from behind the tree and swung his fist into the back of the Rocket's head. He bent over, his eyes wide from shock and pain before finally falling to the ground, his gun at his side. Tracy took the gun and then dragged the guard towards the jungle with the other one. Dawn had already took the gun from the second one and was waiting for Tracy. Dawn motioned for the others to come as Tracy pulled the guard to the trunk of a large tree.

As the others approached them, Dawn and Tracy tied the Rockets to the tree with vines hanging from the branches and then gagged them with their own hats. Ryoto walked up to them and looked at the guards.

"Hmm, odd, but effective", Ryoto stated. Dawn and Tracy smiled.

"Works for us", Dawn said.

"Come on, the path should be clear now, let's get going!", Tracy said, his new gun at his side. Dawn and Ryoto nodded and them, along with the others, went down the trail. Meanwhile, Angel was leading May, Drew, and the rest of their squad to the location of Misty and the others. Much like Angel had done earlier, they kept themselves close to the cliff side and moved stealthily.

"Angel, how much further?", Drew asked as they ran. Angel pointed ahead of them

"Not much longer now, just a few more minutes!", Angel replied.

"Good, the sooner we get to them the better", Drew stated.

"When we get there, I think we should contact Ash. He would want to know that we made it to the island!", Angel said.

"I already did earlier, or rather they called me. But they'll want to know that you're safe. We weren't sure what happened to you, we were all worried", May stated.

"We tried to contact them ourselves but our communications equipment was lost with the boat. And Emily's Pokenav got ruined from the water", Angel explained. She then noticed something ahead of them. They were the same boulders that Ashley hid behind earlier. She recognized them and gasped. "There! Right behind those rocks!". She began to run faster, her lungs burning and her legs cramping. As soon as they passed the boulders, she saw her group resting on the beach. She waved her hands towards them as she ran. Aleksi just so happened to glance over to her at this time and noticed her and the others. She smiled and waved back.

"Angel found them!", Aleksi said to the others. Everyone looked as Angel and May's squad ran to them. Misty stood up and sighed heavily in relief.

"Oh thank goodness!", Misty said. Angel ran up to Misty and bent over, panting heavily. She looked up to her with a smile.

"I...found...them!", Angel said panting. Misty smiled back.

"A job well done Angel, you better relax now", Misty replied. Angel sighed and fell backwards into the sand, a smile on her face.

"Good, I could use a breather", Angel replied. Misty giggled. May and Drew ran up to Misty with smiles on their faces.

"You made it!", May said happily. She ran into Misty and they both shared a hug.

"Yes, we did. Although just barely", Misty replied. Brock approached the gang and smiled at Drew.

"Good to see you guys all in one piece", Brock stated. Drew smiled and held out his hand, which Brock shook.

"Likewise...you look like a mess though", Drew said. Brock looked down to his other hand, which was bandaged up.

"Yeah, burns from the boat's explosion. But thanks to one of your squad, it's feeling better", Brock said, turning and looking at Ashley. She was kneeling by a younger member, applying ointment to a cut on this girl's arm. She turned around, saw Drew, and gasped. She said something to the girl, handed her the ointment, and ran to Drew and the others. Once there, she held her hand to her head in a salute.

"Sorry Drew, I would of reported back but people here needed medical attention!", Ashley explained. Drew nodded.

"Don't worry about it, you're doing the right thing. Good job!", Drew said back. Brian, Michael, Emily, and Aleksi had approached them all by this moment with smiles on their faces.

"Look who I found", Alexsi said, pointing to Brian. Misty shook her head with a smile.

"Next time you jump off my boat, I hope you fall in the water", Misty said. Brian laughed.

"That hurts Misty, that really hurts. Well now that we're all back together, we just have to wait for Dawn's group", Brian said.

"They're on the island?", Misty asked. May nodded.

"Yes, me and Dawn have been keeping minor contact since we got separated. They found Tracy and are on the way here", May explained.

"That's good to hear", Brock said.

"So then, what do we do from here?", Drew asked. Brock thought for a moment.

"We need to contact Ash and the others, tell them what's happened so far. Once Dawn and Tracy are here with their group, we'll discuss the plan", Brock decided. May nodded and pulled out her walkie talkie. She handed it to Misty.

"Here, he'll want to hear you the most", May said. Misty would normally argue back over this, saying that there was nothing between them and that they were just friends, but she decided against it. She nodded and took the walkie from May. She flipped a switch, making her and Ash's walkie connected, and then spoke into it.

"Hello, is anyone there? This is Misty, hello?", Misty asked into the walkie. there was a moment of silence. Everyone watched her in anticipation. "Hello? This is Misty, report!", Misty said. This time, there was a response.

"Misty? Oh thank god! We thought you guys were goners!", a voice replied. It was Evan. Everyone smiled.

"Not yet we aren't", Misty said.

"What's going on there? What happened? We know that you were attacked but that's it", Evan asked.

"Our ship was destroyed by Team Rocket, we had to swim to New Island. We lost most of our gear and half of our crew", Misty replied. There was a moment of silence before finally Evan responded.

"That's...horrible", Evan replied. From the background Misty and the others could hear the voice of what they believed to be Milo, repeatedly saying "Shit" over and over again angrily. "Is Aleksi alright? Please tell me she's alright! And Angel?". Misty handed the walkie over to Aleksi.

"Yes, I'm fine Evan. We're both fine", Aleksi replied.

"You have _no _idea how glad I am to hear your voice Aleksi", Evan said. Aleksi blushed from the statement.

"The same for you Evan", Aleksi replied. Angel sat up on the sand and smiled at Aleksi. She thought it was cute how worried Evan was for her.

"Are the others with you? We heard from them both earlier, they said they were on the island", Evan said.

"May and her squad just found us, Dawn found Tracy and their on their way to our location, where's Ash?", Aleksi asked.

"I sent Max for him once I heard Misty's voice, he should be back any second", Evan replied. "Speak of the devil". Suddenly, there was a small clanking noise and someone else spoke into the walkie.

"It's Ash, what's going on?", Ash asked. Aleksi handed the walkie back to Misty.

"We're all here Ash", Misty replied with a smile, loving the sound of Ash's voice.

"Misty! I'm so glad to hear you're safe!", Ash replied. Misty blushed slightly, but luckily no one could see it. "What happened to you?".

"We got attacked by Team Rocket and they blew up the boat. We managed to get rid of them, but we lost Jonny and half of our crew", Misty replied.

"Oh god...", Ash said. There was then a long moment of silence. Everyone remained quiet, knowing very well what Ash and the others aboard Blaine's ship were going through right now. In their minds, they all thought of the friends they lost on the way to New Island; friends that died fighting for a cause they believed in. Angel fell back down onto the sand and looked up to the sky. In her mind, she recalled the sights of those around her getting shot, dying in agony. And then of Jonny, just before being lost to the sea. A single tear slid down her cheek and into the sand. Her gut wrenched and her heart ached, but she knew that she would have to push these feelings aside for the mission. She was skilled at this by now, seeing so much death and destruction at the hands of Team Rocket.

"...Ash?...May and her group are with us right now. We're waiting for Dawn and Tracy as we speak", Misty finally said after the silence.

"...understood. Keep in contact with us when you can...stay safe...over and out", Ash replied. Misty then put the walkie down and handed it back to May. Everyone looked at each other solemnly.

"I know this is a difficult time for all of us right now. But we have to concentrate on the mission. If we beat ourselves up over this then we'll never be able to destroy the array", Brock said. There was a moment of silence before everyone nodded in agreement. Brock nodded back.

"Good", Brock said. Suddenly, there was a noise coming from behind them. Everyone turned to hear the sounds of running coming from the shore.

What's that?", Michael asked, placing his hands over his throwing knives.

"Sounds like people are running towards us", Drew replied.

"Think it's Team Rocket?", Misty asked Brock. He looked to the source of the noise.

"We'll find out in a second", Brock replied. They all put their hands on their Pokeballs and weapons ready for whoever or whatever was approaching them. Just then, someone ran out into view and spotted them all. It was Tracy. He smiled and waved. Everyone grew excited.

"It's them!", Aleksi said happily. Dawn and Ryoto stepped out into view, along with the rest of their group. They ran to the others as fast as they could.

"You made it!", Dawn yelled.

"So did you!", Misty yelled back. Dawn ran into Misty and her, along with Aleksi and May, held onto each other and jumped up and down in joy. Tracy and Ryoto approached the gang as well.

"Glad to see that you're ok Tracy", Brock said. Tracy nodded.

"It's been awhile, I know", Tracy replied.

"Do you have any info on the array or the security?", Brock asked. Tracy nodded.

"Yeah, quite a bit. We need to let everyone rest up. We'll discuss over everything and then get going with the mission", Tracy said. Angel sat up again, this time looking at Tracy.

"We need to make it fast! On the way to get May and Drew I was almost spotted by a Rocket patrol. I overheard them saying that they were ordered to search the island for us. They're getting suspicious", Angel stated.

"I was afraid of that. Your little run in with the speed boats caused a stir. If they realize that their boats are destroyed then they'll call for reinforcements from the other islands", Tracy explained. Misty nodded. She then turned to everyone.

"Listen up, we're going to take a short rest. Take a breather, eat and drink what you can, and prepare yourselves, we're going to move out shortly", Misty said. Everyone nodded, most of them stating a "Yes mam!" back. Misty then turned back to the others. "Let's get started then. We don't have enough time to discuss what's happened, only what we have to do next". Tracy nodded. He looked around and then spotted a good place for them to discuss. It was a large flat boulder sitting against the cliff. They walked over to it and Tracy began to pull out various items from his pack. Drew turned and looked at Ashley.

"Ashley, go and grab Nick and Sawyer. They're over there", Drew said, pointing to the two. They were sitting on the sand and looking out to the ocean about a few hundred feet away. Ashley nodded and ran to them. Tracy pulled out a large blue piece of paper and opened it up entirely on the rock. It was blue prints of the array and the buildings connected to it.

"Ash already told me the plan you all came up with, so I managed to find these blue prints in a truck that was making its way into their base", Tracy said. He then pointed to a small square located inside the biggest building on the blue prints. "Alright, this is the communications room. It's relatively close to a small section of roof connected to the building. Misty, you, Brock, Emily, and Ryoto should head up there and try to make your way into the building. Be quick though, the roof has heat sensors on it, stay in one spot too long and it will warn the guards. Once you're inside the building, make sure you're quiet; if anyone spots you then we're screwed. When you reach the room you need to shut off their security and remove their communications both inside the base and outside of the island", Tracy explained.

"Then they won't be able to call for help", Misty said. Tracy nodded. Ashley quietly approached the group with Nick and Sawyer next to her.

"Exactly. Then Emily can talk to everyone and direct them to where they need to go. So long as you stay there you'll have use of their cameras and coms", Tracy said. He then pointed to a room in the lower levels of the building. "Once they're in the communications room you all have to move in. May, the databases are located in a storage room in their basement. Be careful though, because it's easy to get lost and there is a lot of security down there. When you make it to them, download everything you can onto this drive". Tracy pulled out a small rectangular device and tossed it to May. She caught it and looked at it. "Get as much information on it as you can, and then destroy the original copies. We'll get information on Team Rocket that will be useful when we go for their main base".

"Right. Understood", May said. She put the drive into her pocket.

"Then that leaves the rest of us. We'll all have to go through the building and to the top to reach the array. It's much to high to climb up and even if we could we'd be sitting ducks for their guns and Pokemon", Tracy said. He pointed to a path that lead from one of the doors all the way through the building. "We have to follow this path to the array. Once we get to this spot, all we have to do is climb a ladder and we're on the roof where the array is. We'll set the charges and leave", Tracy explained.

"Wait, why don't we just use a flying Pokemon to get to the top? Save us all that trouble?", Michael asked.

"I thought the same thing, but it turns out that they have four gun turrets mounted in top of the roof. They run by their own computer system built into them, so they can't be controlled. They shoot down anything that flys within a certain distance of the roof", Tracy explained.

"Then won't they fire at us once we're on the roof?", Michael asked. Tracy shook his head.

"No, they're designed to only shoot flying objects. It was a safety precaution for workers doing repairs to the roof or array", Tracy explained. After the charges are placed, we need to evacuate as soon as we can. We all need to meet back up immediately and head to the boats. We'll be separated again, but hopefully not for long. We'll blow the array as a distraction while we make a run for it. Then it's merely surviving the trip back to Cinnabar where Ash and the others are waiting for us", Tracy explained.

"Oh, is that all?", Brian asked in a almost joking way.

"I know this isn't going to be easy, but it's the quickest way to do it. And the faster we get it done, the least likely we'll get ourselves killed", Tracy said. Misty nodded.

"We've lost too many lives as it is, we cannot afford to lose anymore", Misty stated. Everyone nodded.

"What about the other PTA members?", Angel asked, sticking her thumb out behind her towards the others.

"We'll divide up so that each group as a good number of people. The rest will create a diversion in the main level of the base, here", Tracy said, pointing to an entire level of the building. It was the first level of the base, where there would be the most space and the most amount of attention. "Since May and her group will be downstairs and everyone else upstairs it will be far enough away where we won't get hurt from the battle. Obviously they're putting themselves in the most danger here, so we need to keep exits open. Emily, make sure that they don't lock any of the exits on them", Tracy said. Emily nodded.

"Roger that", Emily said.

"If it gets to hairy, they'll fall back to the jungle. It will be easier to hide there and they won't be open targets. Hopefully they'll hold tight until we at least plant the bombs", Tracy said. He then looked to Brock and Misty. "I'm curious, who did Ash have stay with him back at Cinnabar?".

"Max, Gary, Milo, and Evan", Brock answered. Tracy nodded.

"Makes sense, I thought he might do that", Tracy said. Brock and Misty nodded. Angel looked at them and seemed a bit confused as to why they thought this made sense. Didn't he just choose them at random? "If it's to difficult or dangerous to head to Cinnabar, then we'll go the opposite direction to Shamouti. Gary's sister May and Melody have already prepared for our arrival should the situation call for it. Well, that's about it. Make sure your Pokemon and yourselves are rested. We'll have to start in a few minutes". Everyone nodded.

"Right!", everyone exclaimed. Tracy then began to pack away his items as everyone dispersed. Brock stayed behind because Tracy had said that he wanted to get a look at his burnt arm. Angel turned around and noticed Aleksi walking away towards the ocean. She ran to Aleksi's side and tugged on her arm. Aleksi looked down at her with a smile.

"Hey. You ready to kick some Rocket butt?", Aleksi asked as they kept walking, towards the water. Angel nodded.

"You bet!", Angel said.

"That's good. I think we all are here", Aleksi said, looking around to everyone who was preparing. Everyone was either checking their weapons, packing supplies brought by other members, or quickly eating and drinking. Angel then looked away from Aleksi for a moment, thinking back to what Tracy had said just a few seconds ago.

"...I have a question for you", Angel said. Aleksi nodded.

"Ok, what is it?", Aleksi asked.

"Why...why did Tracy say that it made sense for Ash to be with Evan and the others?", Angel asked. This question stopped Aleksi in her tracks. Angel stopped as well, looking up at her and wondering if it was such a good idea to ask her that question and quickly regretting it.

"Oh...", Aleksi said. After a second's pause she sat on the sand, Angel did the same. The soft warm sand cushioned her thighs and butt. Aleksi looked out to the sea, the wind slightly blowing her long hair back. Angel looked to the sea as well and her hair began to flow gently in the breeze. "You see, Ash picked them because...if the worst should happen and we all get captured, then they have to escape without us", Aleksi answered. Angel looked at Aleksi in some disbelief.

"What do you mean?", Angel asked. She found it impossible to think that Ash would simply leave them here to be tortured or killed by Team Rocket. Not the same Ash who risked his life to save her in the forest, who brought her in and helped her get back on her feet. Not the same Ash who promised to do everything in his power to save her parents and reunite them. Aleksi's impression however told her otherwise.

"Ash is the leader of the group, the symbol of what we fight for. He motivates everyone to do their job and gives them spirit. If he were to get captured, or killed, then the PTA would lose that fighting spirit. They wouldn't put up a fight anymore. We all know it, even Ash, even though he would never admit to it", Aleksi explained. Angel looked down at the sand in thought. It hadn't occurred to her that Ash's importance to the group meant that he would have to escape without them. "Ash would never want us to get captured, and he would do anything and everything in his power to see to our rescue, but it's too dangerous for him to get involved heavily with the plan".

"I see", Angel replied.

"And that's not all", Aleksi stated. Angel became more curious.

"He chose Milo and Evan merely for security reasons. Evan for distance and Milo for close quarters. But it was also an important decision on his part to have Max and Gary with him", Aleksi explained.

"How so?", Angel asked.

"Well, Max is one of our senior analysts, and Gary is the head of our science department. If they got captured, then not only do we lose important allys, but Team Rocket has a bundle of information on us. They would discover everything we're working on simply by catching two people. Their safety is almost as important as Ash's. In fact, Ash took quite a risk sending in the people that he did for this mission. He sent in all of the region leaders _plus _his second in command. He knows just how important this mission is and how important it is to have a lot of experienced people involved.", Aleksi answered. Angel nodded.

"Right...I get it now...", Angel said. She did understand, but thinking about it in this way almost made her seem worthless. Like a pawn in a chess game, someone used primarily for sacrifice for something greater. She knew that this wasn't their intention, but she couldn't help but feel this way. Aleksi looked at Angel and sighed; she knew what she was thinking. She placed an arm around Angel's shoulders and pulled her in closer.

"Don't think that you're not important here Angel. You're just as important as anyone else. And we're all going to make sure that you get out of here alive to see your parents. I promise", Aleksi said. Angel nodded. "Remember, without you...we would never be able to succeed". Angel said these words to herself in her head. It did actually make her feel better. She smiled and gave Aleksi a hug.

"Thank you Aleksi...you're like the sister that I never had!", Angel said. Aleksi looked down at Angel, who was squeezing her waist tightly. She smiled, a lone tear coming down her cheek. She lowered herself just enough to give Angel a hug back.

"And you're like the sister _I_ never had", Aleksi replied. "And remember, I will _always _be there for you". They remained there in silence, enjoying the brief moment of happiness. They both knew that, in reality, it was the calm before the storm. And this storm wasn't going to simply blow over anytime soon. No, this storm was going to leave a trail of destruction. And both girls knew deep inside that a lot of good people were going to pay the price.

"Girls?", someone asked. Aleksi and Angel turned around to see Michael standing a few feet away from them, his hands in his pockets. He looked at them solemnly. "We're getting ready...you may want to as well...". He then turned around and walked away. He felt bad for ruining their moment, but they needed to get ready. Michael then walked up to Nick and two other rebels, helping them pack guns and ammunition. Aleksi released Angel, stood up, and looked down at her with a look of determination.

"Well Angel...are you ready for this?", Aleksi asked. She then lowered her hand down to her. Angel looked at her hand for a moment, and then grapsed it.

"Yes...I'm ready!", Angel replied.

**And that's the end of that! Next chapter the mission will begin. Prepare for a lot more action and drama! "Angel and the crew are now ready to fight Team Rocket and take down the array. But will they be able to succeed? What is in store for them at the base? Will they survive? Find out next time in the thrilling installment of EVAN AAML's "R"!". Oh, and by the way, I saw "Hop" last night. A very good movie. Better for little kids, but it had its adult humor in it as well. Fun for the family, not the best movie I've seen, but good enough to satisfy. I will update this and "The Alphabet Game: EVAN AAML Style", sometime this week, when I'm not busy with school work. Hopefully this will make you happy until then. Be sure to F.A.R.!**

**sincerely,  
evan, a fan of aaml -EVAN AAML**


	16. Chapter 16

**Welcome back to my 16th chapter of "R". I'm a little down in the dumps lately and not quite on the cheery side, so I'm gonna keep this A.N. short. **

**-EVAN AAML**

Ledyba, check. Sharpedo, check. Knife, eh, check. Gun...unfortunately, check.

Angel was going through her supplies, seeing what she had before they departed. After checking her belt, she looked through her backpack, the one that Evan had given her before they left the base. Inside were some supplies such as rope, a med kit, ammunition, a map of the island, and some other items now worthless from getting wet. It would have to do. She closed up her bag and swung it over her shoulders and onto her back. Everyone else was packing and preparing as well.

Aleksi, Sawyer, Nick, and Ryoto were doing the same as Angel; checking their supplies. Brian was over at a large rock, checking over his explosives. Several Pokeball bombs, some TNT, and one particularly large package were placed on the rock. He overlooked them carefully, making sure that they still functioned without setting them off. Michael and Emily were talking to Drew and May, making sure they knew what they were doing. Angel sighed heavily. This could very wel be the last time she saw any of them alive.

"Feeling alright?", someone asked. Angel turned around to see Ashley leaning over her, looking down at the young girl.

"Uh...yeah, I'm fine", Angel replied.

"Bit nervous huh?", Ashley asked. After a second or two Angel nodded. "Yeah, I know what you mean".

"Are you scared", Angel asked. Ashley smiled.

"Honestly...I'm terrified. Absolutely terrified. This is my first big mission. I've only done recon since I joined", Ashley explained.

"So what's your story then?", Angel asked.

"Well, I actually came all the way from Unova, do you know where that is?", Ashley asked. Angel shook her head. "Yeah, a lot of people don't. It's really far away from here. I lived there all my life; traveling around and battling for the Pokemon League. After I collected badges from there and placed in the top eight of their League, I wanted to see other places and try my luck there. Well, as I made my way out of Unova, Team Rocket made their way in. Needless to say it's not to safe to go back home", Ashley said.

"Another region under Team Rocket control?", Angel said, slightly shocked and disappointed.

"Yep. Although it's pretty small. The only thing stopping people from fighting back is fear. Oh well, I aim to fix that. After this is all over and we take down Giovanni, I intend to return home and help get rid of Team Rocket there", Ashley said. Angel smiled.

"That's good", Angel replied.

"And what about you? What's your story? Bit odd to see a twelve year old here", Ashley said.

"I've been on the run since I was ten. My parents were taken prisoner by Team Rocket, but all of those years I thought they were dead. Ash saved me from some grunts and then I joined when I found out my parents were still alive", Angel explained.

"Wow...I'm so sorry", Ashley explained. Angel tried to change the topic.

"What about you? Do you have any family?", Angel asked.

"Oh yeah, big one. Parents, cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents. They're all back in Unova. I worry about them, but like I said, Team Rocket is pretty small there. I'm sure they're fine", Ashley answered. Angel nodded. She then looked towards the array. The large metal dish glimmering in the sunlight. She sighed again. Ashley put her hand on Angel's shoulder. "Remember Angel, conquering your fear is just a matter of facing it. And you have parents to save". Angel turned to her and nodded.

"Right!", Angel replied. Ashley smiled. She then looked up and noticed something. Her smiled disappeared and was replaced by a serious expression.

"Looks like we're heading out", Ashley said. Angel turned and saw what Ashley had seen. Misty and Brock were standing on a large rock and looking at everyone, ushering them all together. Angel nodded and the two girls ran over to the group forming. Everyone gathered together around Misty and Brock and listened in to what they had to say. After everyone was there, Misty stepped forward.

"Ok, is everyone ready?", Misty asked. Everyone nodded, some replied with a yes or a yeah. Misty nodded back. "Good. Now I don't have to remind you about how important this mission is. The fate of the future depends on our success. I'd be lying if I said it was going to be easy or even safe...there's a chance that some of you won't make it back home", Misty said morbidly. She looked down, and then back up to the group. "But this is something we have to do, if we fail, then Team Rocket will forever rule the world! We are doing this...for freedom!", Misty yelled, throwing her fist in the air. Everyone else did the same.

"For freedom!", everyone yelled back. Misty smiled.

"Thank you all", Misty replied. Brock then stepped forward and took Misty's spotlight. Misty stepped back and listened.

"Alright, this is what's going on. I'm going to divide you up. If you're selected, group with the leader of your squad. If I don't call you, then you are part of the distraction force", Brock explained. Angel walked over to Aleksi, she already knew where she was going. Aleksi smiled and put an arm around Angel. And so everyone was divided. Ashley was picked to be with Brock and Misty along with four or so other members. Only about two were sent to Aleksi's group since it was large as it was. About five went with May and Drew, and the rest geared up and prepared for the big fight. Aleksi pulled Angel away from the crowd and brought her with the rest of her new squad.

"Well, are we all ready?", Aleksi asked. Everyone nodded.

"Ready as I'll ever be I guess", Michael replied.

"I'm all set", Brian said.

"Me too", Dawn stated. The unknown PTA members merely nodded with a smile Aleksi then looked down to Angel. She smiled.

"Yes", Angel replied. Tracy stepped forward.

"Good to hear. We're going to hide out for a bit near the front of the building along with the distraction group. May and her group will enter from the back. I've got the I.D. card to let us in. We'll sneak in, and make our way to the top of the base. The distraction group will attack fifteen minutes after Brock and the others enter the communications room. That gives us fifteen minutes to sneak up there", Tracy explained. Everyone nodded. "Alright, let's do this then", Tracy said. He held his hand out towards the group. Angel smiled and placed her hand on top of his. Aleksi followed Angel. Soon, everyone's hand was placed in the center. Tracy brought them down and then threw them up in the air.

"Go PTA!", they all yelled. They all smiled, but were hiding the high amounts of stress they were enduring. Stress wasn't growing only with the rebels at New Island; the gang at Cinnabar was also feeling the pressure. Gary and Pikachu remained in the captain's room with the communications. Milo and Evan had taken watch on the boat, making sure that no one, particularly Rockets, were watching them. Milo was on the current watch. Ash was in a separate room of the ship with Max, overlooking information on the island and the array. The room was merely a small room with a table, comfortable chairs and couches, and windows that let the sunshine in the boat. He leaned over the table and looked at the pictures and files.

"The array is weakest at the front of the support base?", Ash asked, as if it wasn't right. Max nodded, keeping his eyes on other paperwork.

"Yes. That section of the base has the main wires and computer connections. If placing a bomb there doesn't destroy the array entirely it will make it unusable", Max explained. Ash nodded.

"I'd prefer completely demolished but we can't be picky", Ash said. He then looked at another file, this one blue. "So Misty will enter from here, Tracy from here, and May from here. It should only take about half an hour to an hour for the mission to be accomplished; not accounting for the probable resistance of course. That leaves the escape. Misty no longer has a boat, so that's a lot of people that need to be split apart between the remaining two. The current away from the island is less extreme but goes the opposite direction, so motor power is a necessity".

"Right. I've been looking at the sea map from here to New Island and I found a path that they could probably take", Max said, pulling out a map. He layed it down and showed the path to Ash. "From what they've told us the boats are situated pretty far away from each other. But May's is closer to us than Dawn's. She'll have to meet up with May's boat here...and then they'll have to go there".

"How long would this take?", Ash asked overlooking the path.

"Uhm...estimating the length of time it takes for them to get to their boats and leave, and taking into account the currents, I'd say...couple of hours", Max decided. Ash sighed.

"That would be longer than the trip there. We can't afford that", Ash said. He then paced around the table for a bit, Max watching. He then stopped and thought of something. "How are the currents between here and there?". Max looked at him quizzically.

"What do you mean?", Max asked.

"I mean, there are obviously high currents from here to New Island, but are there currents between here and there that go in a entirely different direction?", Ash explained. Max thought for a bit and looked at a oceanography map of the area.

"Well, there are currents pretty much everywhere, their strength just varies...there are some here that head east from New Island. We're closer to it than they are though...why?", Max asked. Ash looked at the path intently, his hand to his chin.

"I think we should meet them in between here and there, we'll head to the current that takes them east once their mission is accomplished. That way it's less travel for them. We'll use the current to take us East and then use the long route back to Kanto. We avoid Cinnabar entirely, thereby lowering chances of being followed", Ash decided.

"That would make our return trip a lot longer", Max reminded him.

"I know, but we'll have to risk it. Better take the longer route home then the longer route through danger", Ash said. Max looked at Ash for a moment, then nodded in agreement. Suddenly, the wooden doors to the room swung open. Pikachu scurried into the room and hopped onto the table with the papers while Gary approached Ash.

"I got word from Brock, everyone's divided up and they're moving in on the target", Gary said. Ash nodded.

"Alright. This is when things get dangerous for them and us. We need to stay on watch for their communications. Once Misty and Brock get into the Rocket com room, it will be safe to communicate with them. In the meantime, we'll have to keep quiet and not talk to them, it could ruin their discretion. They'll call us when they're ready. Where's Evan and Milo?", Ash asked.

"Milo is on watch and Evan is having a smoke up on top", Gary said.

"Ok, tell them that they'll have to keep a closer eye on the horizon. I'd imagine by now that Team Rocket thinks something is up since the speed boats aren't back yet to report. They'll buff up security on the water which would probably include here and other surrounding islands. If they really wanted to search around here it wouldn't take them long to find us", Ash said.

"Got it", Gary replied. He then left the room to alert Milo and Evan of the orders. Ash walked over to the table and saw Pikachu sitting on the table. He smiled and began to scratch his head. Pikachu purred from the contact. Ash smiled more, but nothing could really mask the true nervousness he was feeling right now for the others.

Miles away from Ash and the others, the gang was preparing for the assault. Everyone had taken their positions around the base, staying out of the vision of Rockets and ready to strike. Misty, Brock, and the others were making their way to the roof of the building. It took them several minutes to be able to manuever themselves to their current position without being noticed. They had sneaked around the back end and, when the cameras weren't on them, used a grappling hook to pull themselves up. They were moving quickly, not wanting to get spotted. Misty was on the roof first and quickly and quietly helped the others up. Once everyone was up, they removed the grappling hook and quietly rested on the roof.

"Ok, where exactly is the com room from here?", Misty asked quietly. Emily looked at a map of the roof. She pin-pointed where their location was and then looked for the com room.

"It's right over there, but we'll have to go into the building from here", Emily replied just as quietly, pointing to a ventilation shaft. Misty nodded and began to move towards it. Slowly, the others approached the shaft, but once Misty reached it, she quickly ducked down. The others instinctively did the same. She pointed a finger behind the large shaft. Brock and Ryoto poked their heads out just slightly to see what she was pointing at. There was a Rocket guard patrolling the roof. His back was to the gang as he stood idly on watch. Ryoto nodded knowingly and slowly made his way behind the shaft. He quietly pulled out his Katana and positioned himself behind the guard. He aimed the Katana to his back and looked to the others. Brock shook his head sternly. Ryoto sighed, pulled the Katana away, and then hit the Rocket over the head with the handle of the blade. He fell to the ground; unconscious.

"You know we're not going to get very far on this mission if we're afraid to kill people", Ryoto said annoyed, sliding his sword back into the sheath. He then bent down and dragged the guard to a metal post on the roof. Misty watched as he tied him to the post.

"We're not going to kill if we don't have to, that's not us. I don't care if you have Rocket training to kill", Misty stated. Ryoto shook his head.

"Fine, fine. But if the time comes where our lives are in danger, I'm doing what I please", Ryoto said. Misty did not like Ryoto's thirst for blood, but ignored it for the time being. Brock approached the ventilation shaft and began to try to pry it open. He finally pulled the cover of it off and carefully placed it to the side.

"We'll have to climb down from here and come in through the systems down there", Brock said.

"Shall we get going then?", Ashley asked. Brock nodded. But before he could begin to climb in he was stopped.

"Wait!", Emily said. Brock stopped and looked at her.

"What is it?", Brock asked. Emily began to look around the roof, as if she was expecting to see something in particular. Shinx looked around as well, but he was not sure exactly what Emily was looking for. Just then, Emily spotted it.

"Aha!", Emily yelled. She ran over towards a large metal box situated a bit away from the ventilation shaft. It was about as tall as them and was locked with a large padlock. Emily pulled out a small metal utensil from her pocket and began to work at the lock. Everyone looked at her quizzically.

"What are you trying to do with that electrical box?", Brock asked. Emily smiled as she heard a click and then pulled the now un-locked padlock off the box and opened it.

"I'm going to set a electric timer on here and connect it to the communication's system. That way, we can break in without them seeing us with their cameras. If we can hurry and take over the room, they won't alert security. I'll set the timer for a few minutes and then it will shut off by the time we reach it", Emily explained.

"Good thinking", Brock stated. She placed a green looking box onto some of the wires and began to click buttons on the box. She then adjusted some wires, and she was done. It sparked for a moment but connected. Emily smiled and then closed the door to the electric box. "Let's hurry and get going before the timer runs out".

"Right", Misty said. Ryoto grabbed the grappling hook from before and connected it to a flag pole a couple feet away from the shaft. They then tossed the rope down the ventilation system.

"So who's going first?", Ryoto asked. One of the PTA members stepped forward.

"I will, no problem!", the rebel said. He walked over and slowly climbed down the rope and into the shaft. The others followed right behind him. They had to move slowly and lightly to prevent them from banging against the sheet metal walls. After a bit of climbing they reached the bottom. It was a narrow system but they could make their way through it if they went one at a time. In order of their decent, they crawled through the air ducts. Their hearts beat faster and faster as they progressed, knowing that they could be spotted at any moment; they would be sitting ducks for a Uzi. They couldn't talk because their voices would echo throughout the entire duct system.

After a few minutes of crawling and sliding, Misty, who was second from the front, stopped. She tugged on the PTA member who went down the shaft first. He stopped and turned to look at her. Misty turned and looked behind her to Emily. Although they couldn't talk, Emily knew what Misty had wanted to ask. She pulled out the map very slowly, looked at it using the little light available from the ventilation gates, and then looked back at Misty. She pointed down and nodded. Misty nodded back. She then looked ahead of them, down the remainder of the shaft. A few feet away from them was a gate that led to the halls of the building. Misty pointed at it and the man in front of her nodded.

He crawled up to it very quietly and looked down. From above, he could see that he was right on top of a Rocket guard. The grunt stood still, not aware of the eyes from above. The rebel nodded and pointed down. Everyone else nodded back. The rebel began to crawl over the gate to get to the other side, but suddenly he slipped and fell hard on top of the gate. He crashed through it and screamed as he fell out of the shaft and into the halls. Misty and the others gasped. She crawled forward quickly and popped her head down from the hole. The PTA member had fallen right on top of the guard and knocked him out. He sat up, a little dazed, looked down at the Rocket, and then back up to the ceiling where Misty was.

"Ow...well, that worked out surprisingly well!", he said with a goofy grin. Misty sweatdropped.

"You're lucky it did", Misty replied. She then slid down and landed on her feet into the hall. The others followed as Misty helped up the PTA member.

"What's your name?", Misty asked, realizing that she had never gotten it.

He wore a light green shirt with a open camouflage jacket. He also had blue jeans and brown boots. His green eyes and golden brown hair matched his attire. He smiled. "My name's Trent", he said. Misty shrugged.

"Ok Trent, next time be more careful", Misty said. Trent saluted her.

"Yes mam!", Trent said. Misty nodded. She then turned to look at Ryoto.

"Ryoto, you and Trent here go check the area, make sure no one here will be near us when we take over the room", Misty said. Ryoto nodded.

"Right, come on you", Ryoto said. Trent nodded.

"Alright!", Trent replied. The two of them carefully walked down the hall and looked around the corners. Misty then brought her attention to the others. "We need to hurry, where is the room?". Emily looked at the map, Shinx sitting carefully on her shoulder.

"Uhm...right up the stairs! It leads to the room!", Emily said, pointing behind them. It was a hall that led up a flight of stairs.

"Good, let's get going!", Brock said. He then ran up the stairs. the others right behind him. Ryoto and Trent on the other hand remained downstairs. There were a lot of halls, but they decided that there would be no need to go down all of them immediately. They only looked down the immediate halls and made sure that no one was near them. They were nervous that there was no resistance, but did not complain over it. As they searched, Ryoto stopped and turned to Trent. He looked at him up and down and then pointed a finger at him.

"Ok, listen, what are your qualifications, what can you do?", Ryoto asked. Trent thought it was an odd question to ask on the field, but complied.

"Uh, well, hacker, close combat...and...yeah, bout it", Trent replied. Ryoto stared at him blankly.

"That's it...", Ryoto said. He then sighed. "Well at least you can fight". He then looked down the hall and then back. "Alright, coast is clear, we're gonna stand guard at the com room and stay there". Trent nodded. They made their way back to the others when suddenly they saw something and stopped short. Ryoto held Trent back and looked down the hall. Three guards were standing right by where they had entered the building. They had noticed the unconscious guard and were looking around. Their guns and Pokeballs at the ready. "Damn! We didn't move the body!", Ryoto said.

"What do we do? We can't let them contact help!", Trent said. Ryoto nodded.

"We'll have to take them out! What weapons you got? Close quarter weapons, we can't afford to use loud guns", Ryoto said in a whisper Trent nodded. He dug into his back pack and pulled out a large object. It looked like the handle to a blade, without the blade. Ryoto looked at him puzzled. Trent smiled and clicked a button on the bottom of the hilt. Suddenly, a blade popped out of the handle. It was a Katana like Ryoto's.

"A Katana?", Ryoto asked. Trent nodded with a grin.

"Oh yeah! This is gonna be good!", Trent said in a quiet yet excited way. Ryoto then took a closer look at the blade. He grabbed it from Trent and examined it carefully. His eyes widened.

"Wait...this is fake!", Ryoto said annoyed and shocked. Trent scowled at him and grabbed it back.

"It's not fake!...it's a toy!", Trent said. Ryoto looked at him angrily.

"You came to this war with a toy sword?", Ryoto asked.

"Listen, I know it's not a typical weapon, but it will work, trust me!", Trent said. Ryoto was angry at Trent for acting so foolishly, but could not do anything about it now. He pulled out his Katana and looked at Trent.

"Just do me a favor...don't die!", Ryoto said. Trent nodded. Ryoto then ran out from where they were hiding and charged at the Rockets, Trent right behind him. The Rockets heard the running, saw the boys charging, and readied themselves.

"WHAT THE?", one of the Rockets yelled. They pulled out their guns. Ryoto jumped in the air, his Katana aimed at the Rockets. He thrust it forward but the Rocket that was the target jumped back and dodged it. Ryoto then swung his blade at the second Rocket near him, cutting him in the stomach. He fell back into the wall, holding his stomach. It wasn't deep, but it cut across.

"KILL EM!", the Rocket yelled. The third Rocket pulled out his gun and was about to shoot when suddenly he felt something hit him in the back of the head. He fell forward a step and then turned around, rubbing the back of his skull. Trent stood there, his toy Katana in hand. He looked at the Rocket, and then at the Katana with a smile.

"...HA! I KNEW IT'D WORK!", Trent yelled. The Rocket did not find it nearly as funny. He aimed his gun at Trent, but he quickly acted and swung his sword at the weapon. It flew out of the Rocket's hand and down the hall. Trent grinned, but it did not last long. The grunt threw a fist at Trent and hit him in the cheek. Trent flew to the side and crashed into the wall. The Rocket charged at him and threw another punch, this time hitting him in the stomach. Trent dropped his toy Katana and held his gut. The Rocket tried to throw another punch into his gut, but this time Trent caught his fist. He straightened up and elbowed the Rocket in the neck. As the Rocket cringed from the blow, Trent swung the Rocket's arm, causing him to flip in the air and land on the ground. Trent looked at the Rocket on the ground.

"BAM!", Trent yelled. Suddenly, the second Rocket grabbed Trent from behind. He struggled as the Rocket wrapped his arms around his neck. He tried to pull them off, but didn't have as much strength as the large grunt. Ryoto turned and saw the struggling Trent.

"DAMMIT!", Ryoto yelled. But his attention was short lived. The remaining Rocket pulled out a large knife and swung it at Ryoto. He ducked from the knife mere milli-seconds before it struck him. He swung his Katana and struck it down, right into the Rocket's boot. The Rocket yelled in pain, the blade piercing through his foot. Ryoto then pulled the blade out, flipped it, and the swung it up. It slid up his chest and went through the Rocket's neck and chin. The Rocket fell back to the ground, blood spilling everywhere from his throat. Ryoto's face was slightly covered in the red fluid. He then turned and brought his attention to the second Rocket.

The Rocket however noticed the murder before him. As Ryoto approached him, he picked up Trent, who was still held tightly in his arms, and swung him at Ryoto. His dangling legs hit Ryoto in the face and knocked him into the wall. Trent began to think harder. He didn't have long before he would pass out from lack of oxygen. he swung one of his free legs back and kicked the Rocket in the ball sack. The Rocket chuckled.

"Do you honestly think that something that desperate would work on me?", the Rocket asked. Of course Trent could not reply, but he was hoping that it would of worked. He then thought of something that might work. He released the grip he had on the Rocket's arms, which caused the chocking to feel worse, but gave him his arms and hands back. He then swung his arms back and punched the Rocket in both sides of the neck. It was not a very hard hit, but it did not matter. The Rocket lost his grip and Trent was free. He fell to the ground and turned around, gasping for breath and holding his red throat. The Rocket held his soar neck, still in pain.

"YOU SON OF A BITCH!", the Rocket yelled. He lunged for Trent, who was still on the ground. Trent swung his leg, tripping the Rocket. The Rocket fell to the ground and crashed on the floor. Before he could even get up, Trent dove over and punched him dead in the throat. A crunch echoed in the halls, and the Rocket remained motionless. Trent stood up slowly, still dizzy from the lack of air. He looked at the Rocket's body.

"That...was...crazy", Trent said panting. He, like many of the other members of the PTA, was not a big fan of killing. Unlike the others however, he did what he had to. He stepped over the body and picked up his toy Katana. He then looked around him. Blood pooled near the body of the Rocket that Ryoto had killed. Trent quickly looked away. The body of his Rocket was on the ground, his eyes wide open; forever in a shocked expression. The third Rocket was still moving, but barely. And the Rocket that he had crashed on top of earlier was still lying on the ground unconscious. Trent then brought his attention to Ryoto, who was now standing up. Trent approached him and helped him up.

"You alright?", Trent asked. Ryoto nodded.

"Yeah, took me by surprise is all", Ryoto replied.

"Yeah, me too", Trent replied jokingly. "We caused a bit of a mess, but we beat em". Ryoto nodded. "Just goes to show just how prepared we were for", before he could finish, Ryoto pushed Trent to the side and pierced a Rocket in the chest. Trent looked as the Rocket's eyes grew wide. Ryoto looked into the Rocket's eyes with a terrifying expression in his face. It was a look that scared the Rocket as his life slipped away. He then pulled out the sword and the Rocket fell to the ground. Trent watched as he fell. It was the same Rocket that he took down just a moment before. He looked at Ryoto in shock. "...thanks", Trent said. Ryoto nodded.

"No problem", Ryoto replied. Trent looked around. There were now three dead Rockets and one unconscious.

"Wow...this is...wow. I was not expecting this", Trent said.

"You wouldn't", Ryoto said. He then began to walk forward. Trent watched as he approached the unconscious Rocket. He stood over him, that same terrifying look in his eyes. He flipped his blade so that it was facing down and raised it in the air. Trent gasped and lunged forward. He caught Ryoto's armed hand just before he plunged the blade into the Rocket.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING? ARE YOU MAD?", Trent yelled. Ryoto looked at him, which scared Trent. His eyes were no longer filled with any kind of human emotion, nothing but evil. It reminded Trent of the stare of any Rocket member, eyes filled with no love or innocence.

"They would kill you without bating an eyelash, I'm merely making sure it doesn't happen!", Ryoto yelled coldly.

"That's not what we do here! The PTA is not about mindless killing!", Trent yelled. Ryoto pulled his blade away and brought his full attention to Trent, who was now beginning to annoy him.

"As I recall, you just killed a Rocket yourself!", Ryoto yelled.

"Because my life was on the line! This Rocket is in no way a threat!", Trent yelled back.

"Listen, I saved your life from a Rocket who was about to kill you, these people have killed thousands, possibly even millions of people! Regardless of who they were or what they did! They gave no one justice, and deserve none in return! They would have us all butchered in seconds and I'm simply going to do it to them before they do it to me!", Ryoto explained.

"YOU ARE NOT A ROCKET!", Trent yelled. This struck a cord with Ryoto. His anger disappeared as he looked at Trent. "WE'RE NOT ROCKETS! We won't sink to their levels! That solves nothing!". Trent saying this made Ryoto recall how his past was. He _was _a Rocket once. He _did_ act in their way before. The evil in his eyes disappeared and Trent sighed as Ryoto swung his blade in the air, removing the remainder of the blood, and then put it away.

"You're right...we're not like them", Ryoto said. He then walked past Trent. Without looking back, he made his way towards the stairs. "We better follow the others, they'll need our help". Ryoto then disappeared up the stairs. Knowing that he was now gone from view, Trent bent down, gasping. His heart was pacing and he was sweating heavily. He had never been more scared in his life. The Rockets he fought just now were nothing compared to him. He put his toy Katana away, thinking that it wasn't the time to use it. He didn't want to anger anyone else anytime soon. He then looked at the unconscious Rocket. He breathed, but did not move. Trent figured that he wasn't going to go anywhere anytime soon, so he stepped over the bodies of the other Rockets and quickly made his way up the stairs to reach the others.

Misty, Brock, Emily, Ashley, and the remaining PTA members were making their way up the stairs. They kept pace, but also kept quiet. Soon, they stopped running and slowed their pace. They could hear sounds from the top of the stairs. They became louder and louder. Brock, who was in the front of the pack, stopped entirely. He turned to the others and put a finger to his lips. They all nodded in complience. He then took a step forward, as did Misty and Emily. From there, they could see the room.

The com room was similar to theirs back home in the way that the stairs were spiraled and popped out of the floor of the com room. However, the similarities ended there. This room was much larger than theirs and had much more computers and communication equipment. Four Rocket guards stood by, their backs to the stairs. In their hands were large machine guns, ones that would tear their bodies apart. Two scientists dressed entirely in white with the exception of the large "R" on their arm band worked at the communication gear, moving around quickly as if something was wrong.

"Communications are still down!", one of the scientists said annoyed. The second scientists removed his glasses and wiped his forehead.

"This isn't good. We must be under attack by the PTA. We can't alert the other islands until this problem is solved!", the second scientist said. Brock looked at the others. He was not sure as to how they would take them all out. Firing weapons would be much to loud and attract attention. Emily however seemed to have an idea in her head. She looked to her shoulder and made eye contact with her Shinx. Shinx looked into her eyes as well. They seemed to have a mental conversation because after a few seconds, Shinx nodded. Emily picked him up and placed him quietly on the floor of the com room. Shinx ran forward, under the legs of one of the guards. The guard looked at him in shock.

"What the fuck?", the guard said. Everyone looked down and saw Shinx.

"What is that Pokemon doing here!", the scientist with the glasses asked. Suddenly, Shinx growled at the Rockets and began to spark. Everyone panicked.

"SHOOT IT! SHOOT IT!", the other scientist yelled. But it was too late. Shinx yelled and fired lighting bolts throughout the room. Every Rocket was struck in the back or chest and yelled. They then fell to the ground, twitching. Emily ran up the remainder of the stairs and to Shinx, who smiled at his trainer.

"Great job Shinx!", Emily said. Shinx squeaked happily. Brock and the others came up the stairs. Brock walked to one of the guards and looked at him carefully. He lowered himself and moved the Rocket. His eyes were wide open, but fixated in a different direction. Brock nodded.

"Paralyzed, all of them", Brock determined. "Nice Thunder Wave Shinx". Shinx smiled proudly.

"Ok, move the Rockets away, hide them if you can. Emily, get on the coms and alert the others!", Misty commanded. As Ashley stood guard at the stairs, the rebels pulled the paralyzed bodies into a closet on the side of the room, removing their weapons and equipment. Emily ran to one of the chairs, placed a communication headset over her head, and began to get to work. She looked at a wrist watch on her arm.

"Good, only a few seconds before the timer runs out. Perfect timing", Emily said. She pressed a few buttons, turned a dial, and then listened carefully. "Three...two...one". After her countdown, she switched a few switches and then brought her mic closer to her mouth. "Everyone, this is Emily. We made it to the com room...begin the mission".

**Much like my first A.N., I'm keeping the end A.N. short. I'm still not on the best of terms. My apologies if this story seemed rushed or lacking detail, I had a tough time concentrating. I would not expect an update anytime soon either, I need to recollect my thoughts. Sorry.**

**sincerely,  
evan, a fan of aaml -EVAN AAML**


	17. Chapter 17

**Hello one and all and welcome back to my latest installment of "R"! Although I have not quite recovered from my recent "depression" of sorts, I have been given some boosters from my loving girlfriend, and of course you all, my loyal fans! Thank you for sticking by me through the good times and bad, I owe a lot to you! I only wish that I hadn't been gone for such a long time. It came to me that many of the authors I talked to and worked with years ago are no longer working. Granted, I have been doing this for a near 5 years, but I still find it tragic. But, there's nothing I can do about it, oh well. Anyways, I hope you enjoy this chapter, let's get started then!**

**-EVAN AAML**

She never felt her heart beat this fast before. It almost scared her, thinking that a heart attack was imminent. Not that she knew the symptoms of a heart attack, but she guessed that this was one. She was sweating profusely as she bit her lip. Her knees shook to the point where she had to hold them down with her hands to make them stop. Images flashed through her head, images of her and her friends dying painful, slow deaths. She began to get a cold sweat and it felt like her heart was now climbing up her throat.

Angel...was terrified.

"Are you alright Angel?", someone asked. Angel was nearly incapable of responding, but managed to turn her head to the sound of the voice. It was Aleksi, who was kneeling beside her. Her and the others were hiding out near the Rocket base; hidden in the shrubbery and trees. They looked on carefully as guards walked in and out of the doors; making sure that they weren't in sight. Angel and Aleksi, along with several others, were on the ground behind large bushes. "You don't look so good Angel", Aleksi said.

"I'm...scared", Angel replied. She gulped. Aleksi sighed and bent down lower to her.

"Angel, we're all scared. I'm scared too", Aleksi said.

"R, really?", Angel asked, stuttering. Aleksi nodded.

"I wouldn't want to _meet _the person who wouldn't be scared over something like this", Aleksi answered. "But it's ok to be scared. It's good to show emotions. In this world today, so many people are like robots, no emotion, no feelings. Showing that you're scared or loved or courageous proves that you're still human". Angel looked at her for a moment, and then nodded with a smile. Her heart slowed down, if only slightly, and the cold sweat went away.

"Thanks Aleksi", Angel said. Aleksi nodded.

"No problem sweetie. Just remember though, don't let Team Rocket see that you're scared. They love that. They take great enjoyment in terrifying people. Prove to them that you can be brave when you want to, and take them down!", Aleksi stated. Angel nodded with a determined look in her eyes. Suddenly, they heard a noise. Aleksi and Angel turned to their side to see Tracy pull out his walkie talkie. He brought it up and listened in, turning down the volume so that the noise wouldn't travel far.

"Everyone, this is Emily. We made it to the com room...begin the mission", the walkie said. Tracy put the walkie down and looked over to Angel and Aleksi. His eyes were filled with fear, but also determination. He nodded to them, and the girls nodded back. As they carefully prepared themselves, Tracy turned to everyone who was hiding.

"Everyone listen up, that was Emily, they've made it to the com room. Now we're safe from getting attacked by Team Rocket from outside the island. We're going to head in now and find our way to the array. In about fifteen minutes or so, begin the assault. If the array is already destroyed by then, then immediately head for the boats, don't head inside! Wait for orders then, if we don't respond by a certain amount of time...then leave without us", Tracy explained. Everyone nodded. Dawn intervened.

"If that's the case, be sure to contact Ash and tell him, then rendezvous with him and the others back at Cinnabar!", Dawn ordered. "GO PTA!".

"GO PTA!", everyone responded. Dawn, Tracy, Angel, Aleksi, Michael, Brian, and a few other members stood up and readied themselves.

"We all set?", Tracy asked.

"Ready!", everyone responded. Tracy nodded.

"Good, then let's go!", Tracy replied. They then quickly sprinted out of the forest and towards the base. They had just managed to slip by a couple guards, who were laughing about a hundred feet away and not paying much attention. They hurried by and made it to the doors. Tracy looked to the others. "If the blue prints were correct, we have to go through this door and take a right. If we keep going straight then we'll head right into the main hall of the building, and then we'll stick out like a sore thumb".

Angel gulped, her fear was beginning to come back. Tracy pulled out the I.D. card and swiped it over a black electronic board near the door. It beeped, lit a green light, and the doors clicked. Tracy pulled on the door handle and it swung open. He sighed in relief, he wasn't even sure if that would work. Him and the others ran inside. But as soon as they did, their troubles began. The first room was nothing more than a short hall with only two doors. One door was to the right, the door that Tracy said would be there. The other door was at the end of the hall, and led to what everyone presumed was the main hall. There was a desk situated along the side of the hall, and a Rocket guard sat there. He immediately saw the entire group and stood up.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE?", the guard yelled. He pulled out a Uzi and aimed it at the group. Tracy waved his arms around frantically in the air.

"DON'T SHOOT! DON'T SHOOT! WE'RE TRAINEES!", Tracy yelled. The PTA sweatdropped. The guard looked at them sceptically.

"I highly doubt that!", the guard said, more relaxed but still aiming his gun at them. Tracy nodded.

"It's true, we were sent here for training, we haven't even received our uniforms yet!", Tracy explained. The guard looked up and down at the entire group.

"Man, they're choosing anyone these days", the guard said. "Listen, for starters, you're on the wrong island, training is down on the island further south. Secondly, you NEVER just burst into a Rocket base the way you're dressed. I could of just shot you all!". The guard approached the group.

"Yes sir, understood sir!", Tracy said, saluting the guard. The guard sighed.

"Fucking scouts dropping newbies on me, I'm gonna send a complaint to the board for this one. Alright, hold on, I'm gonna contact the com room, tell em to send a truck here to take you to the other side of the island. Then you'll be taken by boat to the right destination", the guard said. He then turned his back to the group and pulled out a walkie talkie. It was different than the ones the PTA used, it was smaller and had a slicker design. "Hey, listen, I got a bunch of trainees here who were brought to the wrong island, I need someone to come here and pick em up...you sick or somethin, you sound different...right, right", the guard said.

The rebels merely stood there, listening in. They knew that it was really Misty, Brock, and the others on the call. They couldn't take the risk of the guard becoming suspicious. Dawn slowly approached the guard from behind. Carefully, she pulled out her pistol and held it away from her. Just as she was right behind the distracted guard, she swung her gun into the guard. The pistol whip struck the guard in the head. He fell to the ground, unconscious. Dawn sighed.

"That was close! Good improve Tracy!", Dawn said. Tracy sighed heavily, bending over.

"I don't know _how _that came to me, but thank god it did!", Tracy exclaimed. Dawn dragged the unconscious guard behind the desk and slid him underneath it, making sure to place the chair around him so that people would think he merely left his post. Michael and another rebel, a young boy much like him,l then ran to the door on the right. Michael placed his hand on the door handle.

"This is where we're supposed to go, right?", Michael asked. Tracy looked at him and nodded.

"According to the blue prints it is", Tracy said. Michael smiled.

"Alrighty then, let's get going!", Michael said. He then turned the knob and swung the door wide open. Him and the rebel sweatdropped at what they saw. "Uh, Tracy...might want to rethink about using those blue prints for our means of travel".

"What do you mean?", Tracy asked. Michael stepped to the side and showed the contents of the room. It was a extremely small room with nothing more than selves filled with cleaning products, brooms, mops, and buckets.

"It's a janitor's closet!", Michael said. Tracy gasped and ran to the door, looking inside.

"I don't get it! The blue prints were very specific in saying that this led to the second story!", Tracy said almost in a panic.

"Yeah, well obviously it doesn't!", Michael said somewhat annoyed. Aleksi then approached the room and looked inside as well.

"Hmm, well, maybe it's a secret passageway?", Aleksi guessed. Michael scoffed.

"Yeah, ok! This isn't some haunted mansion with secret passageways scattered throughout the building! It's a base!", Michael said. Aleksi entered the room and carefully looked around for anything suspicious. The others stepped closer to the room, seeing if she could possibly be right. She got on her tip toes and looked onto the shelves. Not being able to see still, she began to jump to get a better view. Everyone sweatdropped.

"Uh, Aleksi, are you _sure _that this is some kind of", before Tracy could finish, Aleksi pushed a small section of wall while jumping. Once she did, she stopped and backed up. The wall made a mechanical noise as it was pushed back and then slid to the right, the shelves folding in on themselves and the cleaning supplies falling to the ground. Once the wall disappeared, it led to a small flight of stairs. Aleksi looked at the others and winked, holding up a "V for Victory" pose. Michael collapsed. Angel clapped her hands.

"Way to go Aleksi!", Angel said cheerfully. Aleksi smiled.

"Thank you! Now let's get going!", Aleksi said. She then ran up the stairs, Angel right behind her. The others followed them, with Michael being dragged by the boy rebel. It only took a few seconds of running before they reached the top of the stairs. There was another wall blocking the exit, but this time there was another I.D. card swap. Tracy stepped forward and swiped the card. Once again it beeped and the wall moved. Aleksi carefully peeped out into the hall. It went in two directions, and to the left side was a intersecting hall. After looking down both sections, she looked to the others.

"Coast is clear!", Aleksi whispered. She then stepped out into the hall, the others behind her. Once everyone was in the hall, the wall slid back into place.

"Which way to we go?", Dawn asked. Tracy thought to himself.

"Hmm, well, if I'm correct, then we're on the second level, towards the front of the building. So we need to go...this way!", Tracy said, pointing down the hall leading to the intersection. Brian ran ahead and then stopped right before the intersection. He looked down one hall, and then the other.

"Clear!", Brian said quietly, gesturing to the others. They followed close behind. Once they reached the halls, Dawn turned to the others.

"Ok, we're probably gonna run into Rockets now, if you have any weapons, pull them out. But they have to be silent. No guns or Pokemon, we can't afford to give away our position yet", Dawn explained. Everyone nodded. Michael lifted his hoodie and revealed the many different throwing knives on his belt. Aleksi pulled off her backpack and opened it. She pulled out a large folded object and a leather pouch. She clicked a button on the object and pulled it apart. It unfolded and then locked into place. It was a bow. She tightened the draw-string and then placed the bow down momentarily. She opened her jacket and slipped on her gloves once again. After pulling them on tight, she slapped herself in the face, getting ready. Aleksi then opened the leather pouch. Inside were many small sharp objects.

They looked like arrows, however, they were much too short, only an inch long or so. The pointy head was on top, and a very thick carbon fiber was in the middle. The end was covered in three feathers. She pulled on the arrow head and suddenly the carbon fiber began to get longer. She kept pulling it until the arrow clicked and it was the length of an average arrow. She picked up her bow, placed the arrow in between the string, and then tied the leather pouch to her belt. Angel looked at it in awe. Aleksi smiled.

"It's a composite bow that folds up for travel. The arrows close in on themselves for easier travel, and so that I can bring more with me. Evan found it in the weapons storage, thought it would be useful", Aleksi explained. Angel nodded.

"I like it!", Angel said. Two other rebels pulled out knives and everyone was set. Dawn nodded.

"Alright, let's get going!", Dawn said. She then looked down the hall once more, saw that the coast was clear, and then made her way down it; the others were right behind her. They hurried down the hall, making sure to keep quiet but also to keep pace. They ignored the security cameras, knowing that by now Emily would have disabled them from the security room. They turned down another hall to their left, and then another to their right. It seemed like this building went on forever, and they weren't surprised. More than likely they've only been through a small percentage of the base. But they kept moving on, knowing that time was of the essence.

Little did they know just how true that was. For upstairs, where Misty and the others were, trouble was going to ensue. Four Rocket guards made their way down the halls of the base, doing their routine security checks. They walked down different section, making sure that everything was as it should be. But as they made their way around, they noticed that one of the rooms that was always guarded was left without guards. The Rockets stopped and looked at the sight in bewilderment.

"Wha? This ain't right", one of the guards said. A smaller Rocket stepped forward, it was obvious that he was fresh off the training. He turned to the others.

"Shouldn't there be guards here?", the young Rocket asked. The leader of the group looked to where the guards should be on watch. He was much bigger than the other three. His large structure towered over them, his muscles looking as if they would burst through his uniform at any second. He scowled as he thought.

"Yeah...there should be", the large guard said. He then looked to his left and began to walk. The others followed, not quite sure what he was thinking.

"So what are we doin?", the guard who noticed the scene asked. The large grunt kept his pace.

"We're gonna head to the communications room. I'm gonna send a message to the guards who left their post. I'll be damned if I'm gonna let people take a break on their shifts!", the large grunt said. He then turned his head to the fourth guard. He was much smaller than him, but still experienced. He kept his hand on a sub-machine gun. It was larger than an Uzi, but smaller than the M-16s that other guards carried; most likely a Minebea PM-9. He had a large scar on his cheek and chin as well. "If this turns out to be trouble, I want you ready, got it?". The guard looked up to him, and then nodded.

The Rockets walked down the hall and then turned to their right. As soon as they did, they all stopped in horror. The hall was covered in bodies and blood. On the ground, four people layed, dead. The guards were all completely shocked.

"WHAT DA FUCK MAN!", one of the guards yelled. The newbie guard covered his mouth and looked away, about to throw up. The lead grunt clenched his fist and it shook violently.

"Someone's broken in!", the lead grunt said angrily. Suddenly, there was a noise. The guards looked to the side of the hall and noticed that one of the bodies began to stir. The young Rocket ran over and turned the body over, revealing the grunt's face.

"He's still alive!", the young Rocket said. The unconscious Rocket opened his eyes and held his head.

"Oh god, my head", the Rocket said dazed. The large Rocket stood over him.

"What the HELL happened here?", The large grunt asked. The Rocket, still holding his head, looked up to him.

"I...I don't know. I was standing here on guard, as usual, when suddenly I heard a crash, a yell, then...nothing", the guard said. He then turned his head and saw the massacre before him. He gasped. "Oh my...". He tried to sit himself up, but found that he was unable to. The young grunt propped him against the wall. The scarred Rocket looked at the ground and noticed that resting near the injured Rocket was a metal plate. He looked up at the ceiling, and then grabbed the large Rocket's arm. He turned to him and the scarred Rocket pointed up to the ceiling. The lead grunt looked and noticed the ventilation shaft, wide open.

"I see, surprise attack from above. They knocked you out before you even knew what hit you", the large grunt said, referring to the injured Rocket. "Then these guys heard the noise, came to investigate, and were butchered". The young Rocket gasped and grabbed his black walkie talkie.

"I'm gonna send an alert!", the young Rocket said. But the lead grunt held his hand out.

"No!", the grunt commanded. The young Rocket seemed confused, but did as he was ordered. "Whoever did this is probably in the communications room. Why else would they break in here of all places. I think we're going to be under attack", the lead grunt said. He then looked at the walkie talkie the young grunt held in his hands. "They would get your message and then no one would know that they're here".

"So what we gon do then?", the other guard asked. The large grunt smiled wickedly.

"Simple, we surprise them ourselves, take them down for this atrocity", the lead grunt said. He then looked to the younger grunt. "You, send a message to security instead, tell them what's happened. And stay here with him, he can't do anything for now. Us three will go up there and show them some good ole' Team Rocket hospitality". He grinned. The young grunt nodded and began to talk into the walkie. The large grunt looked to his right and looked at the loud mouthed Rocket. He smiled and pulled out an Uzi. He then turned to his right and looked at the scarred grunt. He pulled back a clip on the side of the gun, preparing it to fire. The large grunt then smiled and the three of them stepped forward, beginning their way up the stairs.

After the three disappeared, the younger grunt put his walkie talkie down, now finished with the security conversation.

"They said they're gonna look through surveillance and then alert the island", the young grunt said. The injured Rocket nodded.

"Good, I'm looking forward to seeing whoever did this suffering a very painful death", the injured Rocket said. Meanwhile, the three other Rocket made their way up the stairs. They were slow and quiet, making sure not to give away their positions yet. The large grunt was in the front, followed by the scarred guard and then finally the loud mouthed guard in the back. Despite his large size, the lead grunt managed to keep silent walking up the steps. He stepped every three steps due to his size, the other Rockets had trouble keeping up with him. But soon, they realized that they were reaching the top. They slowed their pace and looked ahead. At the top of the stairs, they could see a long blond haired girl, her attention directed to the com room. It was Ashley. The lead grunt turned his head to look at the other two Rockets. They both smiled wickedly. The lead grunt smiled back and then slowly made his way to the top.

Meanwhile, in the room, everyone was only standing around, listening to Emily's conversations and keeping quiet. Ryoto and Trent had reached them awhile ago and now were standing around waiting like the rest of them. Everyone was quiet for the most part, with the exception of Emily. She then turned and looked to the others.

"Tracy, Dawn, and their group have made it into the building and are on the way to the array. May and Drew are getting inside now, and the rest of the squad is patiently waiting outside for the strike", Emily reported. Misty nodded.

"Good, the sooner we get this done, the sooner we leave", Misty said. Brock nodded.

"Right, I just hope nothing happens between now and then", Brock said. Trent stepped forward.

"So, does this mean that we'll be leaving soon? Because quite frankly I don't like staying here all this time; it's a little freaky", Trent said. Misty turned to him.

"I don't like it anymore than you do, so let's hope we leave soon", Misty said. As they all talked about getting the mission over with, Brock glanced over to Emily's Shinx. He had remained quiet for the most part since they arrived, but suddenly his ears perked up. He sat up and growled at the stairs in anger.

"Shinx, what's the matt", before he could finish speaking, he realized just what was about to happen. Just then, there was a loud bang. Everyone turned in shock to see the large grunt, holding Ashley by the throat with one of his large hands. They practically wrapped around the entire neck as he pressed her as hard as he could against the wall. Her eyes looked like they would pop out of her head from the mere shock and strength of the attack. Before anyone could react, the other two Rockets appeared, their guns aimed at the group.

"I'D STOP MOVIN IF I WERE YOU!", the loud mouthed Rocket yelled, his Uzi aimed at the group. Everyone froze, their eyes filled with shock, fear, and anger. The lead Rocket laughed wickedly, his grip remaining tight on Ashley.

"Well look it here boys, we've got ourselves some rats infiltrating the base. You know, I get paid good money to keep pests like you out of here", the lead Rocket said with a chuckle. Brock growled at him.

"Put her down!", Brock ordered. The lead Rocket only chuckled more.

"Now, you're not exactly in the position to be giving the orders here", the lead Rocket said, smiling at Brock. Everyone watched in anger. Suddenly, the lead Rocket dragged Ashley higher up, nearly lifting her through the ceiling of the room. Ashley dangled in the air, trying to breath but finding it impossible. From the side of the room, near the storage room where the other Rockets were held, a rebel watched on in anger. His hand twitched by his side, where his pistol was hidden. As quick as lightning, the rebel grabbed his gun and aimed it at the large grunt. But the scarred Rocket saw this first, aimed his gun, and fired a shot. The bullet flew through the air, struck the rebel in the forehead, and then went out the other side; penetrating through the wall. The rebel dropped his gun and looked up at the hole in his head. His eyes then rolled into the back of his skull and he fell to the ground. The scarred Rocket then aimed his gun at Brock.

"Hahaha, you see, you can't order us around!", the lead Rocket said. Everyone scowled at the Rockets. The Rocket then looked at Ashley, his eyes glowing with nothing but evil. "But tell you what, I'm a nice guy, so I'll do what you asked". Suddenly, he threw his arm down, sending Ashley into the ground. She crashed on the floor with a hard thud. Before she even knew what had happened, the large grunt stomped on her stomach. Ashley's eyes bulged out of her head as blood spat out of her mouth. The Rocket laughed, keeping his large boot on her stomach. "You see, told you I'd put her down!".

Misty moved towards her, but suddenly, the large grunt pulled out a black pistol and aimed it at her. "I wouldn't do that if I were you". Misty looked angrily at him, but stopped moving. He smiled. "You see, we saw your little blood bath downstairs, and we decided to come up here and get revenge for our comrades that you all butchered", the lead Rocket explained. Ryoto stepped forward, hate in his eyes.

"YOU ALL DESERVE TO BE BUTCHERED!", Ryoto yelled. The lead grunt looked at Ryoto and smiled, a bit surprised.

"Well well well, today is just full of surprises. Why if it isn't Ryoto Asakura! What, did you miss being in Team Rocket Ryoto?", the lead grunt asked. Ryoto scowled at him. The lead grunt then looked at everyone else. "So if Ryoto is here, that would make you the PTA". The other two grunts smiled.

"PTA? AW MAN! I've been wantin to shoot some rebel mutha fuckas!", the loud mouthed grunt said, his gun aimed at the group higher. The lead grunt smiled.

"Funny, I have been too", the lead grunt said with a wicked smile. He then glocked his pistol and aimed it back to the group. Before he had time to fire his gun, Ryoto charged towards him. The large grunt aimed his pistol towards him, but Ryoto grabbed his armed hand and pushed it away from his direction. He then kicked the grunt in the chest, causing him to fall back a little bit. The large grunt however merely swung his free arm at Ryoto, throwing him past Ashley and into the closet door. As Ryoto looked back up to him, the large grunt aimed his pistol with a smile. But then Brock ran into the grunt, pushing him into the wall and causing him to drop his gun. Brock was just strong enough to hold him against the wall long enough for Ryoto to get back up.

Seeing the panic ensuing, the other two Rockets aimed their guns and opend fire. Everyone ducked and looked for cover. The loud mouthed Rocket jumped over the guard rail near the stairs and aimed his gun at Emily. She dove out of her chair just as the Rocket fired at it. The chair was sprayed in bullets and the machines behind it began to spark and break from the impacts. Emily grabbed Shinx and ran behind the machines. There were small isles of nothing more than computers and other machinery. The loud mouthed Rocket walked over to her hiding spot with a smile on his face.

Misty was about to run towards him and stop him, when suddenly the scarred Rocket jumped in front of her. He swung his armed hand towards her, trying to hit her with his gun. Misty ducked just in time. He then swung his leg at her and she jumped back. The scarred Rocket was making sure that no one would interrupt the other Rocket. Meanwhile, Emily kept crawling away from the loud mouthed Rocket. She was out of his line of sight, but knew that she couldn't hide long. She looked at Shinx, who was being held tightly in her arms.

"Shinx, listen, I want you to get inside your Pokeball!", Emily said. Shinx looked up at her, a look of disapproval in his eyes.

"Shinx! Shinx!", Shinx replied. Emily shook her head.

"I'll be fine, I promise. But I need you to get inside of it, now!", Emily said. Shinx did not believe her statement, but did not argue with his master. He nodded and Emily nodded back. She pulled out a Pokeball and smiled. "Return!", Emily said. A red light shot out of the Pokeball and engulfed Shinx. Emily shrunk the Pokeball and put it back onto her waist. She then looked out from her hiding spot and couldn't see the Rocket. Had he stopped looking for her? She slowly stepped out of her spot, keeping low to the ground. She walked past one of the isles when suddenly, a gun was pointed only an inch from her head. She stopped moving entirely, knowing she was spotted.

"Thought you could hide from me huh? Well guess what bitch, you aint goin no where!", the loud mouthed Rocket said with a smirk. Emily slowly stood up, the gun remaining close to her head. She turned to face the Rocket. She noticed a large grin on his face, his teeth partially platted with silver fillings. He had a gold ear-ring on one ear and a evil in his eyes. "Any last words before I blow your brains out?", the Rocket asked.

"...yeah...I'm not dying here!", Emily said. She suddenly stepped to the side, out of the line of fire just long enough to kick the gun out of the Rocket's hands. The gun flew over the isle of machine and to the wall. The Rocket looked at the girl in anger and threw a punch at her. The punch struck in her chest, causing her to step back and into the machine. He threw another punch, but she managed to slide out of the way; causing him to punch the machine. He cringed and held his hand, allowing Emily time to run. She ran over two isles and quickly got down. She didn't have a weapon on her, she left it in her backpack where she was working; and she knew that she couldn't take him my fists only. So she needed to improvise.

Suddenly, she looked behind her and got an idea. She turned around and began to pull the metal siding off the machines. It took some strength, but she finally managed to pry one of them off. As soon as she did she looked inside of it to see nothing but wires and circuts. She began to work with the wires, pulling them off and switching them. The Rocket meanwhile was still holding his hand. It was now bleeding out of the knuckles and was probably broken. He growled and looked for Emily.

"Bitch broke my hand!...YOU'RE GONNA DIE ASSHOLE!", the Rocket yelled. He immediately walked over to the isle next to him, and saw nothing. Then he looked over and could see the metal siding from the machine that Emily was wiring. He smiled, pulled out a rather small black revolver, and then approached the isle. Knowing that Emily did not know of his exact location, he smiled and jumped out at her. He aimed the gun at her head. Emily gasped, holding two wires in her hands. "GOT YOU NOW!", the Rocket yelled. He then stepped over and tried to grab Emily. As he reached down however, Emily grabbed his arm and pulled him closer. In the short time that the Rocket was close to her, she thrust the wires into the Rocket's neck as hard as she could. They didn't go in very deep, but they didn't have to.

The Rocket screamed in agony as electricity flowed throughout his entire body. Emily crawled back on the floor, making sure to not be near the live electricity. She watched in shock as yellow sparks shout out everywhere and the Rocket yelled in pain. It almost looked as if his body began to glow from the electricity. After a few seconds, the Rocket fell to the ground. The wires popped out of his neck and fell to the floor, sparking and covered in blood. Emily didn't bother to look at the body in detail, she only held her side as she carefully walked away from the sparks and made her way back to the others.

Brock continued to hold the large grunt against the wall, using all of the strength that he could muster. He ignored the bullets that were flying in the air; he knew that the Rocket wouldn't risk hitting their leader. The large grunt however noticed the white wrap around Brock's arm and smiled. He threw a punch at his arm and Brock cringed. He threw another, and another. Soon, blood began to ooze out of the bandages, covering the Rocket's fist. Brock loosened his grip from the agony, and the large Rocket punched him in the gut. Brock bent down from the blow, holding his stomach. The Rocket then put his hands together and brought them down on Brock's back. The strike made him crash into the ground.

The large grunt chuckled, but his entertainment was short lived. He looked up just in enough time to see Trent and another male rebel charging him. He side-stepped out of the way from Trent's charge and elbowed him in the face as his body flew by. Trent fell back a few feet, his mouth bloody. The other rebel however managed to strike directly into the large grunt's chest. It slammed him against the wall and the rebel began to throw punch after punch into the Rocket's chest. The Rocket, after taking some serious blows, managed to grab one of the fists of the attacking rebel. He held the fist tightly with a grin.

Suddenly, he felt someone jump onto his back. It was Trent. He managed to jump up onto the Rocket's upper half and wrapped his arms around the Rocket's neck. But the sheer size of the Rocket's body made it impossible to choke him out. The grunt smiled. He threw his body into the wall, crushing Trent between it. Trent released his grip and fell to the ground, right beside Brock. The Rocket then brought his attention to the rebel in front of him, his fist still in his hand. He pulled on the rebels arm and he flew towards him. Then, just as he was close enough, the Rocket gave him an uppercut straight to the jaw. The rebel flew in the air and fell back down onto the ground hard.

"IS THIS ALL YOU CAN GIVE ME? COME ON! BRING IT!", the Rocket yelled. Two rebels quickly pulled out their guns and aimed then at the large grunt. The grunt quickly bent down and picked up both Brock and Trent. He lifted them up and held them both close to his body, in the path of the bullets. The Rocket grinned. "GO AHEAD! SHOOT!". The rebels clenched their teeth, not getting a clear shot. The Rocket stepped to the side, keeping his grip on the two teens. He made his way closer to the stairs. The scarred Rocket noticed this and stepped closer to him as well. He aimed his gun at the group of teens.

Misty, Ryoto, and the remaining group looked on in anger, not being able to risk shooting their allies. Suddenly, Emily came out into view. The scarred Rocket quickly noticed this and aimed his gun at her. Emily looked in as the Rocket directed her towards the others. She thought about diving for her bag and getting her gun, but then saw Brock and Trent. She knew that she couldn't risk it. She slowly walked over to Misty's side. The large Rocket grinned evily.

"You see, this is exactly why you will NEVER destroy us! You are afraid of killing your own! YOU'RE WEAK! AND BECAUSE OF THIS YOU DIE!", the large Rocket yelled. Everyone looked on in anger and horror as the scarred Rocket aimed his gun at them. Then, the noise of a gunshot was heard. The rebels cringed, thinking it had come from the Rockets. But then they realized that it hadn't. The scarred Rocket turned to the large Rocket and saw a look of pain in his eyes. They were nearly bloodshot and bulged out of his head. He dropped Brock and Trent and they crashed onto the ground. The scarred Rocket panicked and aimed his gun once again at the rebels. Then, out of the corner of his eye, he could see something flying towards him. He turned his head just quick enough to see a glimmer of silver before suddenly everything went dark.

Misty, Emily, and the others looked on in shock as a large blade struck the Rocket in his head, sticking through his eye and out the other end. The Rocket stood for only a second longer, and then fell to the ground. Misty and Emily turned to their right and saw Ryoto, his arm out as if he had just thrown something. His other hand was holding the back of his head, which was bleeding.

"Wow! Good shot Ryoto!", Misty said with a smile. Ryoto nodded, cringing slightly from his injury. Just then, they heard a groan. Misty and Emily brought their attention back to the large Rocket. He looked at them in anger.

"YOU'RE...GOING...TO...DIE!", the Rocket yelled. Suddenly, another shot was fired, then another, and then another. About nine more shots were fired before it suddenly stopped. The Rocket's gaze remained at the rebels, but his eyes were filled with nothing but pain. He opened his mouth and blood poured out of it and fell to the floor. His eyes then rolled in the back of his head and he fell to the ground face first, shaking the Earth as he did. Everyone could only look at the body in shock, not understanding what had happened. They then looked up and saw the cause.

Sitting against the wall near the stairs, holding a large black gun was Ashley. She kept pulling the trigger of the gun, but the clip was empty. Her face was filled with terror, blood trickling down from her mouth. Her throat was still red from the choke. She kept pulling the trigger until one of the rebels, a female with long brown hair, walked up to her and put the gun down for her. Ashley sighed heavily, still in shock. The rebel hugged her and Ashley was more than willing to hug her back.

**Well this was a long chapter wasn't it? Sorry if it was too long, but I wanted to end the chapter with the Rockets out of the picture. Hoped you liked that little bit of action. My apologies if it seemed rushed or lacking detail, I had originally finished this chapter already, but once again, like half of it deleted when I clicked save. For some reason, fan-fic . net decided to simply not respond for the rest of the day. Oh well. I'm going to keep this short because I have things to do and not enough time to do them. So hope you liked this chapter, be sure to F.A.R., and I'll see you all later!**

**sincerely,  
evan, a fan of aaml -EVAN AAML**


	18. Chapter 18

**Not much to report for this update really, so I guess I shall get right to it!**

**-EVAN AAML**

Misty walked over to the two bodies on the ground cautiously. She looked on the ground, blood splattered all over the place. She didn't bother checking the Rocket with the Katana in his head; there was no need. She looked over to the body of the large Rocket and looked at it carefully. Several bullet holes were located in his back, scattered all over the place. She checked the Rocket's pulse and felt nothing at all. She nodded and stood up, they were both dead.

"What about the third Rocket?", Misty asked, turning to Emily. She looked at her with a serious expression.

"He's dead too, no longer a threat", Emily replied. Misty nodded back. She then heard a noise and turned around. Lying on the ground was Brock and Trent. Brock tried to sit up, but then fell back down. Misty gasped and ran to his side. She lowered herself and helped Brock up to his knees.

"BROCK! Are you alright?", Misty asked. Brock grunted in pain, but nodded.

"Yeah...sort of", Brock replied. He held onto his injured arm. "Damn Rocket messed up my bad arm. I don't know how it is", Brock said. He then turned to Trent. "How bout you Trent?". Trent sat up, holding the back of his head.

"Yeah, I'm good. Just need to rest a moment. Splitting headache", Trent replied. Misty helped Brock up to his feet and then looked to the stairs. The female rebel was still trying to calm Ashley's nerves. She was shaking a bit and kept her eyes on the Rocket she had shot.

"How's Ashley?", Misty asked worried. The female rebel looked up at her.

"She's still in shock. And she's bleeding pretty bad, she may have internal injuries", the rebel replied. Misty sighed.

"That's not good. Our only two rebels with medical skills are injured", Misty said. She then brought her attention to the others. "How's everyone else?".

"I'm good. Just a bruise is all", Emily replied. Ryoto approached them.

"Cracked my head open, give me a minute", Ryoto said. Emily walked to Ryoto to check his head. A male rebel walked over to the rebel who was shot. He bent down and cringed in horror.

"They shot Kennedy, he's dead", the rebel said. Misty sighed.

"What about the other one there?", Misty asked. The rebel walked over to the rebel who was given the uppercut by the large grunt. He examined him carefully and then sighed.

"He's dead too. Jaw broken. I think his skull broke internally", the rebel said. Misty walked Brock over to the machines and sat him down in one of the chairs. Emily began to wrap Ryoto's head in bandages.

"This isn't good Brock, what are we gonna do?", Misty asked. Brock sighed. He grabbed some bandages for himself and began to apply them.

"There's nothing we can do. We have to stay here and communicate with the others. Plus we can't afford to lose this room. If we do and more Rocket's come back, then they'll alert the other bases", Brock explained. Everyone in the room nodded in agreement. Brock then gestured to the male rebel near the deceased. The male rebel looked at the bodies and then nodded, he knew what he had to do. He bent down and pulled the Pokeball belts off of the two males. It was the PTA's version of Dog Tags, and they refused to let Team Rocket get their hands on innocent Pokemon. This way, the Pokemon were safe; they would live the rest of their lives at Prof. Oak's lab. The rebel walked over to Brock and handed him the two Pokeball belts.

Brock took them and nodded. Everyone remained silent in honor of the fallen. Brock placed the belts into his bag for safe keeping. But just as he pulled his hands away from the bag, he heard a noise. A noise that made his heart sink into his chest in fear. The sound of a gun being glocked. His eyes widened as he and everyone else looked to the stairs in shock. Standing at the top of the stairs, pistol aimed at the group, was the young Rocket. His hands shook the gun in fear, seeing the bodies of his squad. Standing near him, looking at the others as well, was the injured Rocket, still holding his head and looking angrily at the group.

"D,don't...m,move!", the young Rocket demanded in a stutter. Everyone froze, not wanting to risk another fight and more lives lost. The Rocket looked back down to the two bodies, and then back to the others. "You...killed my TEAM MATES!". Brock raised his hand towards the Rocket.

"Please...put the gun down, and we can", before Brock could finish, he was interrupted.

"SHUT YOUR GOD DAMN MOUTH YOU PTA SCUM!", the injured Rocket yelled. He shoved the young Rocket out of his way and approached the teens. He grabbed Brock by the vest and pulled him closer. "You don't deserve to even _breath_ let alone tell _us _what to do!". He then released Brock and stepped back a bit. he pointed at the group. "...which one of you...did this to me?". He referred to his head injury. Everyone remained silent for a moment until Trent stepped forward slightly.

"That was me", Trent said. The Rocket eyed him down carefully.

"You...", the Rocket said with the most distaste. Suddenly, the Rocket pulled out a Uzi and aimed it at Trent. "I'm gonna kill you, and make everyone here watch! Then, I'm gonna kill all of them!". He was about to fire when Ryoto dove at the Rocket. He grabbed his arm and gun, trying to pull it from him. The young Rocket panicked and tried to shoot Ryoto, but could not risk shooting the other Rocket. Ryoto struggled with the Rocket until he finally managed to pull the Uzi out of his hand. As soon as the Rocket was unarmed, Trent ran at him. He dove and tackled the Rocket, causing the two of them to fly back a few feet. Ryoto aimed the Uzi at the Rocket, ready to end the fight.

The young Rocket noticed this and aimed his pistol at Ryoto. He fired, closing his eyes. He missed Ryoto, but managed to shoot the Uzi. It flew out of Ryoto's hand and into the machine behind them. Although the gun was still in reach, it didn't matter. The bullet from the pistol rendered the gun useless now. The young Rocket kept his gun set on the group, making sure that none of them tried to pull out a weapon. Meanwhile, Trent and the Rocket continued to fight on the ground, punching and grabbing each other whenever possible. Trent managed to roll on top of the Rocket and held him down. But the Rocket managed to get an arm free and punched Trent in the face, knocking him off. The Rocket quickly stood up and kicked Trent in the stomach before he could get up.

Trent clenched his chest in pain. The Rocket smirked and kicked him again, and then again.

"What's the matter? CAN'T FIGHT?", the Rocket asked. He reared his leg back and prepared for another kick. But Trent prepared himself. Just as the foot was swung towards him, Trent reached out and grabbed the Rocket by his ankles. The Rocket gasped, stuck in Trent's grasp. Trent then immediately stood up and flipped the Rocket. He did a complete back flip before crashing onto the ground. Trent backed up and took a battle stance, hopping on his feet like a boxer in the ring. The Rocket sat up and looked at Trent with anger in his eyes. "ERGH...THAT'S IT! EVERYONE DIES!", the Rocket yelled. He pulled out a large bowie knife from his belt and charged at Trent. He swung at him, but missed, swung again, and missed. He kept up the swinging but Trent kept dodging, even if only barely. The Rocket stepped back and looked at the young Rocket.

"SHOOT!", the Rocket yelled. The young Rocket nodded and aimed his gun at Trent. Trent gasped as the young Rocket closed his eyes again and fired. The bullet grazed Trent in the shoulder and hit the machines behind the gang. Trent fell to his knees and held his shoulder. The large Rocket then smiled, holding the knife ready. "Now it all ends", the Rocket said. He then ran towards Trent, the knife ready. Suddenly, Brock ran forward. He held his arm out and gave the Rocket a clothesline. He flipped in the air and fell back down hard on the ground. Brock quickly grabbed his knife and held it to his neck.

"You move you die!", Brock said. The Rocket looked at him in shock. Just then, another shot was fired. Everyone looked to the Rocket and saw that he had shot the ceiling. He stepped a few feet closer to the gang, his pistol aimed at Brock's head.

"Let...him...go!", the young Rocket ordered. Brock looked at the Rocket in both fear and anger. But he stood up, allowing the Rocket to crawl away and stand up. Brock however kept the knife in his hands. The injured Rocket looked at them all in anger.

"You break into the base, make ME look like a FOOL! And you kill our own people!", the Rocket yelled. The young Rocket stepped forward and aimed his gun at them.

"Th,this is all gonna end...now!", the young Rocket said. Ryoto looked around, seeing if there was anything that he could still do. His Katana was still stuck in the body of the scarred Rocket. He needed to grab it, then he could kill them both. He turned his head around just enough to see the now useless Uzi on the machines. He then got an idea. Perhaps it wasn't as useless as he thought. He quickly grabbed it and threw it at the young Rocket. The Uzi struck his hand, causing the gun to aim towards the left of the room. The strike made the Rocket pull the trigger and a bullet struck a window near the wall, right next to the closet door. Glass shattered everywhere. Ryoto, now seeing his opportunity, ran towards his Katana.

He slid across the floor on his feet, grabbed the handle of the blade, and pulled it out of the dead Rocket's head. As soon as he did, he lunged towards the other two Rockets. The young Rocket pointed his gun towards him, but Ryoto kicked it away and swung his Katana. It cut the Rocket's chest and he fell back. The other Rocket panicked and ran for the gun, which was towards the window. Ryoto ran after him. The Rocket managed to pick up the gun and aimed it at Ryoto just as he was in front of him. In a split second, Ryoto swung his sword. Time seemed to slow down in the room, the Rocket looked down at his hand and gasped. Ryoto had completely cut it off. The gun with the hand still wrapped around it fell to the ground. The Rocket yelled in agony, holding his now hand-less arm. Ryoto smiled wickedly at the Rocket, his eyes filled with evil. It looked at if he craved for blood once more.

"I'LL SEE YOU IN HELL!", Ryoto yelled. Before the Rocket could react, Ryoto held his foot up and kicked him in the chest. The force of the kick caused the Rocket to fly backwards and through the window. The remainder of the glass broke away as the Rocket flew out of the building. He screamed as he plummeted to the ground stories below him. Ryoto looked out the window and smiled wickedly. He then turned around and slowly walked over towards the stairs, where the younger Rocket had fallen. The Rocket was holding his chest, which was bleeding considerably. He eyed watched Ryoto in fear as he apporached him. He tried to crawl away, but was injured to such an extent that he could not move very fast. Ryoto stood over him with a look that terrified the young Rocket.

"So then, how about I just end this for you right here and now", Ryoto said with a grin. He raised his Katana over the young Rocket, ready to strike him down. "NOW DIE!". He swung his arm down, but was suddenly stopped. He was grabbed from behind in a full nelson. He tried to turn his head to see who had grabbed him, but couldn't. "Hey! Let me go!", Ryoto yelled.

"No! I already told you that we're not monsters who kill for pleasure!", the person said. Ryoto recognized the voice as Trent's.

"Dammit Trent! Let me go! LET ME GO!", Ryoto yelled.

"THAT'S ENOUGH!", Brock yelled. Trent turned around so that Ryoto would face Brock. Brock approached him. "Trent is right, we are NOT savage killers! You told me before that you were over your Rocket instincts, and so far I fail to see that!". Ryoto looked at him annoyed, but calmed down. Brock nodded to Trent, and he was released. Ryoto slid his sword back into the sheath and looked back to Brock. "Now prove to me that you are in control, or there will be consequences", Brock replied. Ryoto spat on the ground and walked back over to the chairs. Misty walked over to the now injured young Rocket.

"How badly are you hurt?", Misty asked. The young Rocket wasn't sure how to respond to her. Team Rocket grunts weren't trained to opperate under captivity, because it was deemed impossible for the situation to arise. Misty could tell that he was confused and looked at the injury herself. "It's not that deep. You'll live". The young Rocket kept looking at her, but was secretly releaved at the revelation. Brock approached the two and grabbed the young Rocket by the shirt. He lifted him up just enough for him to get his own footing down.

"Tell me, what were you doing downstairs that you had to wait to come up?", Brock asked in a non-threatening yet stern voice.

"I...I was watching over that Rocket he killed. He was injured. M, my squad leader told me to radio security while they came up here to take you out", the young Rocket revealed. The others gasped.

"Shit, I was afraid of that. They'll be coming any second now!", Brock told the others. "Alright, put him with the others in the closet, we need to pack up and get things ready. Emily, what can you do?".

"Uhm...I can program the Rocket's hard-drive to a Pokenav and use that for communications. But it won't be as effective", Emily said. Brock nodded. The female rebel, who stood a few feet away from them, bent down and opened her bag. She pulled out a Pokenav and tossed it to Emily. She caught it and immediately started to work. She pulled a cord out of the Pokenav and connected it to a computer and began to type away. The male rebel walked over and grabbed the young Rocket. He pulled him to the closet and brought him inside. The other Rockets were all still paralyzed from Shinx and remained tied up and gagged. He tied up the young Rocket and gagged him, making sure to apply less pressure to his injuries. He then closed the door and placed a chair under the door knob to make it harder for people on the inside to open the door.

Brock and Misty began to put away supplies and get ready for their departure. Misty grabbed her bag and began to put her items away.

"Brock, what are we gonna do now? We can't go back to the boats yet", Misty said.

"We'll have to meet up with the others, hopefully we won't be spotted by then. Luckily since the machines here are destroyed for the most part, it will take any Rocket awhile to alert the island", Brock explained. He then looked at the gang around him. "We have to burn the rebel bodies, we can't afford to leave anything for the Rockets to get info on us". The idea disgusted and horrified the gang, but they knew that he was right. Emily took a moment to stop working on the Pokenav and approached the bodies. She pulled out a pokeball and tossed it in the air. It opened and a large orange dragon appeared, Charizard. It spread its mighty wings and then snorted.

"Charizard, we need you to help dispose of these bodies", Emily said. Charizard looked at the two male bodies and nodded. He opened his mouth and fired flames at them. The bodies were quickly engulfed in flames. Emily nodded and held her Pokeball out towards Charizard. "That's all for now, I may need you later. Return!", Emily said. Charizard nodded and was zapped back into his Pokeball.

"Let's hurry. The smell of the burning bodies may attract unwanted attention", Brock said. Emily nodded and ran back to her position at the computers. She pressed a few more buttons and looked at the screen of the Pokenav.

"Come on, come on!", Emily said. It then beeped. She frowned. "Damn, needs more juice to complete the download". She grabbed a Pokeball and opened it. Appearing once again was her faithful companion Shinx. He smiled and jumped up and down to see his owner. Emily smiled and rubbed Shinx's head. "You see, I told you I'd be fine", Emily said. She then pointed to the Pokenav. "Listen, I need your help. This Pokenav needs more juice, you know what to do". Shinx nodded and began to spark. He yelled as he released a light Thundershock onto the small Pokenav. It beeped continuously until it made a click noise. Shinx stopped the attack and Emily inspected it. She nodded. "Good, it's complete. This should keep us in contact with the others, but it won't work anymore if the Rockets change the software", Emily explained.

"It will have to do for now", Misty said. She had just finished packing her items. She swung her backpack over her shoulders and looked at the others. Brock was wrapping bandages around Trent's shoulder, which was not severely injured but was still bleeding. Ashley managed to stand up, but could not support herself very well. The male rebel ran over and caught her to hold her up. Ryoto stood by the stairs, ready to leave. He had remained silent since being yelled at by Brock. "Alright, let's get going!", Misty said. The male rebel helped Ashley walk as everyone else made their way down the stairs, leaving only the burning corpses behind.

Meanwhile, something was going on in another location of the base. Down in the basement of the Rocket base, it was quiet and dark. There was no noise what so ever. A lone Rattata popped out from behind a pile of boxes and looked around. Suddenly, there was a loud noise and the Rattata scurried back into hiding. Another crash echoed in the basement, and suddenly light appeared. It was at the end of the basement, at the top of a flight of stairs. It was from a door opening. Just then, another crash was heard and a body fell down the stairs and stopped at the bottom. From the top of the stairs, several people hurried down.

One of them stopped at the bottom and looked at the body. He laughed.

"Well, good job Nick, you were right, one punch did it", the person said. It was Drew. Nick laughed.

"Told you so", Nick said, cracking his knuckles. Behind them, someone sighed.

"When will you boys _ever _grow up?". It was May. She pushed them aside and made her way to the basement floor. She looked around and then looked back up to the top of the stairs. "Close the door", she commanded. A male rebel nodded, looked around from the top of the stairs to where they previously were, and then closed the door. The basement was once again completely dark. May reached into her pocket and pulled out a small box of matches. She opened it, pulled one out, and lit it on the rough side of the box. It glowed radiantly and supplied her fingers holding the match with warmth. She turned around and began to search the walls, looking for something in particular.

"Where are you...where are you...where are, aha!", May exclaimed. She had found what she was looking for. It was a light switch, and a rather large one at that. She flicked the match away, letting the flames die out with it. She put both hands onto this large switch and pulled the lever up. There was a sparking noise and suddenly lights began to turn on all the way down the basement. One by one ceiling lights flickered on, revealing the rebels and everything else. She smiled and turned to the others. "Good, everything's going according to planned", May said. Sawyer, who was still on the stairs, shrugged.

"Well, except for that group of Rockets we ran into and had to take out before they alerted everyone, and how the I.D. card didn't work immediately, and the fact that we almost got lost", Sawyer said. May sighed.

"Oh yeah...right", May said. She shook her head. "Well, regardless, we made it to the basement! Now we need to find the databases, any idea where they are?", May asked. The others shook their heads.

"This basement is huge, it could take us hours to find the one room", Drew said, overlooking the basement. The basement sprawled out for what seemed like forever. Although it was only about thirty or so feet wide, it looked like a mile long.

"I'm surprised, I don't see any security down here at all, do you think Tracy's info was off?", Nick asked.

"I doubt it. He was right about us possibly getting lost down here, I'd imagine that he wouldn't be wrong about security. They're probably located within any of the rooms down here. We need to be careful...of course, we probably lost the element of surprise because May turned on the lights", Drew explained. May turned to him in a huff.

"And you expect us to look around here without lights?", May asked annoyed.

"Enough you two, let's just start looking for this room", Sawyer said. She hopped down the side of the stairs and landed on her feet. She then looked ahead to see anything that caught her eyes. Everyone else walked down the remainder of the stairs and made it to the basement floor. Sawyer looked back to May. "I have no idea where to head first, maybe we should contact Misty and the others to see what they think?". May nodded. She pulled out her Pokenav and pressed a button.

"Hello? This is May, come in", May said. There was no response. "Hello? This is May, come in...Hello!...uh oh". She looked at the others in worry. "Something must of happened to them".

"Damn! And we can't afford to go up and check on them either", Drew said annoyed.

"So you think they're...", Sawyer began. Nick shook his head.

"Don't think that! I'm sure they're fine. We probably just have a bad connection or something", Nick replied. Drew nodded.

"Right, bad connection", Drew said, although he didn't believe it himself. He then walked past the others to look down the halls of the basement. "At any rate, we should just go on ahead and see for ourselves". He then began to walk forward, but suddenly, the floor beneath him began to move. He nearly lost his balance from the sudden force of movement and turned around to the the rest of his group away from him. "WHAT'S GOING ON?", Drew asked in a panic. May giggled.

"You're standing on a moving sidewalk Drew. Aren't you used to them since you grew up in LaRousse City?", May said in a slight fit of laughter. Drew tried to run back to the others as fast as he could, but the moving sidewalk was faster. Drew had to jump off to the side of the sidewalk to get off. He stood there and looked at the floor closely. It was a small moving sidewalk that stretched down the lengths of the basement.

"What kind of Rocket base would have moving sidewalks? That would be irritating to get around with if they all were huddled in one area!", Nick said with a laugh.

"Yeah, tell me about it. Sounds like an annoying level to a video game", May replied. Drew looked back to the squad.

"Well at least it saves us energy for moving down here, come on, let's go", Drew said. The others nodded. One by one, they stepped onto the sidewalk and were pulled towards Drew. He hopped on just as May was about to pass him and the group made their way through the basement. They kept a close eye to their surroundings, making sure not to attract any unwanted attention.

"Just look at all of the stuff they keep down here!", one of the rebels, a shorter boy, exclaimed.

"Yeah, they probably keep everything the island needs right down here. Food, weapons, ammunition", Nick replied. As they looked around, May spotted something that caught her eye. It was a door to their left. May pointed to it.

"Look, we should try there first!", May said. Drew nodded. They waited until they were close to the door before May and her squad hopped off of the moving sidewalk and approached the door. They were two doors that both opened in opposite directions. To the right of the doors was a I.D. card scanner. May looked at the scanner closely. "It says over the scanner "Storage Room One". Maybe the databases are in here?", May guessed. Nick shrugged.

"Who's to tell? But it's a good start", Nick said. May pulled out from her pocket the I.D. card that Tracy had given her before they separated. She swiped it over the scanner and it beeped in recognition. There was a click that came from the doors. They had unlocked. One of the rebels approached the doors, putting his hands over both handles.

"Perfect", the rebel said. He swung the doors open and everyone peered inside. There was a large wooden table situated in the center of the room. Sitting around the table were several Rocket grunts, smoking, drinking, and playing with cards and chips. Standing around the room were even more Rockets, all holding large rifles or machine guns. Everyone in the room looked up and saw the gang. The rebel who had opened the door dropped his mouth in shock. "...shit", the rebel said. The Rockets all immediately picked up their weapons and opened fire. May and the others ducked for cover to the sides of the door as the male rebel was blasted by a multitude of bullets. He was sprayed by lead and then fell to the ground a few feet away from the doors.

"EVERYONE, DEFENSE POSITIONS!", May yelled. A male rebel who stood next to Drew opened his black jacket and pulled out a small handheld object. He showed it to Drew and May; it was a grenade. Perfectly round like a ball with the exception of the handle and pin.

"WHEN IN DOUBT, GRENADE OUT!", the rebel yelled. He pulled the pin to the grenade and threw it into the room, making sure not to be in the path of the bullets that were still being fired out of the room. Everyone outside of the room ducked for cover. There was yelling inide and then suddenly a explosion. Shrapnel flew out of the door as everyone covered their ears and closed their eyes. After a few seconds, they slowly and carefully stood up and peeked into the room.

The table was completely destroyed, along with most of the chairs and many other objects in the room. There were about three bodies that were no longer recognizable due to the damage. Several other bodies were along the walls and doors, dead from the shockwave or shrapnel. The squad came out of hiding and stepped into the room.

"Looks like that did it", Drew said. He looked back to the rebel who was shot up. By his side was a male rebel, who overlooked him. He wore a white button up shirt which was buttoned and dark blue jeans. His semi long brown messy hair just covered his blue eyes; which were hidden behind a pair of glasses. The rebel looked over the body and then to the others.

"He's a goner. No one could of survived that", the rebel said. He then went back to the body, looking for something on his person. Drew sighed.

"Damn...alright, check the bodies, see if anyone is still alive and take what weapons you can", Drew commanded. Everyone nodded. As they walked around looking Drew grabbed the sleeve of the rebel who had thrown the grenade. "Wait, you, what's your name?", Drew asked. The rebel wore a heavy black zipper jacket over a black shirt and black jeans with black sneakers. This was the basic attire of the rebels in the PTA, meant for concealment and hiding. Those who didn't wear their typical outfits or weren't allowed to wore these. His hood was up but he pulled it off when Drew stopped him, revealing short blond hair that was spiked and brown eyes. He smiled.

"Jacob", the blond haired rebel replied.

"Jacob, good. How many more of those grenades do you have?", Drew asked. Jacob sighed.

"Only one more, I brought them just in case, didn't think I'd actually use them", Jacob replied. Drew shrugged.

"Oh well, hold onto it, I have a feeling that it will come in handy soon", Drew stated. Jacob nodded. He then looked down and smiled. He lowered himself and picked up a large machine gun. He examined it and then smiled, it was still operational. Jacob then walked away to examine the bodies along with the rest of the squad. May approached Drew just as another rebel did. It was the rebel in the white shirt who had examined the rebel body. He held out his hand to reveal the Pokeball belt of the fallen ally.

"Here", the rebel said. May nodded and took the belt. She took her backpack off and opened it.

"Are you a doctor?", May asked as she placed the belt into her backpack. The rebel nodded, poking his glasses back up.

"Yes. Well...not by official title, but close enough", the rebel said with a sincere smile. May smiled back.

"What's your name?", May asked.

"Wallace sir, uhm, mam", the rebel said. May nodded.

"Alright Wallace, stay alive, we need a doctor", May said. Wallace scoffed very slightly.

"Words of encouragement", Wallace replied. May couldn't help but smile. She placed the backpack back onto her back and looked at Wallace. It seemed as if he was completely defenseless. He carried a rather small backpack and that was it.

"Don't you have weapons? No guns or anything?", May asked. Wallace shook his head.

"I'm not a fan of guns...terrible shot anyways. But I'm deadly precise at close quarters", Wallace replied, pulling out a small scalpel from his side. May did not notice due to his white shirt, but surrounding his Pokeball belt were many medical tools. Scalpels, scissors, tongs, and several other items. May nodded.

"Good, but it's best to have something just in case", May stated. She looked around and saw a female rebel examining a Rocket body on the ground. "Hey". The female rebel looked up to her. "Have a pistol?", May asked. The female looked on the body and nodded. She pulled off of the body a black pistol and tossed it to May, who caught it with ease. It was a Beretta. She handed it to Wallace, who reluctantly took it. "For emergencies", May replied. Wallace nodded and put the gun on his belt, making sure that it wouldn't accidentally shoot him in the leg later on.

Just then, someone called out to May and Drew.

"Over here!", the rebel yelled. May and Drew looked over to the rebel and then made their way to him, leaving Wallace to examine the bodies. May and Drew approached the rebel and he pointed to the ground. Hidden behind part of the table top was a bloody Rocket, but he was still alive. He looked at the rebels in pain and anger. Drew pulled the table top remains off of the Rocket and examined him. His uniform was not black like the grunts, but more of a charcoal.

"Hmm, higher up in the rankings huh?", Drew stated. The Rocket spat towards him. The spit and blood however could not reach and it hit the table that Drew had moved. Drew scofed and flipped his hair back in a cocky manner. He then glared at the Rocket. "Alright, listen, _corporal_!", he said with emphasis on the word corporal. "I want answers! Where down here are the databases?". The Rocket glared at him.

"And what do you want with them, hmm?", the Rocket asked in anger. Drew picked up a table leg that was on the ground near him and pressed the broken end into the Rocket's burnt and bloody leg. The Rocket cringed in pain, but did not scream, he refused to show weakness.

"That's none of your concern. Now we could just as easily kill you right now and find them ourselves. But why don't you save us the trouble and you your life and just tell us!", Drew stated. The Rocket looked at him and the other two rebels in disgust. But he soon gave in.

"Go out this door and keep following it until you reach a door with a I.D. scanner. Above it it says "Computer Files and Databases". They're in there", the Rocket answered, pointing to a door to Drew's left with his good hand. Drew nodded.

"Good", Drew said. He then stood up and looked to the other rebels. "Alright, let's get moving", Drew said. The rebels nodded and they made their way to the door. Drew and the male rebel left the Rocket. Just as May stood up to follow she was grabbed at the ankle by the injured Corporal. His bloody hand clenched tightly and he gave May a look of disgust, but smiled.

"You know you'll never make it. You'll all die horrible, bloody deaths. You're gonna experience hell the likes of which you've never seen before!", the Rocket said. May looked down at him completely emotionless. She then bent down, pulled off a small walkie talkie from his belt and tossed it away from him. She then looked back down to the Rocket.

"We'll take our chances. By the end of the day, this base will be gone, and soon Team Rocket will fall", May replied. She then pulled her leg out of the Rocket's grip and walked away, following her team mates.

**Well May and her squad are now well on their way to find the databases, let's hope they can make it! I hope you liked the chapter as much as I have. I'm trying to add a lot more action to the story, as it should have in this point; without sacrificing attention to detail and emotion. It's a pain, but I think I'm doing a ok job at it so far. "With May, Drew, and the others on their way to the databases, will their lives be in danger? Will Misty and Brock lead the remainder of their group to safety? And what has happened to the others? Find out next time on EVAN AAML's "R"!". Haha! Love it! Not sure when my next update will be, for I have exams coming up for the end of my college semester, along with my SECOND prom to attend to with my love and of course Easter, quite a schedule! Until then, this is EVAN AAML, signing off!**

**sincerely,  
evan, a fan of aaml -EVAN AAML**


	19. Chapter 19

**Nice to hear from you all once again! Well here I am for my 19th chapter! This is by far the longest story I've ever written! Wow! I think I've come a long way since I first wrote "The Dare Game" almost 5 years ago! (sigh). I'm getting nostalgic. I have been giving serious thought to going through a "re-vamp" stage, where I will go through my earlier works and revise them, making them better written and corrected. But that would require a lot of time for me. I would like to at least finish my stories that are still in work before I do it, so it will be some time yet. But oh well. I understand that a lot of you are curious why I'm writing this story the way I am, or have suggestions of their own. This was mostly by readers who have not reviewed my story before. Whereas I'm always willing to listen to your opinions, it does not necessarily mean that I will go with them. I already know how this story will go, I know what will happen to whom, and I know how it will end. Please keep that in mind, thank you. Now enough of that, let's get on with it shall we?**

**-EVAN AAML**

After leaving the remains of the Rockets behind them, May and her squad made their way down the path that the Corporal directed them to. They were all on their toes now, sure that any Rockets near them were aware of the intruders. May made her way to the front, making sure that she would walk into any danger first, as she felt a leader should do for their soldiers. She looked around carefully, checking any places she deemed here good hiding spots. In the darkness, she couldn't make out a lot. Unlike the main basement that she herself lit, these halls were dark and cool. A feeling of dampness sunk into their clothes. Her eyes jumped from corner to corner, as if things were popping out at her.

"My eyes are playing tricks on me", May whispered to Drew, who walked right beside her.

"I know what you mean. This is the perfect place for an ambush. We need to watch it", Drew replied. His eyes, much like May's, were crossing the hall. His vision wasn't as well as May's in the dark, but he would still be able to see any danger that was close. May looked behind her towards her squad. Everyone had their hands on their triggers, knowing very well that they could be firing at someone any second now. Jacob looked all over the hall, but seemed more distracted rather than observant. Wallace was farther back in the group, but unlike Jacob, he was much more concerned about the situation. He looked carefully around his surroundings with a nervous sweat.

May brought her attention back to the front of her and kept looking for danger. Soon, they came to a large metal door. Unlike the other doors, this one had no I.D. scanner, it was just a large metal door that needed to be pulled towards the side to open. May and Drew looked around carefully and then looked to their squad, who stood at the ready.

"Alright, there's a good chance that behind these doors there are plenty of Rockets just waiting for us. I want all of you on your guard! If by any chance the room to the databases are close by find me and or Drew, understood?", May asked. The rebels nodded.

"Yes mam!", the PTA replied. May nodded back.

"Good. Sawyer, Nick, on me", May commanded. Sawyer and Nick approached her and everyone prepared. They aimed their guns at the door, some had their Pokeballs at the ready as well. May grabbed the handle to the door and looked at the others. Drew, Nick, and Sawyer nodded. May nodded back, and then pulled on the handle. The door slowly opened and everyone held their breath as light penetrated the hall.

The room that had become visible to them was large and round with several halls going in different directions. The concrete floor and lack of sunlight made the room cold. There were no Rockets visible however. Everyone remained silent, not moving into the room until they were sure that it was safe. May looked into the room carefully, her Pokeballs at the ready. The only noise they could hear was the sound of water dripping from an unknown location. The rebels kept their guns aimed into the room, but seemed confused.

"What's going on here?", Nick asked.

"...this isn't right", Drew stated. May and Sawyer nodded.

"Something's going on", May replied.

"So then...do we go in?", Sawyer asked. May slowly began to walk forward. Drew tried to stop her by grabbing her hand. May turned and looked into his eyes. She smiled, reassuring him that she would be alright. Drew looked into her eyes and nodded back. Slowly and reluctantly, he released her hand. May walked out into the room, her footsteps clicking on the concrete. Her heart pounded as she slowly and carefully walked in. In the center of the room, painted on the floor in bright red was a large letter "R". May stopped walking about fifteen feet from the insignia and stood still. She didn't move, letting her senses take over. Nothing seemed to be going wrong...which worried her.

She turned around none the less and motioned for the others to enter. Drew, Nick, Sawyer, and the others all entered. They aimed their guns at various portions of the room, ready for anything to jump out at them. Drew reached May first and looked around.

"I don't like this", Drew said. May nodded.

"I agree, let's hurry up and find this room before something bad happens", May said. As if on cue, a sudden chill went down their spines. They felt as if they were being watched. Suddenly, a very light noise was heard. May and Drew turned around, but saw nothing near them. On the insignia on the ground was a small pile of dust. May knew for a fact that it wasn't there before. She looked up, thinking it came from the ceiling. Just as she did, something very large fell to the ground. May grabbed Drew by the arm and they dove out of the way of the object. The object crashed onto the floor, right on top of the "R". Dust covered the entire area as everyone braced themselves for danger.

May and Drew, who had landed on the ground several feet away, turned around and looked at the dust cloud that formed. The dust slowly began to disappear and a shape could be seen within the cloud.

"Drew...I think we're finally in trouble", May said. The dust finally disappeared, revealing a large purple Pokemon. It was a Nidoking. The heavy Pokemon caused the ground where it landed to crack and sink deeper into the ground. The Nidoking eyed them angrily. May was used to seeing this now in Pokemon. Weak Pokemon were often terminated by Team Rocket, or at least trained until they were deemed "useful". Strong Pokemon on the other hand, were treated far, far worse. They were tortured brutally until they evolved and then given Pokemon boosters until it nearly killed them. Afterwards, they put them through several experiments that increased their rage. It was a dangerous method to use, often killing the Pokemon that were put through it. But the ones strong enough to survive became monsters, void of the former emotion and kindness that all Pokemon were born with.

This...was a killer, not a Pokemon.

Several of the rebels aimed their machine guns at the Nidoking, but May turned around and waved her hands.

"NO! WE DON'T KILL POKEMON!", May yelled. It was PTA orders to not kill any Pokemon, no matter how out of control they were. Ash and the original leaders felt that they could be saved once Team Rocket was brought down, even if it seemed unlikely. Prof. Oak's entire work in the PTA involved this, because he was forced to work on the cause of the rage for Team Rocket, he felt that he could cure it. The rebels were reluctant, but lowered their weapons. May and Drew looked back to the Nidoking, who had yet to move from his spot. The beast eyed them both, his eyes filled with nothing but pure rage. He brought his head up to the sky and roared, the room shaking like an earthquake.

The Nidoking then opened its mouth and aimed at the group. A white light began to form in its mouth. May gasped.

"FIND COVER!", May yelled. But it was too late. Nidoking fired the Hyper Beam. May and Drew rolled in opposite directions to avoid the blast. It shot past May and Drew and crashed into the wall about fifty feet away. Debris flew everywhere as May and Drew covered their bodies for protection. A couple rebels were blown away due to the blast and landed hard on the ground several feet away. The Nidoking roared, angry that it had missed its target. May looked at the angry Pokemon in fear.

"WE NEED TO FIGHT IT! WHO HAS A POKEMON GOOD AGAINST GROUND TYPES?", May asked yelling. Suddenly, she heard a loud noise. She looked up and saw more bodies falling from the ceiling. They were more Pokemon. May looked on in horror as a Ursaring, Aggron, Abomasnow, and Ariados fell to the ground and landed on their feet. The earth shook even more than before and the Pokemon all looked at the PTA with hate in their eyes.

"Oh god...", Drew replied. The Pokemon all prepared to fight. May and Drew quickly stood up, their hands on their Pokeballs. Just as they were about to fight back, laughter echoed throughout the entire room. Everyone looked around, unsure of where this laughter was coming from. Soon, ropes fell from the ceiling and Rocket grunts began to slide down onto the ground. A dozen or more Rockets landed softly on the ground and looked at the PTA members with a cocky grin on their faces. Finally, one last rope fell from the ceiling and landed on the ground. May and Drew watched as a Rocket member landed on the concrete floor.

It was a female Rocket with long redish brown hair that extended down to her mid-riff. She wore a black short sleeved shirt with a "R" on her chest that stopped at her mid-riff. She also wore black pants and black boots. She looked at May and Drew with her rusty brown eyes, a wicked grin spread across her face.

"So sorry we're late to the party. Welcome rebels, to the New Island Rocket base!", the female stated. All of the Rocket grunts behind her grinned and chuckled. May looked at the girl with disgust.

"How did you know we were coming?", May asked. The female Rocket grinned.

"Honey, do you _honestly _think that anything happens in this base without me knowing about it? You all thought you had something good going by sneaking into the base, but your biggest mistake was, WE'RE TEAM ROCKET!", the female yelled, her arms extended. The Team Rocket members behind her all cheered loudly, throwing their fists in the air. "And you also made the mistake of having such few numbers with you. You'd need an army to take over this base".

May and Drew looked at each other, they didn't know of the others. As if they knew what the other was thinking, they went back to looking at Team Rocket. They didn't want to give away the secret if it meant the protection of the others.

"So who are _you _then?", Sawyer asked, stepping forward. Nick followed her. The female Rocket smiled wickedly once more.

"Sure, I'll give you the pleasure. The name's Calamity Jane", the female Rocket stated. "Of course, you won't live long enough to tell people of me. Oh boys!". The Rockets and Pokemon all prepared to fight. Jane looked back to them, and then to the PTA. "...smoke em'". Calamity Jane stepped back as the Rockets and Pokemon began their charge. May and Drew grabbed a Pokeball each and looked back to the others.

"GO PTA!", May and Drew yelled. Everyone else yelld back, their Pokeballs and guns ready.

"GO PTA!", they all exclaimed. They then began their own charge. May and Drew threw their Pokeballs into the air and they burst open. Soon, May's Beautifly and Drew's Masquerain appeared.

"Beautifly/Masquerain! Silver Wind!", May and Drew yelled. The flying bug Pokemon flew up in the air and began to flap their wings faster and faster. Soon, silver blades of wind shot out and struck the Pokemon and Rockets. Several Rockets flew backwards and the Pokemon tried to shield themselves from the attacks. Soon, more Pokemon appeared from the rebels and battles ensued. Bullets flew past, striking various people, (or more commonly, into the walls).

Sawyer was fighting a Rocket member who had a Nuzleaf. Both of the two grinned evilly at the young woman. Sawyer backed up against a wall, her hand on her Pokeball. She pressed the button on the ball without pulling it off her belt and a white light shot out from it and landed in front of Sawyer. Soon, a small brown Pokemon appeared, an Eevee. The Eevee reared itself, ready to fight.

"Alright, you ready for this Copper?", Sawyer asked. The Eevee named Copper nodded.

"Eevee!", Copper replied. The Rocket grunt and his Nuzleaf laughed out loud.

"WHAT'S AN EEVEE GONNA DO? CUTE ME TO DEATH?", the Rocket yelled in laughter. Sawyer grinned.

"This little Eevee has more power then you think. COPPER, SHADOW BALL!", Sawyer commanded. Copper opened its mouth and a black ball appeared. It fired the ball at the unaware Nuzleaf, who then crashed into the Rocket. The two enemies flew back all the way to the other side of the room before crashing into the wall and falling to the ground, unconscious. Sawyer smiled. "Told you so", Sawyer said. Copper smiled and cheered happily. Sawyer then looked over towards the other direction and noticed that Nick was involved in a Pokemon fight of his own.

His Electabuzz was currently in a fight with the Ursaring that had fallen from the ceiling earlier. The Ursaring roared and swiped its claws at Electabuzz. It hit its chest and Electabuzz stepped back a little, in pain. Nick looked on in worry.

"Electabuzz, Mega Punch!", Nick commanded. Electabuzz roared and charged the Ursaring, his fist raised and glowing white. The punch struck Ursaring in the face, causing him to fall to the ground. The Rocket who was commanding Ursaring became angry.

"Ergh! Ursaring! Hidden Power!", the grunt ordered. Ursaring opened its mouth and fired a white blast at Electabuzz. He flew back and landed on his back in front of Nick. Ursaring immediately jumped up and on top of Electabuzz, striking him with his claws. Electabuzz roared in pain as the claws kept hitting him. Nick began to worry, but then thought of something.

"Electabuzz! Thunder!", Nick yelled. Electabuzz began to spark in yellow and slowly a black storm cloud began to form above the Pokemon. Electabuzz roared in anger and the storm cloud released a lightning bolt, which struck Ursaring. It roared in agony until the attack stopped. Ursaring wobbled for a moment before falling to the side of Electabuzz, fainted. The Rocket became angry and returned Ursaring. Electabuzz stood up, slightly injured but still read to fight. The grunt looked at the two of them in hatred.

"You know what? FUCK YOU, AND FUCK YOUR ELECTABUZZ!", the grunt yelled. He suddenly reached for his belt and pulled out a Uzi. Nick and Electabuzz gasped as the Rocket chuckled. But before he could fire the attack, the grunt was struck by a small brown figure. Nick got a closer look and could see that it was an Eevee. Suddenly, Sawyer stood by Nick's side. She looked to him and smiled.

"Thought you could use the help", Sawyer said. Nick smiled back.

"Thanks, I guess I could", Nick replied. Sawyer nodded and then brought her attention back to the grunt. He was just getting up from the Quick Attack and looked at the Eevee angrily. His Uzi however was hit out of his hands and was no where to be seen.

"Copper! Tackle!", Sawyer yelled. Copper charged at the grunt and hit him head in the face. The grunt flew back, bouncing off the concrete like a ball until he finally stopped and remained motionless on the ground, far away from Sawyer and Nick. Copper smiled and hopped up and down. Sawyer giggled. "Great job Copper!", Sawyer stated. Copper ran to Sawyer and hopped in her arms. Sawyer smiled as she held out her Pokeball. "Ok, return!". Within seconds, Copper was placed away in its Pokeball. Sawyer and Nick then looked onto the battlefield.

Rockets and PTA rebels fought every which way, with weapons and Pokemon alike. Bullets zoomed past and the room shook from the force of the attacks brought upon by the Pokemon. The sound of gunfire caused Sawyer and Nick to duck quickly just as a bullet flew by and penetrated the wall a couple feet behind them.

"This is getting out of hand!", Sawyer said worried. Nick nodded.

"I agree. We need to find May and Drew and organize something", Nick replied. To the front of them they could see the back of a rebel fighting a Rocket at close combat. The rebel turned out to be Wallace. The Rocket he was fighting was swinging a large Bowie knife, trying to cut the rebel down. Wallace barely managed to dodge the blows and tried to fight back with nothing more than a small scalpel. The swinging Rocket caused Wallace to back up towards Nick and Sawyer.

"Wallace!", Sawyer yelled. Wallace glanced over for a brief second before bringing his attention back to the Rocket.

"Yes?", Wallace asked almost casually.

"Where's May and Drew!", Nick asked. Wallace ducked from a swing.

"Little busy at the moment!", Wallace replied. "Hold on!". The Rocket swung again towards Wallace, but this time Wallace managed to catch the Rocket's armed hand with his free hand. He then swung his scalpel forward and slit the throat of the Rocket. He gasped for breath as blood poured out of his neck. Wallace released the Rocket's arm and he stepped back a couple feet, clinging his cut neck with his hands. Wallace turned around and walked over to Nick and Sawyer as the Rocket fell to the ground, blood pooling around him.

"Now then, what was it you wanted?", Wallace asked, pulling off his glasses and wiping away the blood that had splattered on them almost in a panic, as if he expected to catch a disease if he didn't clean them sooner.

"Where's May and Drew! We can't keep fighting like this, it will attract too much attention and we can't afford to lose anymore people!", Nick stated. Wallace looked around, along with Nick and Sawyer. Within a few seconds, Wallace spotted something.

"There!", Wallace yelled, pointing away from them. Sawyer and Nick looked to see May, standing on the other side of the room, near the halls. Beautifly levitated just above her, flapping its wings slowly. Several feet away from her, eyeing her down with a wave of arrogance was Calamity Jane. She smirked at her opponent as May gave an evil look back.

"You really have no idea what you're in for do you?", Jane asked with a smirk.

"I know exactly what I'm doing, I'm helping bring down this dictatorship to restore freedom!", May replied.

"Blah blah blah, I've heard this story a thousand times. You know, in the years I've been a Rocket commander, I think I must of killed at _least _a hundred or two people who always told me the same thing. But I never had the privilege to actually kill someone who was in the PTA! I was stuck doing clean up for the smaller unorganized rebellions", Jane explained. May grew angrier at her and growled. Calamity Jane then pulled out a Pokeball and held it in her hand. "Now then, do you think that you have the skills to take down a Rocket commander?".

I don't think it, I _know _it!", May replied. Jane smirked.

"Alright then, let's fight!", Jane stated. She then tossed her Pokeball in the air and it burst open. The white light took form and suddenly a darkness took its place. May looked at the darkness in confusion as Jane caught the Pokeball that flew back to her. She smiled wickedly. The darkness hovered over a stone on the ground that came out of the Pokeball as well. "Curious? Not sure what this is are you?", Jane asked. May didn't answer, she didn't want to give Jane the courtesy of being right. "COME ON OUT...SPIRITOMB!", Jane yelled. Suddenly, the darkness began to swirl around and around and turn into a purple and green haze.

May and Beautifly watched in shock as the darkness soon stopped swirling and a ghost Pokemon took its spot. Green eyes glared back at them as the Pokemon smiled wickedly and made an eery laughter. May knew of the Pokemon Spiritomb, but because she had only gone to Sinnoh a couple times, had never seen one. She glared at it in worry. Ghost Pokemon were known for being powerful, and most of Beautifly's attacks wouldn't affect it very much.

"Now then, Spiritomb, Shadow Ball!", Jane commanded. Spiritomb chuckled and fired a dark ball at Beautifly.

"Beautifly, dodge, then use Silver Wind!", May yelled. Beautifly managed to dodge the Shadow Ball attack as it flew into the air and disappeared into the darkness of the ceiling. Beautifly then flapped its wings fast, causing its Silver Wind to fly towards Spiritomb. Jane however chuckled.

"Spiritomb...Psychic", Jane said. Spiritomb chuckled more and suddenly it's body began to glow more purple than before. The Silver Wind stopped in mid air and was suddenly blasted backwards. May gasped as Beautifly was struck by its own attack. Beautifly managed to move out of the way before the attack could finish, but was injured badly.

"Oh no...this isn't good!", May thought to herself. Calamity Jane chuckled.

"You see, you can't defeat me! I'm simply much too powerful!", Jane replied. "Now...let's end this. Spiritomb! Will-O-Wisp!". Spiritomb suddenly formed dark colored fireballs and whipped them at Beautifly The fire attack devastated the butterfly Pokemon as Beautifly fell to the ground. May dove over just in time to catch Beautifly before it could hit the ground. May looked at her injured Pokemon in worry.

"It's ok Beautifly, you did a great job", May said. Beautifly beat its wings very slowly.

"Beau...tifly", Beautifly responded. May then pulled out a Pokeball and recalled Beautifly.

"Return", May stated. Soon, Beautifly was gone. May stood up and looked at Calamity Jane angrily as she chuckled once more.

"You may want to think about getting some stronger Pokemon there darling if you intend to bring Team Rocket down!", Jane retorted. May growled angrily at her. She grabbed a Pokeball and readied herself.

"Fine then, if you want power, I'll show you power!", May said. She then threw her Pokeball into the air and it burst open. A white light appeared and suddenly a tall fighting looking Pokemon appeared. It looked at Spiritomb with a eagerness to defeat it. It was May's Blaziken. It began to flare up in flames and yelled.

"BLAZIKEN!", Blaziken roared.

"Alright Blaziken, we're in for a fight, are you ready?", May asked. Blaziken shot flames in the air in approval. May nodded and smiled. "Good, I knew you would be..NOW! GO!". Blaziken roared and immediately began to run towards Spiritomb. When it was about half the distance to its target, it jumped in the air and prepared to strike Spiritomb. Jane chuckled.

"Heh, fool. Spiritomb, Psychic!", Jane yelled. Spiritomb began to glow purple and blasted its purple haze at Blaziken. Blaziken suddenly froze in mid-air, stuck in the Psychic powers of Spiritomb. It struggled to get out, but it was no use. "Don't you know that Blaziken is part fighting type? They're weak against Psychic attacks". Jane then held out her hand and pointed her thumb down to the ground. Spiritomb must of sensed this because after she did so, Spiritomb slammed Blaziken into the concrete. The concrete cracked under the weight and Blaziken yelled in pain.

"BLAZIKEN!", May yelled. Blaziken stood up slowly, injured but still ready to fight. "Dang...Psychic did double the damage. Blaziken can't take a whole lot of those attacks...wait, I got an idea!", May thought to herself. Blaziken took a battle stance. "BLAZIKEN! HI-JUMP KICK!". Blaziken jumped up in the air and threw a kick towards Spiritomb. Calamity Jane chuckled more.

"Apparently you never learn. Even if this attack hit, it would go right through a ghost Pokemon", Jane said. "SPIRITOMB, PSYCHIC!" Spiritomb chuckled and was about to release its attack once more, but suddenly, Blaziken vanished in thin air. Spiritomb and Jane both saw this in shock. "WHAT! IT VANISHED?", Jane yelled out in shock. May smirked.

"Not vanished, just used its speed to get in closer", May explained. Jane and Spiritomb looked down and quickly noticed Blaziken, only a foot or so away from Spiritomb. Their eyes grew wide in shock, Calamity Jane did not have enough time to call out an attack.

"NO WAY!", Jane yelled out.

"BLAZIKEN! FLARE BLITZ!", May ordered. Blaziken began to glow in flames and, before Spiritomb could react, Blaziken completely surrounded it in flames.

"BLAZIKEN!", Blaziken yelled. The flames surrounding Spiritomb then exploded. Jane covered herself as the flames shot out past her, nearly burning her body. May merely looked on, knowing the end result of this battle. When the flames died down, Calamity Jane looked to the Pokemon and became shocked. Spiritomb had disappeared completely, the only thing left was the Odd Stone that held it. Spiritomb had fainted. Blaziken roared, proud of its victory. Jane grew angry and recalled her Pokemon.

"Ergh! Damn you!", Jane said in a growl. May looked at her.

"Are you ready to surrender?", May asked. Blaziken took a battle stance, ready to fight if need be. From the other side of the room, Sawyer, Nick, and Wallace saw the battle with a smile.

"I knew she'd win", Sawyer said proudly. Wallace smiled and jumped for joy while Nick nodded in agreement while his Electabuzz stood there watching. They then began to run towards May, ready to back her up. Also watching the fight only a short distance from May's backside was Drew, who looked on with a smile. He had just dispatched with two Rockets and was watching May's fight, ready to back her up if she needed it. But he knew that she wouldn't.

For years he had known that May was a good Pokemon trainer. It was evident even before Team Rocket took over, when the two of them performed in Pokemon contests together. She had even managed to beat him at one point. He was proud of her, more so than anyone else could possibly imagine. He then turned to his side to see that Sawyer, Nick, Wallace, and Electabuzz were running towards May as well, proud of her victory. Calamity Jane on the other hand, was not nearly as thrilled. She growled at May, who looked at her waiting for an answer from her question.

"ERGH! LISTEN! TEAM ROCKET NEVER SURRENDERS! NEVER! AND IF YOU THINK I'M GOING TO START NOW YOU'RE GRAVELY MISTAKEN!", Jane yelled. She suddenly reached for something from the side of her, on her belt. "NOW...DIE!". She pulled out a revolver, pulled back the trigger, and fired. The gunshot echoed throughout the room, although most everyone ignored it in the heat of the fighting. It blended in with the sound of the other gunshots. May, Blaziken, Drew, Nick, Sawyer, Wallace, and Electabuzz all watched in shock, no one was able to do anything to stop it.

Sawyer and the others stopped running towards May and looked on in horror. May looked at Blaziken, and noticed that he looked back to her. He had not gotten hit. Suddenly, she felt a hint of pain in her chest. She looked down and put a hand to the spot that was hurting. She then lifted her hand up to her face and saw that it was covered in blood. She twitched slightly and began to get cloudy vision. May tried to say something, but the only thing that came out of her mouth was blood. She then fell to the ground. Time seemed to slow down as everyone watched her fall. Blaziken looked on in horror, watching its master possibly die.

Sawyer, Nick, Wallace, and Electabuzz all screamed in shock and horror. But by far, the one person most horrified by the sudden attack was Drew. He fet his heart stop as he watched helplessly. May's body fell to the ground, on her right side. Her head hit the concrete hard, but she didn't even feel it. He hands fell in front of her, one covered in blood. The blood in her mouth trickled out of her mouth and dripped onto the hard, cold ground.

Blaziken immediately jumped back to its master's side. Sawyer and the others quickly ran towards her as well.

"MAY!", Sawyer, Nick, and Wallace yelled in horror. Drew, who was still in a shocked state, only looked on, his eyes fixated on the body of his fallen love. Immediately, images of past events with her flowed through his head like a video, the good times and bad, before and after the Rocket takeover. He thought about how much he had loved getting to know her more and more over the years, and how now, it could possibly all end. He couldn't believe that after everything they had gone through together, it would all end now.

No! It couldn't end now! Not before he could tell her how he felt!

Drew snapped out of his trance and shook his head. He then ran to May's side. "MAY!", Drew yelled. Drew slid across the concrete to May's side, Blaziken kneeled on one knee to get a good look at her. Drew grabbed her body and held it up to his, propping her up right. Drew looked into May's eyes. "May...May, it's me, Drew. Come on May, answer me!", Drew said. May's eyes rolled to Drew's and May smiled weakly.

"Hey...Drew", May replied. Drew sighed in some relief.

"Oh thank god! Don't die on me, you hear me! Don't die!", Drew said sternly. May smiled more.

"I...I don't think I can keep that word", May said. She then looked to Blaziken. "Blaziken...I don't want you to see this...you did a great job defeating Spiritomb, please...return", May said, holding out a Pokeball weakly. Blaziken at first looked to refuse the demand, wanting to be by May's side the entire time, but it knew that there was nothing it could do. With a very somber nod, Blaziken returned to its Pokeball. May then dropped her hand entirely, too weak to even lift it. Drew had to pick up Blaziken's Pokeball and place it back onto her belt.

"May, listen to me, I refuse to let you die here, not now!", Drew said. May smiled.

"I know...that you care Drew...I do. But...there's nothing you can do", May stated. By this time, Sawyer, Nick, Wallace, and Electabuzz had made it to May's side. Wallace immediately looked over May's condition.

"May! MAY!", Sawyer said, worried for her teammate.

"The bullet came out clean, it missed the vital organs, but she's losing A LOT of blood!", Wallace explained. Nick immediately looked over to Calamity Jane with anger in his eyes. She saw this, smirked, and suddenly turned around and ran away. Nick growled at her.

"JAAAAAAANE! I'M COMING FOR YOU!", Nick yelled. Him and Electabuzz then bolted after her. Sawyer stood up and looked at them, then back to Drew.

"I'm going to follow, we'll get her for this, I promise!", Sawyer said. She then ran off as well. Drew looked at the two rebels and nodded.

"I'm going too!", Drew said. Wallace shook his head.

"No! You stay here! You're the best thing for May right now! Just apply pressure to her wound and make sure she doesn't lose anymore blood! I'll follow them for you!", Wallace said. Drew was going to argue over the matter, but decided against it. Now wasn't the time. He nodded, and Wallace ran after Sawyer and Nick. Drew held onto May tighter, pressing his hand against her wound. She cringed in pain, but knew he had to do it.

"Drew...please, just leave me here. You need to find the databases!", May said through gritted teeth, blood slowly trickling out of her mouth. Drew shook his head.

"This is more important right now! We'll deal with the databases once you're back on your feet!", Drew told her. May closed her eyes, with a look of disappointment in her face. She knew that she was a lost cause, and didn't want the mission to fail because of her. Suddenly, the two teens heard a noise. They turned to see a large Rocket approaching them with a evil smile and a glare in his eyes. He noticed that the two were unarmed and completely defenseless. He smiled as he pulled out an Uzi and aimed it at them.

"Like shooting Magikarp in a barrel", the Rocket grunt said. Drew held onto May tightly and embraced her, ready for the onslaught. They both heard gunfire and cringed, but nothing happened to them. They looked up to see the Rocket's face in pain. He dropped his gun and fell to the ground, dead. Behind him, a rebel was aiming a large machine gun at where the Rocket stood. It was Jacob.

"Not on my watch!", Jacob said. He then saw May's condition and gasped. "Oh god". He ran to May and Drew's side. "What happened?".

"She defeated Calamity Jane in a Pokemon battle...but then she shot her", Drew said, trying hard not to cry. Jacob became angry, clenching his fists.

"THAT...BITCH...SHE'LL GET DEATH FOR THIS!", Jacob yelled. He stood up and was about to run towards where he thought she ran to, but stopped. May had grabbed his leg. Both Jacob and Drew looked at her in shock. She shook her head.

"No...leave it be...Sawyer, Nick, and Wallace have it...help the others here", May said. Jacob was not a fan of the idea, but did not want to argue. He then looked to the battle. Several Rockets had noticed them and were ready to fight. Jacob pulled out his M-16 and was ready to fight.

"Fine then, I'll protect you from here. I HAVE HAD IT WITH THESE ROCKETS! DIE!", Jacob yelled. He then began to fire on the Rockets, killing some and barely missing others. He continued to shoot at them as Drew covered May. May held onto Drew tighter.

"Drew...listen...I'm going to be leaving you soon", May said quietly. Drew looked at her.

"No! Don't say that May! Don't even think it! You can't leave me!", Drew said. May smiled.

"Drew...thank you...for everything", May said. Although the sound of gunfire was loud, it seemed to get much quieter in the room. The only thing Drew could focus on was the love of his life, dying in his arms.

"May...no", Drew said, tears beginning to come down his face. May smiled.

"Drew...thank you...thank you", May said. She then slowly began to close her eyes.

"May...no! May!...MAAAAAAAY!", Drew yelled.

**Oh my! What a shocking twist! I'll leave it off here, just because I love to torture you all so much with cliff hangers! "With the appearance of Calamity Jane, is this the end of May as we know it? Will Sawyer and the others get revenge for their fallen leader? And what about the others? Stay tuned next time for the thrilling installment of EVAN AAML's "R"!". By the way, did you all like the little name I gave this new Rocket member? For those who didn't catch on, many Rocket superiors are named after famous western people. Jessie and James after the outlaw Jessie James, Butch and Cassidy after the outlaw Butch Cassidy, Annie and Oakley (Pokemon movie 5) after the famous gun show shooter Annie Oakley. So I decided to make one of my own! OH SNAP! I actually have added a few hidden things in this story, related to the games of Pokemon, my former stories, or even the authors themselves. See if you can find them all! Oh well, I'll end it here for now. I hope you all have a great Earth Day, Good Friday, and of course a Happy Easter! This is EVAN AAML, signing off!**

**sincerely,  
evan, a fan of aaml -EVAN AAML**


	20. Chapter 20

**Well after torturing you all with that horrible cliff-hanger in the last chapter, I thought it would be nice to give you the next installment! (ain't I a stinker?) I noticed that a lot of you are worried over our favorite Hoenn leader May, nice to know she has fans! But rest assured, she won't be the _only _one to be in trouble! And who knows, maybe a lot more people will DIIIIIIIIIE! Well anyways, I suppose we should get started with the 20th chapter of "R"!**

**-EVAN AAML**

The hall was quiet and still, not a noise could be heard with the exception of the footsteps clicking on the tiled floor. The lone Rocket guard looked only ahead of him, down an empty hall that led to an unknown destination. Swung around his shoulder and against his back was a M-16 machine gun, which gleamed from the lights above. The guard seemed alert, yet had a feeling of boredom as well. He followed the same exact path every day and nothing different ever occurred. As if the gods heard him, he suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder. He gasped and turned around, his hand at the ready for his weapon. Behind him stood another Rocket grunt, like him. He waved his hands around frantically.

"Chill chill! It's me!", the grunt stated. The nervous Rocket sighed and relaxed.

"Man, you scared me, what's going on?", the Rocket asked, knowing that visits from another Rocket while on duty only meant something important.

"I don't know, I guess something's wrong with the communication's room. They're not getting contact from them or what not. Same goes for the guards in the area. They suspect someone broke in, I think it's just shitty equipment", the Rocket explained.

"So what, they want us to check it out?", the other grunt asked. The Rocket shook his head.

"No, I was just told to tell people, they want us to be on alert now, look for anything suspicious", the Rocket said. The grunt nodded and glanced behind him.

"Right. Well, I haven't seen anything yet, but if I do I'll be sure to report it", the grunt stated. He then brought his attention back to the Rocket before him. The Rocket looked at him, his eyes wide. "Uh, you alright man?". Suddenly, the Rocket fell to the ground. The grunt with the M-16 looked in shock and horror, seeing a throwing knife stuck in the grunt's back. He quickly pulled out his machine gun and aimed it down the hall. But before he could fire, a long, sharp object flew towards him, and it was the end.

Down the hall, hiding at a corner, were Angel and her squad. Angel peeked out to see the damage. She saw two bodies on the ground, turned to the others behind her, and nodded sternly. Aleksi, who had her bow out and ready, nodded back. She then stepped carefully out of hiding and towards the bodies, sliding along the wall and keeping an eye out for upcoming danger. The others followed her as well, their hands at the ready for their weapons and Pokeballs.

As Aleksi reached the bodies, she examined them. The grunt with the M-16 fell on his back, his head to the side with an arrow of hers sticking through it. She stepped over the body of the Rocket with the throwing knife in his back and grabbed the bloody arrow. She put her foot onto the head of the deceased grunt and pulled the arrow out of him. Blood dripped off the arrow as she grimaced. She didn't like doing it, but if she could save arrows then she would. Running out of ammo would be dangerous. She swung the arrow, making sure the blood came off as well. Michael approached the other Rocket and pulled out the throwing knife. It had much less blood on it, and only took a few seconds to remove it entirely.

"Good shot", Michael said to Aleksi, noting her marksmanship. Aleksi smiled.

"Thanks, you too", Aleksi said. Michael nodded back, twirling the blade in his fingers. Tracy approached the two teens.

"Alright, we're getting closer to our destination, if we hurry, we can get there and leave before anyone discovers the bodies", Tracy explained.

"What about the issue at the com room? We can't contact the others!", Dawn asked. For awhile now they have tried to make contact with Misty, Brock, and their group; but to no avail. They were unaware of the situation they were currently in.

"I know, I don't know what's going on, but we'll have to just have to believe that they're alright and that we can move on with the mission. We can't afford to check up on them, not when we're so close and in danger", Tracy explained. The others were quiet. Tracy sighed. "I'm worried about them too, but this is what they would want us to do". It took a moment or two, but soon the others nodded in compliance. Tracy nodded back. "Ok then, let's go!". As Tracy stepped forward, suddenly, the ground shook. Everyone tried to hold their balance, some people fell to the ground while others held onto the walls for support. Aleksi grabbed Angel and held her tightly for protection.

Just as soon as it had occured, it had stopped. The rebels who had fallen to the ground, including Michael, stood up. Everyone looked up, down, and all around; trying to find the source of the commotion.

"What the hell was that?", Aleksi asked, releasing Angel. Tracy thought for a moment and then gasped.

"The others", Tracy said. Everyone looked at him. "The other rebels! Fifteen minutes must be up! They're beginning the attack on the base!".

"But then that means!", before Michael could finish his statement, all of the rebels watched as Rockets began to run out from the side halls and rooms, shocked from the explosion and ready to fight. They all looked and immediately saw Angel and the other rebels. They all gasped and prepared to fight.

"STEALTH IS GONE! EVERYONE FIGHT!", Tracy yelled, grabbing a Pokeball. The Rockets all yelled and charged towards the rebels as they pulled out their Pokeballs and began to throw them. White lights began to appear left and right as Pokemon appeared and prepared to fight for their respected trainers. Both Tracy and Michael released Scyther and began to use teamwork to fight off the Rockets and their Pokemon. The large mantis Pokemon hovered in the air back to back, their blades at the ready. Tracy's older, more experienced Scyther scowled at the Beedrill buzzing in front of it. The bee Pokemon aimed its sharp stingers at the enemy bug Pokemon. Facing Michael's Scyther was a equally powerful and angry Vigoroth; which pounded on its chest.

The two bug Pokemon looked over at each other and nodded with a smirk. Just as they did, the Rocket Beedrill and Vigoroth charged the Pokemon. Michael's Scyther ducked down and wrapped its claws around the older Scyther's claws. The younger Scyther then swung the older one around, striking both Vigoroth and Beedrill. Michael's Scyther then released Tracy's, allowing the older Scyther to fly free and attack other enemies. It flew towards a Rocket, most likely the Rocket that owned the Beedrill and swung its blades. The Rocket yelled in pain as his stomach and chest were cut deeply. Michael's Scyther spun around in circles and flew around, using Swords Dance. Rockets and Pokemon all over were scratched and flew away.

Further down the hall, Aleksi jumped back from a attacking Exploud, which punched the ground where she was just standing. The angry Pokemon growled at Aleksi, a Ninjask and Gliscor hovering just behind it. The Rockets who controlled these brutes all chuckled.

"What's the matta? Can' fight back?", the middle Rocket asked with a grin, revealing gold teeth fillings. Aleksi smirked and stood up, grabbing a Pokeball of her own.

"No, just didn't think I would have to use my most powerful Pokemon on you all", Aleksi said. The other Rockets looked on in a mix of anticipation, fear, and cockiness as Aleksi tossed her Pokeball gently in the air. It opened and out came a dark colored Pokemon. The Pokemon looked at the Rockets and their Pokemon, ready to fight. It was a Umbreon. The Rockets became slightly worried, knowing that Eeveelution Pokemon were known for being powerful.

"Alright Umbreon, are you ready to fight?", Aleksi asked. Umbreon nodded.

"Umbreon!", the dark type Pokemon yelled. Aleksi smiled.

"Alright then, go!", Aleksi yelled. Umbreon then ran towards the Pokemon ahead of it. The Exploud pulled back its fist and swung it at Umbreon, but Umbreon simply jumped onto its arm, avoiding the attack. "Let's start off with a Shadow Ball!". Umbreon aimed its head at the Ninjask next to Exploud and fired a dark ball at the Pokemon. The Shadow Ball struck the Ninjask hard and it crashed into the wall behind it. Exploud became angrier and opened its mouth right near Umbreon. It yelled, echoing down the halls and causing Umbreon to jump back in pain. Exploud had used a Screech attack, which was amplified due to the loud Pokemon's basic characteristics.

As Umbreon tried to recover from the ear deafining attack, the enemy Gliscor dove at Umbreon, its claws out and open. It grabbed Umbreon with its claws, pinching it tightly.

"UMBREON!", Aleksi yelled in horror. Umbreon yelled in pain as the Rockets all laughed.

"_That's _your most powerful Pokemon? How stupid!", one of the Rockets said with a chuckle. Aleksi growled.

"Don't judge Umbreon just yet! UMBREON! HYPER BEAM!", Aleksi commanded. Umbreon opened its mouth at Gliscor and a large white beam began to form. Gliscor was far to close to be able to avoid the attack now. The Hyper Beam fired and struck Gliscor directly in the face. The Pokemon was blasted with great force into the wall, causing a large hole in the wall to form. Umbreon then stood up and looked at the remaining Pokemon, Exploud. The Pokemon brought both fists down into the ground and opened its mouth, ready to fire another loud wave of noise. But this time Umbreon was ready.

"Now Umbreon, GIGA IMPACT!", Aleksi yelled. Umbreon suddenly was surrounded by a yellow and white glow and charged at the large Pokemon in front of it. Exploud tried to fire its attack before, but it wasn't fast enough. Umbreon crashed into Exploud and caused him to fly backwards. The Ninjask that was struck by Umbreon's Shadow Ball was just beginning to get up when the Exploud crashed into it and then into the wall behind them. The yellow and white glow disappeared and Umbreon then looked at the enemy Rockets. All three grunts panicked and held onto each other in fear. Aleksi grinned.

"Told you not to judge Umbreon!", Aleksi said. Umbreon suddenly opened its mouth and fired a Shadow Ball at the Rockets. They all were blasted away and down the hall, away from Aleksi and her Pokemon. Aleksi smiled, glad to be rid of more Rockets. But the smile didn't last long, there were more Rockets to fight, and she was ready for them.

Away from Aleksi, buzzing around in the air, was none other than Ledyba. Angel was below her trusted Pokemon, giving it commands at the ready. Ledyba was buzzing by, dodging the close attacks of a Rocket Golbat. The Golbat quickly flew at the Ledyba, trying to strike it with a Wing Attack, but Ledyba kept dodging the hits, albeit sometimes by only inches. It was clear that neither the Golbat nor the grunt trainer were very skilled, which worked in Angel's favor.

"Alright Ledyba, Stun Spore! Let's go!", Angel commanded. Ledyba buzzed by over the large bat Pokemon and began to sprinkle a yellow dust over it. Soon, the Golbat began to twitch and fell from onto the ground; paralyzed. The Rocket grunt became angry and recalled the now useless Pokemon. The grunt, a younger, less experienced Rocket, became red in anger and looked at the little child before him.

"Listen, I'll be DAMNED if I'm gonna let a TEN YEAR OLD BEAT ME!", the grunt yelled. Angel smirked, Ledyba hovering just next to her.

"I'm twelve!", Angel replied. It was getting irritating that no one could guess her age right, but this time it didn't matter, because she wasn't the one that was embarrassed. The grunt growled at Angel, his perfectly white teeth bare.

"Alright, FUCK THIS!", the Rocket exclaimed. He suddenly pulled out a oddly colored gun and fired it at Ledyba. The gun shot out two needles attached to wires that were still connected to the gun itself. The needles stuck into the ladybug Pokemon and the Rocket grinned. Angel watched helplessly as her Ledyba was getting shocked, it was a tazer. Soon, Ledyba fell to the ground in pain. Although it wasn't exactly weak to electric Pokemon, this tazer continued the flow of electricity into its body, causing major damage. Angel got onto the floor and tried to help her injured Pokemon.

"LEDYBA!", Angel yelled. She reached for her belt and grabbed her switch blade, the one that Evan had given to her at the beginning of the mission back at base. She flipped it open and immediately swung it down onto the two wires of the tazer. She was shocked, but only for a split second as the wires were instantly cut, stopping the flow of electricity. The handle to the knife was a wood base, thereby not affecting her much in terms of being shocked. With the needles now no longer live, she carefully yet quickly pulled them out of Ledyba. "Are you alright Ledyba?". Ledyba buzzed in a reply. It was hurt, but it would be better soon. Angel then turned to bring her attention to the Rocket, but soon found herself being grabbed at the throat.

The grunt had apporached Angel while she was checking on her Pokemon and now had her in a choking grip. With a grin that seemed to ooze with anger and a lust for pain, he lifted her in the air, still clenching her throat. Angel gasped for what little breath she could get, trying to pry his hand free.

"So, you wanna make me look like a fool do you?", the Rocket asked. He then brought back his fist and thrust it into Angel's stomach. Her eyes grew wide in pain, but she couldn't yell because her throat still remained clenched. The Rocket chuckled slightly as he looked at her. "Oh, I'm sorry, did that hurt? Here, let me HELP YOU!". He then slammed her onto the ground as hard as he could. Her head hit the tiled floor and she nearly blacked out instantly. Her vision became blurry and her head throbbed. She could just make out the grunt's face and smile. "There, now your head hurts more, made you forget about your stomach huh!". The Rocket laughed like a maniac, enjoying the pain he was putting her through.

Angel could feel her breath escaping her, but she was too weak now to try and fight back, or for that matter, pry him off of her. Slowly, she felt her eyes closing. Was this the end? Had everything she fought and prepared for lead to this? A painful death by a low level Rocket? She suddenly felt useless, like nothing she could do could possibly make a difference in the world. Why was she even trying to do all of this? She knew right from the start, right when Ash asked her to join the PTA, that it was a big mistake. She knew that she was probably going to die, along with everyone else. There was no way that anyone could bring down the likes of Team Rocket! So why then? Why, even knowing all of this to be true, did she join them and go on this suicide mission? It then hit her...

Because she wanted to prove herself wrong.

For years she was living in fear of Team Rocket, and even after she escaped their clutches at the cost of possibly never seeing her parents again, she still slept with one eye open. She considered every day to be her last, because you never knew when it was going to end. One day you could be merely walking down the street or by a babbling brook, and the next you could be in a Rocket "Adjustment Camp", working as forced labor or being tortured for information. Any day now she could be found ina dumpster or in the woods, a single bullet shot to the back of the head, her hands and legs bound like an animal.

After living so long like this, she wanted to prove herself wrong, that there _was _a force out there with the power and capability to overthrow Team Rocket. A group with the leadership, strength, passion, and determination that the people of the Pokemon world so needed. And she wanted to be a part of it. She wanted to do her part in saving the world. And by saving the world, saving her parents, and in a way, herself.

Mom...dad...I'm doing it! I'm really doing it!

These were the last thoughts that crossed her mind. She could tell that the oxygen was gone and she only had a few seconds before she could black out entirely. But, she didn't. Just before she was out, she could feel the sensation of breath entering her body. She was ecstatic. As carefully as she could, she lifted her head to see what had happened to save her life. The Rocket, who just seconds ago was about to bring her to death's door, was being struck again and again by sharp leaves.

"Razor...Leaf?", Angel said to herself. She looked to her side and saw Ledyba, still on the ground and injured. It couldn't be Ledyba, it was still injured, and Ledyba aren't capable of Razor Leaf anyway. She then looked behind her to see two legs in dark blue jeans. Two large boots were right by her hands connected to the legs. She looked up to see the familiar "Fire Master" written on the black shirt. Brian!

His arms were crossed as he watched his Pokemon, a very large and powerful Sceptile, fired leaves at the Rocket. He looked down and could see Angel's innocent eyes looking back at him. He smiled and bent down to her level.

"Are you alright Angel?", Brian asked. Angel nodded, holding her throat slightly. Truth was she wasn't alright. Her throat felt like that the feeling of fingers being wrapped around them would never go away; and her head throbbed. Her skull was probably cracked and leaking blood and brain all over the place, but it was probably just her wild imagination. Brian carefully grabbed Angel by wrapping one arm around her waist, using the other hand to pick up Ledyba.

"Can you stand?", Brian asked. Angel nodded. She had a major head-rush and felt like she could collapse at any moment, but kept strong. She quickly pulled out her pokeball necklace and returned her injured Pokemon. "I'm sorry it took so long for me to help you, but I'm here for you now!", Brian said reassuringly. He then brought his attention to the Rocket before him. Sceptile had stoped firing the leaves and remained at the ready for another attack. "So then, are you done?", Brian asked with nothing but seriousness in his tone. The young Rocket looked at him, banged up and bruised. Cuts were located on every spot of his person. His face alone had probably five cuts in it. None were very deep, but Razor Leaf was not a very fatal attack.

"Don't you GET IT? YOU'RE FINISHED! YOU'RE ALL DEAD MEN, EVERY LAST ONE OF YOU!", the young Rocket yelled at the top of his lungs. All of the other rebels gathered around Brian and Angel, their battles over with now. The other Rockets were all unconscious or dead; their Pokemon fainted. All of them looked at the young Rocket with a sense of determination. "YOU'RE ALL DEAD MEN! NO MATTER WHAT YOU DO OR HOW YOU DO IT, YOU CAN NEVER DEFEAT TEAM ROCKET! NEVER!", the young Rocket yelled. Brian looked down, his eyes hidden by his hair. Everyone looked at each other and then back to the Rocket. They couldn't believe that even to the end these Rockets were going to fight.

"You're wrong you know", Brian said without looking up. The other rebels all smiled and nodded, but the young Rocket looked at him in a confused expression, blood trickling down his face. "We _are _going to bring an end to Team Rocket, we _will _stop you, and there _will _be peace!". Angel and the other rebels all nodded in agreement, knowing that these words were going to come true. The Rocket glared at Brian and the others with hatred.

"NO! NO, YOU WILL NOT! AND I'M GOING TO SEE TO IT!", the grunt yelled. He then began to reach for a Uzi on his belt. As if time had slowed down, Everyone prepared to duck for cover. Aleksi grabbed Angel and pulled her away, putting her body in the path of the bullets. Brian turned to Sceptile.

"GEX! SOLAR BEAM!", Brian yelled. Gex, his Sceptile, began to gather in sunlight into its mouth. Just as the grunt pulled out his Uzi and aimed it at the group, Gex fired the beam. The young Rocket panicked and screamed as the blast struck him. Everyone covered and ducked as the beam hit the wall and caused it to explode. Pieces of wall and rock flew everywhere as dust covered the gang. After a minute or so, everything was quiet. The rebels all looked to where the blast had struck. As the dust settled, they could see that the Solar Beam had hit through the wall behind the grunt and went clean through.

A few pieces of wall fell to the ground as everyone stood up and checked to see if they were in fact alright. Brian pulled out his Pokeball and aimed it at Gex.

"Good job Gex, return!", Brian commanded. Gex nodded and it soon found itself back into its home. Brian put the Pokeball back onto his belt as Dawn stepped forward towards the hole in the wall. She covered her mouth, not wanting the possibly toxic dust to infiltrate her lungs. The hole led to a seperate room, filled with tables and file cabinets, like a large office of sorts. Everything was now out of sorts, either destroyed or knocked over. There were no signs of the body, but blood was scattered here and there. Dawn imagined that if there was a body left it would be buried in the tables and cabinets. She then brought her attention to the others.

"Well that settles that, is everyone alright? Did we lose anyone?", Dawn asked. Everyone looked around to see if any rebels were unaccounted for.

"No, we're all alive!", one of the rebels said. It was the same male rebel that had carried Michael up the hidden stairs after Aleksi found the hidden room. Dawn sighed.

"Thank goodness!", Dawn said. Aleksi brought herself down to check on Angel.

"Are you alright sweetie?", Aleksi asked worried. Angel looked at her, but was unsure of how to answer.

"Uhm...I think so? Wait, what about Ledyba?", Angel asked worried. Brian looked at her confused.

"You returned Ledyba, remember?", Brian asked, slightly worried. Angel looked at him confused.

"I did?", Angel asked. Aleksi and Brian looked at each other concerned.

"Concussion", Brian said, Aleksi nodded.

"Yeah, we better help her", Aleksi replied. As Brian and Aleksi began to help Angel, (bandaging her up and seeing how she was mentally), Tracy looked around. There were no more Rockets coming towards them for now. He knew that the entire base by now would know of their attack and were all on the move. But he figured that the majority of them would head down to the main attack in the main lobby. Little did they know that they were all a distraction. That aside, he knew that they would soon run into more Rockets. They had to get on the move. Tracy turned and looked to the male rebel who had talked to Dawn.

"Jeremy, come here will ya?", Tracy said. The male rebel named Jeremy stepped forward towards him. He wore the typical uniform of the PTA, black heavy jacket over black shirt and black pants with black sneakers. He was young, probably around sixteen to seventeen at the most. He smiled cheekily, revealing bright white teeth. His short brown hair was a mess from the fighting. He smiled at Tracy, ready for his assignment. "Listen, I want you to try to contact anyone and everyone you can. Our cover is blown. I'm sure they already know but you need to alert them just in case. Get a hold of Misty and May's squads, and if you can the distraction group", Tracy ordered. Jeremy nodded and pulled out his Pokenav. He then began to try to contact the others.

Tracy left Jeremy to his job and approached Dawn, who just picked up a Rocket gun off the ground. It was broken from fighting and useless, she dropped it, and then looked to Tracy.

"Now what?", Dawn asked.

"Same as before, look for the way up to the roof", Tracy said.

"It's gonna be harder now, Rockets will be everywhere. I can only hope that they can't communicate to the other islands or bases", Dawn pointed out. Tracy nodded.

"Right. Misty and Brock would of destroyed the com room if they felt that they couldn't hold it for long, so whether they're there or not doesn't matter. I just hope they're alright. And I would imagine that by now May and Drew led the others to the databases, and are probably downloading the information as we speak. And obviously the distraction unit is doing their job, which just leaves us", Tracy explained. Dawn nodded.

"We can't let them down, our mission is the most important", Dawn stated. Tracy nodded.

"Worst case scenario, we split up and send half to the roof while the second half defends the area to make sure we don't get interrupted", Tracy said. Dawn agreed.

"We didn't lose anyone here, so our numbers are still strong", Dawn said.

"Best news I've heard all day", Tracy said. He then turned to face the others. "Ok, are we all set?". Aleksi and Brian looked to Tracy.

"Angel has a minor concussion, we have to watch over her", Aleksi explained. Tracy sighed heavily.

"Shit...alright, keep an eye on her. That's gonna be a nuisance", Tracy said. Angel looked down disappointed in herself. Because of her, they had to keep an eye on her, and that could cost people their lives if they weren't careful.

"I'm sorry guys, I let you down", Angel said. Aleksi shook her head and held her tightly.

"No you didn't, it's not your fault. These things happen, don't you worry about it!", Aleksi said. Brian nodded.

"Right, could of happened to any of us, just be thankful you're not dead!", Brian threw in. Angel nodded. But deep inside, she knew that this was just the first out of possibly many screw ups she would make while on this mission.

"AHA! FINALLY! GOD!", someone yelled out. Tracy, Dawn and the others looked to the sound of the voice. It was Jeremy, checking his Pokenav. He smiled, and then looked up to the others. "I couldn't get any calls from any groups, so I sent out messages instead. I just got one from Misty's squad. They said..."Attacked, left com room. Communications down". That's something right?", Jeremy asked. Dawn nodded.

"Yep, at least we know they're alive", Dawn said. Jeremy then looked at his Pokenav again.

"I also have one from the distraction unit. "Heavy fighting downstairs, casualties on both sides. Holding out for now, hurry up". I don't have anything from May or her squad as of yet though", Jeremy explained. Dawn nodded.

"It will have to do for now, we can only hope that they're fine. Let's get moving, we need to find a way to the roof as quickly as we can!", Dawn said. She then turned to the other rebels. "PTA, let's roll!". They all nodded, picked up their weapons, and began to run down the hall, no longer worried about silence or stealth. As they ran, Michael turned to Jeremy.

"Jeremy, try to contact Ash, tell them what's happened, they need to know!", Michael said. Jeremy nodded and once again pulled out his Pokenav. He clicked a few buttons and began to send the call. As Jeremy got to work, across the ocean and back at Cinnabar, Ash and the others tried their best to contact the rebels on New Island. Ash kept himself in the captain's room with Gary, Max, and Pikachu. As Gary and Max looked over important files and papers dealing with the mission, Max worked the communications. He had a headset on and was turning a dial to see if any calls were coming in. Pikachu sat near the captain's wheel, merely trying to keep out of the way of the busy rebels. Evan and Milo were no wheres to be seen, most likely patrolling the boat to make sure Rockets were no where in sight.

"So then if we attack here, here, and I guess here, then they're power will go down and the back ups won't be able to cover the entire base", Gary said. Ash nodded.

"Right, they'll be without communications, lights, or anything", Ash pointed out.

"Now the question remaining is if we can get the captives out in time. I'd imagine that they keep them deep within the base, probably underground", Gary explained.

"I'd imagine", Ash said. He then thought for a moment. "They're our second main priority, the first being taking out Giovanni. We need to get them out. We have friends, family, and possibly even fellow PTA members there locked up". Gary nodded. Suddenly, their discussion was interrupted.

"I got a message!", Max said to the older teens. Ash and Gary immediately looked up to Max, who was listening to a conversation.

"Who is it, what does it say?", Ash asked. Max listened in more intently.

"It's...someone named Jeremy. He's in Tracy and Dawn's squad. He says...the fighting is going on, the distraction unit is doing their job. Casualties on both sides...Misty and Brock had to evacuate the com room due to attacks, but they took down the communications, so reinforcements shouldn't arrive for awhile if at all...and I guess...they lost contact with May and Drew", Max said, the last bit worrying him the most. Ash sighed.

"Damn. Well they're deep in the basement of the base, they're probably too deep down to get a signal, that's got to be it", Ash said reassuringly. Max nodded, hoping that he was right. Ash then turned around and began to think. Although there were a few bumps in the road, their plan was going along for the most part without a hitch. Hopefully it would remain that way. Gary could tell that Ash was getting worried. He walked over to Ash so that they could whisper to each other.

"Do you think the worst has happened to May and Drew?", Gary asked, making sure that Max couldn't overhear them. It was unlikely since Max was still using the headset, but he wasn't going to take any chances. Ash sighed.

"I don't know. It's not likely, May and Drew are far too skilled for something to happen to them, but after years in this war I've learned that nothing really surprises me anymore", Ash replied. Gary nodded, knowing all to well what he was referring to.

"So then what do we do from here?", Gary asked. Ash looked at him with a look of worry and seriousness.

"Pray", Ash answered. Just then, the doors to the captain's room burst open. Milo and Evan came inside, looking worried. Milo caught eye contact with Ash.

"We've got a problem", Milo said. Max removed his headset and everyone in the room looked at Milo and Evan.

"What is it?", Ash asked.

"A boat is heading our way...it's got a "R" on it", Milo answered. Max and Pikachu gasped as Gary immediately began to hide papers and files and put them away.

"Where?", Ash asked. Evan walked more into the room, the smoke from his cigarette floating to the ceiling harmlessly. He walked over to the window and pointed out of it. Ash approached him and looked out as well. Coming from the side of the island was a large black boat. It was a speedboat, but a larger one; most likely meant specifically for searching Cinnabar's coast. Like Milo said, a large red "R" was painted on the sides and front of the vessel.

"Shit shit shit!", Ash said as he walked away from the window. Evan lowered the blinds to the window and stepped away.

"What do we do then?", Evan asked. Without hesitation, Ash replied.

"Hide all evidence of the PTA, papers, files, maps, weapons, everything. Make it look like we're here just to fish or relax", Ash ordered. Gary was already hard at work in hiding all of the items he and the others were using. Milo quickly helped him as well as they shoved everything in boxes and cabinets around the room. "Evan, meet them up above. If we try to avoid them they'll get suspicious. Play along with whatever they have to say, improvise if you have to". Evan nodded and immediately left the room at a brisk pace. Ash then brought his attention to Max. "Max, I think it would be best if you went and hid somewhere. Our story will be less believable with a child. Keep low and keep quiet. We'll come find you when they leave". Max nodded, placed his communication gear down, and ran to hide somewhere on the boat.

Pikachu hoped off of the counter and up Ash's body to take his spot on his shoulder. Ash then turned and looked at Gary and Milo, who were still hiding things. He knew that there was a good chance that this could end with a fight. Odds were these Rockets knew of the missing speed boats or even the attack on New Island and were looking for them. For now they would play it cool; but Ash was ready to go down with the ship if need be. He refused to allow Team Rocket to take him or his friends, especially without a fight.

**And that's that! Seems like Ash and friends are in some kind of trouble! Let's hope that they can get out of it with their lives! Hope you all liked the chapter. I know that some of you probably were a bit anxious to see what was going on with the others, so I wanted to make sure that EVERYONE got some screen time in. Expect the story to jump around a bit for the next few chapters, just so that these different groups can all be seen. "It seems like Ash and friends are in trouble! Can they get out of this situation without warning other Rockets? Will Angel and her squad ever make it to the roof? And what of the others? Find out next time in the next thrilling installment of EVAN AAML's "R"!". Alright, to end this chapter, I would like to talk about the recent world news. As you all are more than likely aware of by now, the United States NAVY Seals have captured and killed head al-Qaida Osama Bin Laden. This strikes me as important not just because I am a American and New Yorker on top of that, but because the 9/11 attacks left a huge impression on me, especially knowing that my mother was supposed to be on one of the planes hyjacked at the time. I can only hope now that with the death of this terrorist, the world will find much more peace. Go U.S.A.**

**sincerely,  
evan, a fan of aaml -EVAN AAML**


	21. Chapter 21

**Hello and welcome back! I hope you all liked the last chapter that I posted! Because this is the 21st chapter, "R" will officially be my longest story ever both in terms of words AND chapters! I still have quite a ways to go though before it passes "Power From Within" with Hits, Reviews, Favorites, and Alerts. SO BE SURE TO F.A.R. PEOPLE! Anyways, I am not sure how long this chapter will be, I have a lot of things to prepare for as of late. This is my last week of college classes so I have finals the week after. And I have my second high school prom to go to with the love of my life, so that will be entertaining! :) Anywho, enough about my personal life, let's get on with the story!**

**-EVAN AAML**

Despite the calm of the sea and the light breeze, the tension in the air was so thick it could be felt everywhere. The only noise that could be heard was the sound of the small waves tapping the bottom of the boat and the sound of motors coming their way. Luckily, they were all trained for situations like this, acting was key. The slightest sign of uncertainty or nervousness could make the Rockets attack and end their lives. They had to play it cool.

As cool as they could be when they could die at any second.

Ash stood along the side of the boat, looking at the Rocket vessel approaching them. Beside him was Evan, who was just now finishing the last bit of cigarette in his mouth. Pikachu sat on Ash's shoulder, acting calm and innocent. It wasn't rare for someone from Team Rocket to take a trainer's Pokemon just for the heck of it. Ash and the others learned that if the Pokemon were to act naive and weak, it was much less likely to be taken.

"You think this is going to end well?", Evan asked, keeping a smile on his face in case the grunts could see their faces.

"Not sure. Either they'll realize who we are or they won't. They'll probably come aboard if they don't recognize us and look around. If they don't find anything they should leave", Ash explained. Evan nodded. He flicked off the last remaining burning ash from his cigarette and put the butt end in his pocket. Even though they were in a dangerous situation, he wasn't about to liter the ocean with cigarette ends.

"Worst case scenario?", Evan asked.

"We fight, possibly die", Ash replied. Evan chuckled slightly.

"Of course, that's _always _the worst case scenario", Evan said. Ash turned and looked to the other side of the boat. Gary had grabbed a fishing rod while they hid the PTA evidence and began to fish, making it look like he was doing it for awhile. Gary looked at him and nodded, he was ready for the worst. Milo was nowhere to be seen, but Ash knew that he would be prepared as well. It was Max that he was worried about. He had him hide not because he was a kid, (like he told Max), but because his acting skills were horrible. It wasn't his fault, he just couldn't keep a straight face, he'd crack under the pressure. He wouldn't talk if he got captured, but he wouldn't have to. Simply finding him in hiding would be more than enough excuse for the grunts to kill them.

"Here they come", Evan said. Ash turned to see that the boat was much closer to them now. He could make out six Rockets on board. The boat driver killed the motor and the boat stopped moving, a bit of a distance from Blaine's ship. Big boats were too dangerous to park next to, both vessels could be damaged. The Rockets lowered a small rubber motor boat and five of the Rockets got on board, the boat driver remained behind. Ash watched as the Rockets drove the small boat towards theirs. Once they were close enough, they killed the motor and one of the Rockets grabbed a rope.

"We have reason to believe that rebels against Team Rocket are located somewhere in the Orange Islands, we're searching everyone's vessel for hidden rebels or information. If you deny us access we _will _use deadly force!", one of the Rockets said. This Rocket wore a dark grey uniform, he was highly ranked amongst grunts. Ash smiled.

"Of course, we have nothing to hide, search all you want!", Ash replied. The Rocket who had grabbed the rope tossed it up and Evan caught it. He began to tie the rope to the railing as the Rocket climbed up the metal ladder that was bolted to the side of Blaine's boat. One by one they all climbed their way into the boat. Once all five were up, the lead grunt looked to the others and rocked his head to the side, indicating that he wanted them to begin searching. They all nodded and started to look around as the lead grunt looked at Ash.

"So, why are you all here?", the grunt asked. Ash smiled.

"Fishing trip, came out here a couple hours ago and been here since", Ash replied. The lead grunt looked over to the side and noticed Gary. Gary smiled and waved, holding his fishing rod.

"Do you realize that all fisherman are to report to the Rocket docks when they're going out for tracking purposes?", the grunt asked.

"Sorry, we're not really from around here. We came from the main land off of Kanto. They don't have those rules there", Ash stated. He was good at coming up with quick answers. The Rocket nodded.

"I see", the grunt said. He was suspicious, but not enough so to become worried. The other grunts were searching all over the dock. They opened up boxes, cases, anything that could hide something. They made a lot of noise in doing so, knocking things over and leaving things out of the boxes they searched. "Who's boat is this?", the grunt leader asked. Ash had been looking at the other grunts, but quickly came back to the conversation.

"Family friend's. We borrowed it from him", Ash answered.

"Registration?", the grunt asked. Ash nodded and opened a pocket on his jacket.

"Yep, right here", Ash said. Before they arrived, Ash had the PTA document forgers to make a fake registration card for the boat, along with fishing licenses and I.D., just in case. The boat itself did not have anything on it that would trace it back to Blaine. Blaine had removed everything that would. The Rocket looked over the registration card closely. He then nodded.

"Alright, this checks out", the grunt said. Ash smiled, knowing that it would. It would take a Rocket forging expert to notice the difference, and he doubted that these Rockets would bring one. The PTA forgers were all experts at what they did. As Ash and Evan continued to talk to the head grunt, suddenly Evan felt someone touch him. He turned his head to see one of the grunts, patting him down.

"Hey, at least buy me a drink first", Evan replied. Making jokes would not win the Rockets over, but it did make them appear to be typical teens and not rebels.

"We're searching all bodies as well", the grunt simply responded, continuing to pat him down. As he did, he felt several things in Evan's pockets. The the grunt began to pull them out. Cigarette carton with several cigarettes still inside, silver lighter with gold Earth emblem, small pocket knife, and wallet. Evan and the others had removed anything on their person that would show their PTA status. And the I.D.s in the wallet were forged as well. The pocket knife was small, so the grunt presumed it was for fishing line and disregarded it.

Meanwhile, the other grunts were all looking over the ship. One grunt had stopped to search Gary's person. He patted him up and down, but failed to find anything important. He then began to go through his tackle box, which was on the ground next to his feet. Inside was nothing but hooks, lures, bobbers, lead sinkers, string, fake works and bugs, and small tools such as pocket knives and scissors. Once again, nothing of importance. Gary smirked, knowing that this grunt would not find anything of worth on his person.

The two other grunts in the meantime were on their way to check the inside of the boat. They were unaware that it would be in there that all of the important files and maps were hiding. As they were about to enter the inside of the boat, Milo had nearly walked into them. He was walking in the most uneven way, nearly bumping into them and the wall. In his hand he held a bottle of beer, which almost spilled as he moved.

"Woah, heeeey guys. What's...what's going on?", Milo asked with a grin. He was actually not the least bit drunk, but was acting like the others. After making sure Max was well hidden, he grabbed a drink to make it appear that he was doing that inside. The Rockets looked at him with annoyance and disgust. One of the two walked past him, purposely shoulder checking him as he did, which caused Milo to be pushed slightly out of the way and into the wall. The other grunt followed close behind. Milo turned around, the grin still there. "Ah, come on! You guys don't want to party! Where you going?". One of the grunts stopped, turned to him, and sighed.

As the other grunt began to search the room, he approached the apparently intoxicated Milo and began to pat him down. Milo smirked as he did so.

"I didn't think you were _that _kind of partier", Milo replied. The Rocket looked at him annoyed.

"If you can sober yourself up for at least five minutes asshole I can finish this", the grunt said. Milo made a motorboat sound with his lips and raised his hands.

"Alright man, we're cool", Milo said. As the Rocket searched Milo, the last remaining grunt continued to check the inside of the boat. he opened cabinets and closets but found only what would typically be located in them. He looked around, tipping things over and pulling things out of their resting spots, but found nothing that would target these people as rebels or criminals. The grunt entered the Kitchen area and looked around, but once again found nothing. The Rocket sighed, all of this searching was for nothing.

They were not expecting to find any signs of the PTA or other rebel force on the boat, but they could usually find something illegal to make their day go by better. Sometimes for the heck of it, Rocket members would plant something like a weapon in the searching spot just to arrest, fight, or kill the person they were checking out. But they were in too much of a hurry right now to find signs of the missing speed boats to do so. He was about to head back to the lead grunt and tell him that they found nothing, when suddenly, he heard a noise. It was a very slight and quick noise, but unmistakable. It sounded like metal tapping metal.

The grunt stopped and turned to where he thought the noise was coming from. It was a large cabinet above him, near the wall. He didn't bother checking all of the cabinets since most of them were empty to begin with. He smirked and very slowly walked over to the little compartment. Odds were it was just something that moved from the rocking of the boat, but he could always hope for the best. Slowly, he reached his hands out and then at quick speed, opened the doors.

"PEEK A BOO!".

Suddenly, the Rocket grunt was hit over the head with a large frying pan and fell to the ground, unconscious. Inside the cabinet was Max, who had managed to climb up into the cabinet to hide. The noise of the hit however spread across the boat. All of the grunts on board immediately heard the noise and looked towards the source. Ash, Gary, Evan, and Milo panicked; their cover was blown. Milo quickly swung his beer bottle into the head of the grunt that was searching him, smashing it. Beer splattered everywhere as the grunt fell to the ground. The other grunts on the boat began to fight back.

The grunt next to Gary immediately reached for him and began to struggle with him, Evan quickly turned around and threw a punch into the face of the grunt near him. The leader grunt jumped back from Ash, his hands at his side.

"Alright! So you were hiding something all this time! PREPARE TO DIE!", the Rocket yelled. He then pulled out a Pokeball and threw it. Ash looked at Pikachu.

"Prepare for a fight Pikachu!", Ash said. Pikachu nodded and jumped down onto the boat's deck just as the Pokeball opened. The grunt released a Crawdaunt, which looked menacingly at the little mouse Pokemon. It held its large pincers out and clamped them repeatedly.

"CRAWDAUNT! ARE YOU READY TO SNAP THAT LITTLE RAT IN HALF?", the lead grunt asked. Crawdaunt prepared to fight.

"CRAWDAUNT!", the lobster Pokemon yelled.

"I THOUGHT SO! GO!", the grunt ordered. Crawdaunt immediately ran forward, which shocked Ash.

"This Crawdaunt is fast!", Ash thought to himself. But now wasn't the time to get distracted. "PIKACHU, JUMP UP AND DODGE!". Just as Crawdaunt was near him, Pikachu jumped up in the air, avoiding the large claw. "NOW, IRON TAIL!", Ash commanded. Pikachu's tail began to grow white and soon Pikachu slammed the tail down.

"CRAWDAUNT, STOP IT!", the grunt yelled. Crawdaunt raised its claw just in time to block the Iron Tail. It thrusted its claw up and caused Pikachu to bounce back and land on the deck near Ash. "NOW, BUBBLE BEAM!". Crawdaunt immediately opened one of its claws and aimed it at Pikachu. Suddenly, bubbles began to shoot out at great speed.

"PIKACHU, DODGE!", Ash commanded. Pikachu quickly dodged the Bubble Beam just in time, but the grunt smirked.

"I wasn't aiming for Pikachu", the grunt said evily. The Bubble Beam continued its path, towards Ash. Ash's eyes grew wide with shock, it was too late to dodge the attack. Ash put his arms up over his face in a "X" as the attack hit him. He was pushed back before being thrown off of his feet and onto his back, a coupe, feet away from Evan. The attack hurt, but not enough to stop him.

"You alright?", Evan asked worried, trying to dodge punches from his grunt. Ash raised his head and looked at the grunt and Crawdaunt.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Hurry and go check on Max, I'm worried about him!", Ash ordered.

"Alright fine, I was getting bored with this fight ANYWAY!", Evan yelled. As he yelled the last bit, he swung his leg and his foot made contact with the grunt's head. The grunt flew to the side and crashed into the outside wall of the boat's first room. Evan then immediately ran to the other side of the boat as Ash stood up slowly and prepared to continue the fight with the lead grunt and his Pokemon. Pikachu ran to his side.

"Pikapi!", Pikachu yelled, worried.

"I'm fine Pikachu, don't worry", Ash said, holding one of his arms and gritting his teeth. "Are you ready?", Ash asked. Pikachu nodded and positioned himself in front of Ash. "Alright, GO!". Pikachu then began to charge. Meanwhile, Evan had just made it to the other side of the boat. Gary was still struggling with the grunt that was searching his body earlier. Evan managed to avoid their struggle as he neared the inside of the boat. But blocking his path was Milo, who was still fighting a grunt of his own. Evan smirked.

"Need some help?", Evan asked, crossing his arms. Milo laughed and glanced back.

"Nah man, I got this. I may not look big, but I have a lot of muscles from working on those cars", Milo explained. Evan nodded.

"I know, I certainly wouldn't want to fight you in close combat", Evan said. Suddenly, he heard the sound of stomping. Evan turned around to see the grunt that he had kicked in the head, blocking his path behind him. Evan sighed. "Didn't I already knock you down?". The grunt became angry and charged at Evan. But this grunt was particularly round shaped and slow. Evan grinned and just as the grunt threw a punch, Evan grabbed his arm. he then turned and used the grunt's momentum to throw him towards the grunt that was fighting Milo. They both crashed into each other and landed on the deck of the boat, near a life boat lift.

Evan walked up to Milo and they both nodded to each other. They then looked at their opponents as they stood up and grabbed a Pokeball each.

"Looks like we have a fight on our hands", Evan said.

"Five bucks says we can stop them before they even release the Pokeballs", Milo said with a grin. Evan smiled.

"You're on", Evan said. Immediately, the two teens grabbed a Pokeball off of their belt and threw them forward. Both Rockets watched as the Pokeballs opened. Milo's opened first and revealed a large fighting Pokemon with for massive arms, a Machamp. It flexed its large muscles and looked at the grunts with a cocky grin. Evan's Pokeball opened and flames burst out of it. The flames spun around in circles until they suddenly were shot out and revealed a long, slender fire mammal, a Typhlosion. Milo scoffed.

"You always gotta make a show of your Pokemon when they're released?", Milo asked. Evan smirked.

"If you're gonna fight them, might as well scare them first", Evan said. "NOW!". Suddenly, Typhlosion scurried towards the Rockets at a high speed. The Rockets were about to open their Pokeballs when suddenly, Typhlosion jumped in the air, over the grunts. They looked up to see it, but then quickly looked ahead of them. Machamp began to charge. Just as it reached the grunts, it stopped and grabbed them with its upper arms. The Rockets yelled in pain and struggled to get out, but to no avail. Machamp threw them high in the air and the Rockets soared.

"This won't end well for them", Milo stated. Evan nodded.

"Nope, not in the least", Evan replied. He then looked over to his Typhlosion. They made eye contact and Typhlosion nodded. Typhlosion suddenly began to flare up, the fire on its back raising higher and higher. Just as the Rockets began to fall back to the deck, Typhlosion opened its mouth and fired a Flamethrower attack. The flames struck the Rocket grunts and propelled them away from the boat. About five hundred feet or so out was a large section of rock that was separated from the mainland centuries ago, now it looked like a small mountain. The Rockets were propelled into this mini mountain by the flames and screamed in agony.

Milo and Evan watched as they were being burned alive by Typhlosion. It was not a pretty sight, nor was it fun to hear; but this was war. It wasn't pretty. Soon though, Evan motioned for Typhlosion to stop the attack, which it did. The burning bodies of the grunts fell into the water and hissed heavily, the flames being put out. Milo then turned to Evan with a smirk and held his hand out. Evan looked at Milo's hand and then Milo himself. He sighed, reached into his pocket, and pulled out a five dollar bill. He slapped it into Milo's hand as he chuckled. The trainers then faced their respective Pokemon, holding out their Pokeballs.

"Good job Machamp, return!", Milo said with a smile. Evan smiled as well.

"You too Typhlosion, take a nice rest", Evan said. The two Pokemon smiled as they were pulled back into their homes. Evan then turned to Milo as they put their Pokeballs away. "We need to find Max and see if he's ok".

"What about Ash and Gary?", Milo asked. They both turned towards Gary, who was still struggling with his grunt. Although he was busy, he overheard Evan and Milo's conversation.

"We're fine! Go and find Max!", Gary yelled. Evan and Milo nodded and turned to run inside the boat. They looked in the first few rooms, but found no sign of Max or the last remaining Rocket grunt. They began to get increasingly worried, that is, until they reached the Kitchen. As soon as they ran inside, they found the unconscious grunt, still on the floor where he fell. Max hovered over him, looking through a wallet of sorts. The frying pan the guys presumed he used to knock out the grunt was in between his arm and body. Max turned to the teens and smiled.

"Oh, there you are! I was wondering when you'd go and check up on me", Max said. He then went back to looking through the wallet. Milo and Evan smiled.

"Max, you did this man?", Milo asked, a bit stunned. Max nodded.

"Yeah, I can take care of myself you know!", Max said. He then smirked. "Aha!". He pulled out a small card and dropped the wallet. "This I.D. card is a Kanto one, so they must of been stationed here at Cinnabar". Evan and Milo looked at each other, bewildered, and then back to Max.

"Yeah, so what does that mean?", Evan asked.

"All Kanto Rocket I.D. cards can be used to enter the Viridian base, this could come in handy", Max said. Milo and Evan smiled.

"Oh! Nice going man!", Milo said. Max smiled.

"Well, it was nothing, now come on, we need to get rid of this guy and help Ash and Gary!", Max said. Milo walked over and picked up the unconscious grunt as Evan and Max ran back outside. When they did, they stopped and noticed Gary. He had finally managed to release himself from the grunt's grasp and had a Pokeball at the ready. He tossed it in the air and it burst open, releasing a Umbreon onto the deck.

"Alright Umbreon, looks like we've got a fight on our hands, think you can handle it?", Gary asked. Umbreon nodded. The Rocket himself threw a Pokeball and released a Ariados, which scurried back and forth on the deck, giving Umbreon a menacing look.

"Alright Ariados, Sticky Web!", the grunt ordered. Ariados quickly spun around and fired a white webbing from its abdomen and towards Umbreon.

"Umbreon, jump up to dodge!", Gary commanded. Umbreon did just that and avoided the sticky substance. It landed elegantly on the boat rail, ready to fight. "Now, Confuse Ray!". Umbreon opened its mouth and released a colorful ray that engulfed Ariados. Soon, the spider Pokemon wobbled back and forth, barely able to keep balance. Gary grinned. "Good, Umbreon is weak against bug type Pokemon, so confusing it will make Umbreon safer", Gary thought to himself. The Rocket grunt growled in annoyance.

"Ergh, Ariados, Poison Sting!", the grunt commanded. Ariados tried to do the attack, but ended up running into the boat rail. The grunt became angrier. Gary on the other hand only smirked.

"Alright Umbreon, let's finish this with a Psychic!", Gary yelled. Umbreon's eyes began to glow purple and soon Ariados' body did as well. Umbreon lifted its head and Ariados was lifted into the air, and then slammed into the boat. This happened again and again until Umbreon thrust Ariados into the Rocket grunt. The two flew backwards and landed at the front of the boat, away from everyone else. Gary smiled, returned Umbreon, and then turned around to see Max and Evan. "Come on, no time to waste, we need to help Ash", Gary said. Max and Evan nodded. The three boys then ran towards Ash.

Ash on the other hand was managing just fine without them. Although he was still hurt from the Bubble Beam attack, he was capable of fighting still. Pikachu was still rearing to go, while the Rocket grunt leader was only getting angrier. Gary, Max, and Evan stopped when they reached Ash.

"Ash! How you doing?", Gary asked worried.

"I'm fine. Good to see you're alright though. Where's Milo?", Ash asked.

"Right here!", a voice called out. Everyone turned around to see Milo, carrying the unconscious grunt over his sholder and holding both his shotgun and Evan's sniper rifle, which he tossed to him. Evan smiled as he caught it.

"Good, you're all safe...now then, you're all alone, do you surrender?", Ash asked the Rocket leader. He growled angrily at the rebels.

"TEAM ROCKET NEVER SURRENDERS! NEVER! CRAWDAUNT, GUILLOTINE!", the leader commanded. Crawdaunt then charged the little mouse Pokemon, its claws at the ready.

"Ok Pikachu, time to end this, VOLT TACKLE!", Ash yelled. Pikachu turned bright yellow and surrounded itself with electrical sparks. It then charged towards the Crawdaunt. The two Pokemon kept running at each other until they collided and a explosion rocked the boat. Everyone braced themselves as dust blew everywhere. The PTA members and the Rocket leader all looked in worry at the dust cloud, wondering who came out victorious. When the dust settled, both Pokemon were still standing, eyeing each other down. Ash gasped as the Rocket grunt smirked. Pikachu and Crawdaunt looked at each other with hate in their eyes before suddenly, Crawdaunt gasped. It fell backwards, unconscious. Pikachu smirked and looked at the Rocket leader. Ash smiled as well.

"It's over! Give up!", Ash yelled. The Rocket leader returned his Crawdaunt and looked around angrily. Two of his grunts were nowhere to be seen, while one was still unconscious under his Ariados. And then there was the grunt who was being held by Milo. He became frustraited, knowing that he was defeated. But he refused to let this victory of theirs go unpunished. He immediately turned towards his boat.

"YOU! DRIVE ON BACK TO THE MAINLAND! ALERT THE BASES! GO!", the Rocket leader commanded. The boat driver panicked and immediately started up the boat. Ash and the others all panicked as the boat was beginning to move. The Rocket leader smirked. "You can do whatever you want with me and my men, it will only make your inevitable demise that much worse!". Evan quickly ran over to the side of the boat and rested his sniper rifle on the rail. He carefully aimed it towards the Rocket boat driver and adjusted the settings to his scope. Everyone watched in anticipation as Evan aimed the rifle perfectly at the grunt. All that was left now was to make the shot. Evan breathed in heavily and slowly, and time stopped. Like he taught Aleksi when they were training, he was making himself steady. He looked at his target, and pulled the trigger.

The bullet soared through the wind at incredible speed, too fast for anyone but Evan to keep track of. They all watched as suddenly, the boat driver's head was taken clean off. Blood splattered everywhere, there was nothing left of it. A sniper shot from that close of a distance would make it explode. The boat immediately stopped moving, the motors now turned off. Evan smirked and looked back to the grunt leader.

"I'm sorry, what was that you were saying about our demise?", Evan asked. Everyone smiled and then looked at the grunt leader. Now he was out of options. His team was down, his Pokemon defeated, and his only means of escape too far away. But, like any Rocket would be, defeat was not an option. He quickly pulled out a large black pistol and aimed it at the rebels.

"I REFUSE TO GIVE UP!", the Rocket leader yelled. He then began to fire the pistol. The bullets zoomed past the rebels in all directions. They all ducked and covered. Luckily, the grunt's aim was not the best.

"PIKACHU, THUNDERBOLT!", Ash yelled. Pikachu immediately charged up the electrical attack and fired it at the grunt leader. He yelled in pain as he was electrocuted by the Pokemon. Then, another explosion, and the grunt was blasted far away, beyond eye sight. Ash looked up, covering his eyes to prevent the sun from blinding him. He smiled. "Just like we did to Jessie, James, and Meowth in the old days", Ash said with a smile. He then turned to everyone else. "Great job, all of you. We managed to stop the Rockets and no one died". He took a step forward, but then suddenly winced in pain and fell to his knees. Max, Pikachu, and Gary quickly ran to his side and looked over him.

"Ash, you're hurt!", Gary said shocked. Ash winced.

"Yeah, got hit by a direct Bubble Beam", Ash said, one eye still closed from the pain.

"You better get inside and relax, we'll see what we can do to fix you up", Gary said. Max and Pikachu nodded in agreement. But before they could pick Ash up, a yell scared them all. They turned to see the grunt that Gary had defeated, jumping towards them, a large knife in his hand. Ash, Gary, Max, and Pikachu could not protect themselves in time. Milo quickly dropped the unconscious grunt and pulled out his shot gun. Without aiming or hesitating, he fired it. The grunt was blasted backwards and landed on his back. Several bullet holes filled his body, blood spilled everywhere. Milo looked at the body, saw that it was not moving anymore, and sighed heavily.

"That...was...AWESOME!", Milo yelled out. "MAN, DID YOU SEE THAT! I BLEW THAT MUTHA FUCKER AWAY! BAM!". Evan sweatdropped.

"Yeah, I saw that...nice", Evan replied. Gary lifted Ash up to his feet and helped him move while Milo picked up the unconscious grunt and threw him overboard. Gary brought Ash inside the boat and helped him into a chair, checking his injuries.

"Ok, luckily Bubble Beam is a simple attack, so there's no burns or poison to deal with, we'll just bandage you up and you should be fine", Gary said. He looked around and found a box of medical supplies, which were spilled everywhere. The grunts must of searched the contents and left them there. Gary picked up some bandages and began to apply them to Ash's arms. Max and Pikachu entered the room next, seeing how Ash was making out. Pikachu ran to his best friend's side while Max just watched Gary apply the bandages.

"How is he?", Max asked. Gary smiled.

"He'll be just fine once we get these on him", Gary said. Max sighed.

"That's good", Max said. Ash looked up to the young rebel.

"Max, listen, I have a order for you", Ash said. Max looked up to him and listened intently. "I want you...to try and contact the others. See if they're alright. I'm worried about them". Max nodded and immediately ran out of the room to go to the captain's room. Gary looked at Ash bewildered.

"Why the sudden concern?", Gary asked. Ash looked up to him.

"Those grunts were sent here to find us, that means that they may know about what happened to the others on the way to New Island. If that's the case, they might send out reinforcements there, the others will be surrounded on all ends", Ash said. Gary gasped.

"Then what do we do?", Gary asked worried.

"There's...nothing we can do. Not from here. All we can do is warn them and hope for the best", Ash said. Gary nodded and continued to wrap Ash's arms in the bandages. Ash immediately thought of all of his friends and allies back on New Island. They were all fighting to their last breath, and he silently prayed for them all. "Please, everyone...be careful", Ash thought to himself.

Little did he know that back on New Island, a certain someone was thinking about him. Misty and her remaining squad continued to run through the base and find the others. Though battered and bruised, they remained strong. The male rebel in their squad carried Ashley, who was still hurt and could not walk well. Trent and Brock were feeling a bit better, but could not afford to get into too much trouble. Misty knew that it was up to her to keep them and herself safe, all while making sure the mission succeeds. She wasn't sure where the others were, but figured that the distraction unit downstairs would need the most help. So they were on their way to the first level to help their friends fight off the possibly overwhelming number of Rockets.

She wasn't sure how long it would be before they made it down there, and she wasn't sure if they would survive once they did, but they had to at least try. She was not going to allow her team mates and friends to suffer and die when she knows that she could help them.

"Please everyone, hang on, we're on our way!", Misty thought to herself. She then thought of her best friend and leader, back at Cinnabar. "Ash...I don't know if I'll survive this ordeal. I won't let our friends die, not like this. I hope that soon, I'll make it back to you, but if I don't, the only thing I'll regret is not telling you...how much I love you".

**And I think I will end it at that. Hope you all enjoy it, be sure to F.A.R.! (for those of you who don't know what that means, it means Favorite, Alert, Review!). "With Ash and his gang now safe from harm, will they be able to warn the others in time? Will Misty and her squad reach the distraction unit and save them? And will Nick, Sawyer, and Wallace get revenge for their fallen leader? Find out next time on EVAN AAML's "R"!". Now then, I shall leave you all do read the story, and I hope you all enjoy it! I will see you all...eh, who knows when. Luckily, my college classes are done for the year, and all I have left to do are 2 finals on Monday, THEN I'M DONE! WOOHOO! :D Until then, this is EVAN AAML, saying goodbye everybody!**

**sincerely,  
evan, a fan of aaml -EVAN AAML**


	22. Chapter 22

**Welcome back ladies and gentleman! I hope you all had a good week...or two...I forget when I last updated this. Anyway, I have some great news! (for me). I'M ON SUMMER VACATION! WOOHOO! That being said, I hope to be able to update this story more when I have the free time. Of course I intend to be doing a lot of working this summer to help pay for college, and I also intend to spend a lot of time with family and friends; but don't worry, I won't forget about all of you! Before I get started, here are a few notes for everyone. For one, I notice that a lot of people are concerned over May and whether she is alive or not. Whereas I understand your worry, please, do not tell me how to write the story. I respect everyone's opinions and I don't blame you if you want her to still be alive, but I do not appreciate people telling me how I should write my story. I already have everyone's fate in the story decided. If they die, they die, if not, then don't worry. Not trying to sound like a jerk, but this is my story, and I hope you can respect that, (this of course does not apply to all of you, only a few readers, mostly unknowns). Also, for some unknown reason, fan-fiction took down the spellcheck on the document writing page. So because of this, there is a good chance that there will be a lot of spelling mistakes in this chapter. I will look for as many as I can find, but if I don't get them all, then I apologize. And...that's about it, forgot what else I wanted to say. SO LET'S BEGIN!**

**-EVAN AAML**

Their running had intensified in the last few minutes. Their feet pounded on the ground and their hearts raced. They kept an eye out to their left, right, and back; how they had not run into any Rockets by now was nothing short of a miracle. Although they were glad that they were out of danger, it _did _make them a bit more paranoid. Why was it that they were alone? Team Rocket obviously knew what was going on in the base. Most Rockets would report to the main lobby to defend the base against the distraction unit, but some would purposely stay behind, just in case anyone managed to escape the crossfire and search the buildings.

They must of been looking for the others.

By now they would probably know that they were compromised long before the attack even began. They probably found the bodies in the com room, along with the Rockets tied up in the closet. But it wouldn't matter, the room was practically useless to them now. It would take weeks, maybe even months before they could repair everything in that room to sufficient use. But this put Angel's squad in danger. They were currently the closest to that area, so they would be the first ones found and targeted.

"I hope everyone's alright", Misty said worried. Brock heard her and smiled.

"I wouldn't be. Everyone here is more than capable of taking care of themselves. They'll be just fine", Brock replied. Misty glanced behind her to see his reassuring face and smiled.

"Yeah, you're right", Misty said. But the truth was, even Brock was a bit worried. He wasn't lying when he said that they could take care of themselves. But Team Rocket was not an ordinary bunch of criminals. They were dangerous, and powerful. Who knows just how many of their allies were already gone. After much more running, Misty, Brock, and their squad reached a small hall that led down a flight of stairs. Everyone stopped at the top of the stairs and looked down. The noise of gunfire, yelling, and Pokemon attacks could be heard very easily now.

"Sounds like the fighting is right down those stairs", Emily said. Everyone nodded.

"Alright, before we go down, we need to know who's up for it. How is everyone feeling?", Misty asked. She looked around to the few remaining members of her squad. It was a small group to begin with, but there were even less now than before due to the fighting in the com room. Misty wasn't sure exactly how much use they would be, but every little bit of help could be needed.

"I'm fine, a little bruised up, but nothing I can't handle", Emily replied.

"Same", Ryoto stated. He was anxious to get started with the fighting, and kept glancing down the stairs. Misty then brought her attention to Brock.

"I'll have to stick with Pokemon battling. My arm is too damaged to do a lot of close combat", Brock said, knowing very well the severity of his condition.

"I've been better. I could use a break, but good luck getting that now", Trent replied. He held his shoulder, which was still bleeding from the gun shot wound. Misty then looked to the remaining members of her group.

"I'm fine", the female rebel stated. This female rebel then looked to Ashley, who was still being carried by the male rebel.

"I'm fine too, but I'm not sure how Ashley is doing", the male rebel replied. He lowered himself and allowed Ashley to try to walk on her own. She was shaky, but this time managed to hold her body weight.

"Ashley, are you sure you can handle this? We can have someone take you to the boats if you want", Misty said. Ashley looked up to her and shook her head.

"No...I'm in this fight. I'm not giving up because of some injuries", Ashley said. She then started to cough. The two unknown rebels and Misty stepped closer to her in worry, but stopped. Ashley straightened herself up and spat the blood out onto the floor. Her internal injuries had not healed. "If I die, I'm glad I died fighting for freedom". Misty was very uncertain of her condition, but smiled and nodded. She was going to fight regardless of what her commanding officers told her.

"Alright then, we're all ready. If you have any items, use them now", Misty said. Brock pulled out some small medical items and applied them once again to himself, Trent, and Ashley. Emily pulled out her Pokenav and looked at it carefully. She had not received any messages since the short little notice from Jeremy earlier. She wasn't exactly expecting any calls or messages, but she hoped for one. Shinx, who sat on her shoulder, playfully pawed at her face. Emily smiled and pulled out a small piece of brown Pokemon food from her pocket and gave it to Shinx, who began to chew on it happily. Suddenly, a noise beeped on her device. It was a message. She smiled and opened it.

"I got a message from Max!", Emily exclaimed. Everyone looked at Emily in shock and joy. They were glad to be hearing from them once again. But their expressions soon changed as Emily's face went from happiness to worry. "Uh oh". Misty ran to Emily in worry and grabbed her arms.

"What's the matter? What happened?", Misty asked.

"Ash and the others were attacked by a Team Rocket search boat", Emily stated. Everyone looked at her in shock. Misty's heart felt like it twitched, Ash immediately crossed her mind. He had to be ok! "They apparently stopped them and they're all alright...but there's more". Misty was relieved that Ash was alive, but now she had to worry about something else.

"What is it?", Brock asked.

"They think that the boat was searching for us, they're suspicious. Ash seems to think that Team Rocket might of called for reinforcements after all", Emily said. Everyone's hearts sank into their chests. They felt a cold sweat go down their faces and seemed to grow cold in fear. There was no way that the PTA could survive at this rate. Team Rocket heavily outnumbered them as it was, and if they called for reinforcements, they would send nearly everyone they had. Team Rocket would turn New Island into a crater before they let the PTA escape with their lives.

Reinforcements meant certain death.

"It's not a guarantee that they called them, but we need to finish up here ASAP!", Emily said. Everyone nodded. Trent stepped forward and looked down the stairs.

"Well, if that's the case then, I think we should get going!", Trent said. Just as he was about to run down the stairs, he felt someone grab his shirt. The sudden tug caused Trent to stop running and remain in place. He turned around to see that the person who had grabbed him was in fact Ryoto. They stared at each other for a few seconds, not saying a single word. Suddenly, Ryoto pulled off his backpack and pulled out a long object. He tossed it to Trent, who caught it without any problems. Trent examined the item and Ryoto placed his backpack back on. It was another Katana, much like the one Ryoto used. He pulled the sword out of the sheath and looked at the blade as it gleamed in the light.

"If you're going to fight, you should use a _real _weapon, not some toy. But if I were you, I'd still stick with a gun or your Pokemon", Ryoto stated. Trent was not sure exactly how to respond to this. He respected Ryoto, but also feared him. He wasn't even sure if he could be trusted after he saw the way he fought those Rockets earlier. But regardless, Trent nodded and held the blade tightly.

"Thanks", Trent said. Ryoto nodded. Ashley then approached them from behind.

"Well, what are you waiting for? Get going!", Ashley said. Ryoto glanced behind him, nodded, and then walked past Trent and down the stairs. Just as he did so, the noise of a door opening echoed through the hall. Ryoto, Trent, and Ashley watched as the door at the bottom of the stairs opened and several Rocket members began to run up the stairs. They seemed to be oblivious of the PTA members at the top of the stairs.

"WE'LL CUT AROUND AND GET EM' FROM BEHIND!", the Rocket in front of the group yelled.

"RIGHT!", the other Rockets replied. Suddenly, they all stopped dead in their tracks. They looked up to see the rebels before them, completely shocked. Ryoto grinned wickedly and pulled his blade out.

"Well well, looks like the fight came to us!", Ryoto said. He then yelled and immediately charged down the stairs. The Rockets all readied their weapons, but were not fast enough to use them. Trent and Ashley watched in horror as Ryoto swung his blade around madly, slicing Rockets here and there. Blood splattered all over the hall and stairs. Trent's eyes were wide in freight.

"I'm worried about him", Ashley said. She could see the signs of evil in Ryoto. The way he gleamed at killing Rockets, and the look of blood lust in his eyes. She honestly believed that he was on their side, but his past Rocket instincts were clearly still there. Trent looked at her in bewilderment, his eyes still wide.

"Him? I'M WORRIED ABOUT US!", Trent replied. Brock stepped forward. Now wasn't the time for talking, it was the time for action.

"Enough with the babble! GET GOING!", Brock yelled. Trent and Ashley shook out of their daze and nodded. They began to run down the stairs, making sure to avoid the bodies left behind. Everyone else was right behind them, their weapons and Pokeballs out at the ready. Ryoto had just finished killing the last Rocket member in the hall and then kicked the door open. He looked out to where the Rockets had come from and immediately ran out.

Trent and Ashley, being the first ones down the stairs, soon followed and ran to the door as well. They looked around and gasped.

The main hall was by far the largest room they had seen yet, possibly even the largest in the base. The ceiling reached up probably a couple hundred feet or so. Large chandeliers hung over the hall, although some had fallen and most were damaged by bullets. Couches, tables, benches, and even large plants were scattered here and there, used for make-shift hiding spots. The hall was also very wide and was even longer in length. It seemed to go down the entire building. Across from where Trent and Ashley were, Rocket members hid behind glass counters embedded in the walls. Those were probably where Rocket members sent paperwork or were assigned missions.

To their right were their allies, close to the main entrance of the base. They were scattered all over the hall, but the majority of them hid behind objects and fired upon the Rockets. Most of them wore the PTA uniforms, but others wore their own outfits. Team Rocket was located mostly to their left, and were also firing their weapons. Pokemon flew around and fought each other, with their trainers shouting orders from below. Some Pokemon fought on the ground, trying to avoid not only their opponent, but bullets and explosions. Bodies were found everywhere, Rocket and PTA alike. Some were barely recognizable. The sunlight that seemed to sparkle in the broken glass and brighten the room only showed the devastation more.

"My god...", Ashley stated in complete shock. Trent looked around and saw that Ryoto was a bit off to their left, fighting Rockets on their own side.

"I'm going to help Ryoto, he's going to get himself killed!", Trent yelled. He then jumped out from the hall and immediately started fighting, slicing his blade into the closest Rocket. Misty and the others had made it down the hall and looked out as well.

"It's worse than I thought, we're heavily outnumbered", Brock said worried.

"We need to go and help them, everyone, head to the right, go!", Misty commanded. Everyone then burst out of the hall and ran as fast as they could towards their fellow rebels. They did not go unnoticed by Team Rocket however, and bullets zoomed past them. All six of them ducked and dodged to avoid the bullets. None of them dared to look behind them, knowing that they would be much easier targets if they did. After a bit of running and dodging, they managed to reach their comrades. Brock and the two unknown rebels jumped behind a very large couch while Misty and Emily hide behind a wall in a corner. Once you entered the main hall from the main entrance, there was a small little area to the left, where most of the furniture came from. It was just a little area where Rocket members could relax and watch the large t.v. that was situated on a shelf in the upper corner. Many of the rebels hid here because most bullets could not reach this far over. It was here that Misty and Emily hid.

Ashley slid across the floor and crawled behind a table that was on its side, the legs facing Team Rocket. Just as she completely hid herself from fire, a bullet went straight through the table. She screamed in shock. The bullet made a hole in the table, but did not hit her in any way. Brock, who was only a few feet away from her, saw it.

"ARE YOU ALRIGHT?", Brock asked. Ashley looked to Brock and nodded.

"YEAH, I'M FINE!", Ashley yelled. Brock nodded back. Ashley then looked through the bullet hole in the table to see the fighting. There were some PTA members on the Rocket side, mostly fighting with their Pokemon. Ashley could just make out Ryoto and Trent. Ryoto was killing nearly every Rocket within a ten foot diameter of him, while Trent only fought one Rocket at a time. Ashley wanted to send out her Pokemon to help, but thought that it was too dangerous for them at the moment. She was not going to risk their lives when she didn't have to. Ashley pulled out her pistol and glocked it. It was the same silver pistol that she nearly shot Angel with earlier. She was not used to actual fighting, but she would if she had to. She took in a deep breath and then aimed her gun over the table.

She started firing towards the Rocket side, making sure not to aim near the rebels over there. She was not sure if she was hitting anyone, but kept firing. Some bullets zoomed by her, but she did not stop. One Rocket stood up and aimed his gun towards her left, probably at another rebel. She aimed and fired. Direct shot to the chest, he went down. Another Rocket, this one female, fired at her from the other side, near the glass counters. Ashley aimed and fired. Headshot.

Ashley pulled the trigger again, but the gun only clicked. She was out. She hid back behind the table and began to reload her weapon. As she pulled out the empty cartridge and tried to put in a full one, she began to get dizzy. Ashley tried to shake it off, but couldn't. She coughed up more blood and dropped her pistol to her side. Her adrenaline was pumping, causing her to loose more blood. She could barely see straight, her vision blurry. Ashley's internal injuries were taking their toll.

She tried to pick up her pistol, but as she reached for it, someone stepped on the gun. She looked up only to see someone wearing all black. The facial features were blurry to her. She thought it was a rebel, but as she looked at the person's chest, she could just make out the red "R". Her heart sank.

"SAY YOUR PRAYERS!", the Rocket yelled, a black pistol aimed at Ashley's head. Ashley gasped, this was the end.

Or perhaps not. The Rocket suddenly cringed in pain and dropped his gun. Ashley's vision began to return to normal and she could see that a large knife was sticking through the Rocket's lower chest. Someone's head popped out from behind the Rocket. He looked at the Rocket with a expression of hatred.

"You should of been watching your back dog", the rebel said. He then twisted the knife and pulled it out of the Rocket. The grunt fell to the ground, away from Ashley and the rebel. Ashley managed to sit herself up a little bit as the rebel bent down and handed Ashley her pistol. "You need to be careful and keep an eye out here. Rockets are trying to surround us. Coming from the entrance, side rooms, hell, I think they're trying to come in from the ceiling", the rebel said in a very deep voice.

The rebel was pretty large both in size and stature. His skin was dark, much darker than Brock's even. He wore the black shirt that the typical rebels wore, but not the jacket. He also wore dark blue jeans that were slightly baggy and large steel toe boots. Sweat was dotted all over his face. He slid the knife in a sheath that was wrapped around his leg and brought his dark brown eyes back to Ashley, who nodded.

"Alright, thanks!", Ashley said. The rebel nodded.

"No prob. I ain't one to let a team mate down", the rebel replied. He looked over the couch that he was hiding behind and fired his pistol. "Name's Darrel by the way".

"Ashley, nice to meet you", Ashley said. Darrel smiled back, his white teeth showing very well against his dark complection. His smile went away however when he noticed the blood that trickled out of Ashley's mouth.

"You alright?", Darrel asked. Ashley could tell that Darrel was looking at her mouth. She wiped away the blood and looked back to him.

"Not exactly. I sustained internally injuries from a fight earlier. My adrenaline's pumping so it's making it worse", Ashley explained. Darrel nodded. He was not a doctor, but at least understood what she was talking about.

"Well Ashley, while we're on this conversation, there's somethin' else I should tell you...be careful when you're near Hunter". Before Ashley could ask who, or even what Hunter was, she glanced over to someone next to Darrel who was standing up. This was a male rebel who looked on towards the Rockets with a look of what appeared to be insanity. He had dark brown hair that was spiked up from gel and bright blue eyes. He wore the PTA uniform, but had removed his jacket for an unknown reason. This rebel had in his hands a large machine gun, which looked like a M-16. He fired the gun towards the Rockets, laughing hysterically.

"GUESS WHAT ROCKET PUNKS? I'VE GOT A BULLET WITH YOUR NAME ON IT! AND BY GOD I'M GONNA FIRE EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THESE AT YOU UNTIL I CAN FIND IT!", the rebel yelled. Darrel looked at the rebel, and then back to Ashley with a sigh of disappointment.

"Hunter's crazy", Darrel said. Ashley nodded knowingly. Hunter finally ducked down and looked at Darrel and Ashley.

"DID YOU SEE THAT? I MUST OF BLOWN AWAY AT LEAST A DOZEN ROCKETS! HOORAH!", Hunter yelled. Darrel looked at Hunter in a all knowing way. He must of been used to his personality.

"What'd you do with your jacket?", Darrel asked, trying to change the topic.

"I'M SAVING IT! LOOK AT THIS THING! IT'S LIKE SOMETHING YOU SHOULD PUT IN A DISPLAY CASE!", Hunter yelled. He picked up what must of been his jacket from off the ground and revealed it to Darrel and Ashley. It had bullet holes all along the sides, and none where his body would be if he was wearing it. They were close calls.

"Uh...alright! Listen man, this is Ashley, she needs our help!", Darrel said. Hunter looked at Ashley and smiled.

"Always happy to help out a lady in need!", Hunter said, somewhat calmed down.

"Actually, we came here to help you! I was with Brock and Misty in the communications room takeover. We got attacked and had to escape. So we made it down here to help out. Where's your acting captain?", Ashley asked.

"Our original one is dead, attacked by a Charizard. Our second in command got shot not too long afterwards. But he made me acting captain after I managed to drag him over to the medics, just before he died", Darrel replied. Ashley nodded.

"Ok, let me grab Brock so that you can give him the details!", Ashley said. Darrel nodded.

"Gotcha, Hunter! Cover fire!", Darrel told Hunter. Hunter smiled once more and pulled out his machine gun.

"YES SIR!", Hunter yelled. He then stood up and began to fire madly into the crowd of Rockets while Darrel did the same with his pistol. As they fired on the Rockets, Ashley crawled over to the end of her hiding spot and then quickly stood up to run over to Brock. No bullets went past her this time. She slid across the tile floor to Brock, who was firing with a pistol.

"BROCK! I FOUND THE ACTING CAPTAIN, YOU NEED TALK TO HIM! HE'S OVER THERE!", Ashley yelled over the sound of gunfire. She pointed to Darrel a couple ten feet away from them. Brock looked over to them and nodded.

"UNDERSTOOD! YOU TWO, STAY LOW AND KEEP FIRING!", Brock said to the two rebels in their squad. They both nodded and continued to fire with their own guns. Brock and Ashley waited for a few seconds and then, when the coast was clear, they scurried over towards Darrel and Hunter. They kept low so as to avoid gunfire. They quickly made it to cover and Brock approached Darrel.

"YOU'RE ACTING CAPTAIN?", Brock asked. Darrel nodded.

"YEAH, UNWILLINGLY. NAME'S DARREL", Darrel replied, firing his pistol at Team Rocket.

"WHAT'S BEEN GOING ON?", Brock asked.

"WE STORMED THE BASE AT THE EXACT TIME AS TOLD. WE HAD MANAGED TO TAKE THE ENTIRE HALL BUT WERE PUSHED BACK BY HEAVY NUMBERS. BARELY ANYONE CAN GET THEIR POKEMON OUT WITHOUT THEM OR THEIR POKEMON GETTING SHOT. WE LOST A LOT OF LIVES HERE DOG!", Darrel replied.

"ALRIGHT, WELL I'M GONNA RELIEVE YOU OF DUTY DARREL!", Brock said. Darrel nodded.

"ROGER THAT!", Darrel replied. He began to fire again. Bullets flew past him and he ducked for cover. "FUCK MAN! I'VE HAD IT WITH THESE FUCKING BULLETS! I HOPE YOU'VE GOT A PLAN TO END THIS!".

"WE CAN'T LEAVE UNTIL THE ARRAY IS DESTROYED AND WE HAVE THE INFO FROM THE DATABASES! HAVE YOU RECEIVED CONTACT FROM ANYONE ELSE?", Brock asked.

"WE GOT ONE FROM DAWN'S SQUAD SAYING THAT THEY WERE ON THEIR WAY TO THE ARRAY NOT TOO LONG AGO. WE HAVEN'T HEARD SHIT FROM MAY'S GROUP", Darrel replied.

"Damn, that's not good. What the hell is going on down there May?", Brock thought to himself. He then brought himself back to the current situation. "OK, WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO TRY AND RETAKE THIS HALL, ASHLEY, WHAT CAN YOU DO?", Brock asked. He turned to Ashley, who looked at him while her gun was aimed towards the Rockets.

"I CAN'T DO ANYTHING APART FROM SHOOT FROM HERE! I'M STILL BLEEDING INTERNALLY!", Ashley said. She fired a few shots towards Team Rocket.

"ALRIGHT, LISTEN UP THEN! THIS IS WHAT WE'RE GONNA DO! ASHLEY, YOU NEED MEDICAL ATTENTION, SO I WANT YOU TO MAKE IT OVER TOWARDS THE SAFE ZONE AND GET SOME! ONCE THERE, I WANT YOU TO FIND PEOPLE TO GO AND CHECK UP ON DAWN AND TRACY'S SQUAD. THEIR MISSION IS THE MOST IMPORTANT AND WE CAN'T LAST MUCH LONGER!", Brock explained.

"BUT I CAN STILL FIGHT!", Ashley said. Brock disagreed however.

"THAT'S AN ORDER ASHLEY!", Brock said much more sternly. Although she was not happy with the new orders, she knew that Brock was only looking out for her well being. Ashley nodded.

"YOU GOT IT!", Ashley replied. Darrel and Hunter looked towards the two.

"WE'LL GO WITH YOU AND GIVE YOU COVER!", Darrel said.

"NO PROBLEM!", Hunter threw in. Brock nodded.

"GOOD, NOW GO GO GO!", Brock yelled. He then began to fire as Ashley, Darrel, and Hunter all stood up and ran as fast as they could towards the safe zone. Bullets flew by them, nearly striking them down. Hunter turned and fired his machine gun towards the Rockets. He struck two of them, hitting both of them multiple times. Darrel and Ashley also fired, but paid more attention to where they were going.

They ran past the two rebels in Ashley's squad and past several other rebels before nearly making it to the safe zone. Ashley noticed Misty and Emily along the wall and ran to them. Misty grabbed her as she reached them and pulled her into safety. Darrel and Hunter were right behind her. Suddenly, a bullet flew by and struck Hunter. He yelled in pain and fell to the ground, but quickly managed to crawl out of the line of fire and behind the wall.

"DAMN ROCKETS GOT ME IN THE SHOULDER!", Hunter yelled, gripping his shoulder. Misty looked at Hunter and then yelled to the other rebels in the safe zone.

"WE NEED A MEDIC OVER HERE!", Misty yelled. Soon, a female rebel ran over to Hunter and immediately began to check on his shoulder.

"How are you feeling?", the female medic asked. It was a dumb question but one that medics needed to ask anyway. Hunter looked at her with a look of annoyance.

"I GOT SHOT IN THE FUCKIN' SHOULDER! HOW DO YOU THINK I FEEL?", Hunter asked. Everyone sweatdropped. The medic nodded with a nervous smile and immediately began to work on Hunter's shoulder. Misty then looked to Ashley. "WHAT'S GOING ON?".

"BROCK SAYS THAT WE NEED PEOPLE TO GO AND CHECK UP ON DAWN'S SQUAD! HE SAYS THAT WE WON'T LAST LONG HERE, THEY NEED TO DESTROY THE ARRAY!", Ashley explained.

"ASHLEY ALSO NEEDS MEDICAL ATTENTION!", Darrel threw in, making sure that she would get help as soon as she could. As he ushered for another medic, Misty began to think of a plan. She knew the importance of destroying the array, but couldn't very well send a search party in for them. They were low on numbers as it was. Misty turned to the others.

"OK, I'M GONNA GO AND CHECK ON THEM MYSELF! ASHLEY, YOU STAY HERE AND GET MEDICAL ASSISTANCE!", Misty said. Ashley nodded. Misty then looked to Emily. "EMILY, ARE YOU WILLING TO COME WITH ME?". Emily looked to Shinx, who sat on her shoulder. It nodded, and Emily nodded back with a smile.

"YOU GOT IT!", Emily replied. Misty nodded back.

"GOOD! WHAT ABOUT YOU?", Misty asked, referring to Darrel. He shook his head.

"NAH, I'M GONNA STAY HERE AND HELP KEEP THE FORT DOWN, WE'RE DROPPING LIKE BUGS, THEY NEED ME HERE!", Darrel replied. Misty nodded, understanding.

"OK, UNDERSTOOD. LET'S GET GOING THEN!", Misty said. Her and Emily then began to head towards the end of the safe zone, where a door was located. Ashley watched as the two girls left while another medic began to check up on her.

"Good luck you two", Ashley thought to herself. The two girls approached the door, which was being heavily guarded. Misty talked to the guards, they nodded, and then opened the door for them. Misty and Emily looked through the open door, seeing that it was safe, and then left to find the others.

In the minds of Misty and Emily, finding Dawn, Angel, and the others was their main task. But in the minds of another group of searchers, the only thing on their minds was revenge.

It felt like hours since the murder, although it was in fact only minutes. The group had run off towards their target without even really thinking about their squad. They weren't sure exactly how the others were doing without them, but knew that they would be fine. They had to be. None of them knew exactly where their target had fled to, but they knew that they would find her.

They would not let May's death go unpunished.

Nick, (along with his Electabuzz), Sawyer, and Wallace had been searching for Calamity Jane, but could not find her. They were running aimlessly through the darkened halls. Their only light sources were dimmed lights hanging from the ceiling and the occasional torch along the wall in the darker areas. The walls were made out of brick, so with the light and flames, it gave the hall a dark red glow. They stomped through puddles on the concrete and kept their eyes open. The sound of gunfire was much quieter now, they were pretty far away from the battle. They only hoped that Drew, Jacob, and the others were all safe.

They turned a corner and then stopped running. All four of them gasped for breath. This was the first time they've "rested" since beginning the chase.

"How...did...she...manage to...escape?", Wallace asked, bending over and gasping. He pressed his glasses up to his nose with his index finger to re-adjust them. Wallace was fit, but he was not a distance runner. Sawyer was also bending over for breath, but looked like she could still go on a bit longer.

"I don't know...but we have...to find her", Sawyer said. Nick gasped for breath, but stood up.

"And we will!", Nick replied. Sawyer straightened herself up and looked at Nick.

"We can't keep running around blindly though. We need to figure out where she is", Sawyer stated. Nick and Sawyer shared eye contact. Normally, this would result in blushing or nervous movement, but the situation was different, it didn't call for it. Regardless, Sawyer's eyes, filled with concern, affected Nick. Wallace nodded, standing up.

"Right...we still need to find the databases down here and make it back to Kanto safely...May would of wanted us to", Wallace said. Although Nick was not proud to admit it, Wallace was right. Calamity Jane had to pay, but she was not the most important thing for them right now.

"Yeah, I know. I guess our best plan would be to back track, go down other halls", Nick said. The others nodded. Just as they were about to turn around, the sound of feet clicking against the ground echoed down the halls. Everyone turned around and looked down the hall, which curved to the right, (like a meandering river). The noise grew louder, so the three kept quiet so as to not give away their positions. Just as the noise was just on top of them, someone appeared. The three rebels gasped, it was none other than Jane.

She immediately stopped running when she spotted the PTA rebels. Her eyes widened in shock, she was not expecting them to find her. She quickly ran to a large door in front of her and swung it open.

"YOU'RE NOT GETTING AWAY FROM US!", Nick yelled. Nick, Electabuzz, and Sawyer immediately began to run towards her. As Wallace prepared to follow them, he quickly noticed something amiss. He managed to catch a glance of Jane just before she disappeared behind the door. He noticed that her eyes changed from that of shock, to that of a different expression. It was as if, she _wanted _them to follow her.

"Wait, this doesn't seem right...GUYS, WAIT!", Wallace yelled. But by this time Nick and Electabuzz were already through the door and Sawyer just at the entrance. Wallace quickly ran towards them to catch up and warn them of the danger. As he reached the door, he saw a gold platted sign just outside and above a I.D. scanner.

"Computer Files and Databases"

"This was it! She was leading us directly to where we wanted to go...but why?", Wallace asked himself. He was not sure exactly if she knew about their plan to take the information on the databases or not. But he couldn't stop to think of it, his friends were in danger. He ran into the room, only to find that Nick and Sawyer had already stopped. The room was extremely large and dark, the only light came from the open door they had just entered and a light above a door at the end of the room. The ceiling was too dark to see, which made them all cautious. The floor was tiled in large squares and unlike the halls, was dry. Across the room, standing near the other door was Calamity Jane. She looked at the three rebels with a smirk.

"What's she up to?", Sawyer asked.

"This isn't good...", Wallace replied. Jane opened the door and stepped inside. Nick stepped forward.

"NO! STOP!", Nick yelled. He then began to run towards Jane. Wallace and Sawyer both tried to stop him, but he was already running.

"NICK, STOP!", Sawyer yelled. Nick however didn't stop. Him and Electabuzz were running as fast as they could towards the door. Suddenly, a loud noise, like a clicking sound, echoed throughout the room. Everyone stopped and looked around. The noise had already stopped, but the echo continued. Wallace looked up, thinking that it was up there where the sound came from. Suddenly, a object fell from the ceiling. It landed on the ground with a thud, between Nick and the other two. It looked like a large Pokeball, but everyone instantly knew what it was.

This "Pokeball" was in fact a Voltorb. It's angry expression was facing the wall. Everyone looked at Voltorb, wondering what it was doing there.

"Voltorb!", the electric Pokemon yelled. It suddenly began to glow white. Everyone watched in horror.

"Oh god...SELF DESTRUCT! EVERYONE DUCK!", Wallace yelled. Wallace and Sawyer dove away from the Voltorb while Electabuzz shielded Nick. Voltorb's body glew brighter and brighter until it was unstable.

It exploded.

**And that will end this chapter! Well, hope you liked it! As a little author's note, I should point out; Darrel's name is pronounced Dar-rel. Just thought it might make it easier for you. Also, if you're confused about the shape of the main hall, think of it like a backwards "L", with the lower part of the "L" being the safe zone. Not saying that you all couldn't figure it out on your own, but I thought telling you those might make it easier for you. "It looks like Nick, Sawyer, and Wallace are all in danger! Will they be able to survive this ordeal and stop Calamity Jane? Will Misty and Emily find Angel and the others? And will Angel be able to destory the array? Find out next time on EVAN AAML's "R"!". Ok, once again, I apologize if there are spelling mistakes in this, I don't know why the spell check was removed. Probably to fix the problems that I said it had previously. I'm not sure when my next update will be, but I hope that it will be soon! Until then, this is EVAN AAML, signing off!**

**sincerely,  
evan, a fan of aaml -EVAN AAML**


	23. Chapter 23

**Hello everyone and welcome back to my next installment of "R"! Now as a A.N., the spell check is still down, so once again I apologize for any spelling mistakes you may see in this chapter. I am uncertain if they will put the spell check back on or not. If I find out that they won't, then I will improvise and find a way to check the grammar and spelling some other way. The reason why I have been updating frequently is because New York has been having some pretty weird weather lately, and now its decided to rain for pretty much the entire week. Now I love a good rain, but this is just overkill. My power also went out yesterday for some unknown reason, so if that's to continue, this update may get to you later than expected. Anyway, let's get right to it then! **

**-EVAN AAML**

Dust and pieces of the tiled floor where blasted everywhere. Everyone's vision was clouded for the time being. Their ears began to ring from the force of the shockwave; any closer and they would of died. Voltorb were naturally accustomed to blowing up as a self defense. Although Pokemon were strong enough to survive these blasts, humans weren't. As the dust began to settle and the ringing stopped, everyone tried to get a grip on the situation. Wallace looked up first, wiping away the dust on his glasses. Voltorb remained in the same spot as where it exploded. As per usual for Self Destruct, it fainted.

Sawyer was the next to stand up, holding her head. Her ear drums nearly burst from the shockwave of the blast. Nick was fine because of Electabuzz shielding him from the blast. Although Electabuzz took some damage, he was far enough away from Voltorb to avoid most of it. He gave Electabuzz a pat on the back.

"Thank you Electabuzz, I owe you my life", Nick said. Electabuzz smiled back, as if to say "It was nothing at all!". Wallace looked at Voltorb.

"I doubt that that was the only Voltorb, they probably have the entire ceiling rigged with them, we need to get moving, now!", Wallace said. Everyone nodded. Nick turned to look at the door where Jane had disappeared through. It was still quite a distance away.

"Let's go then", Nick said. He took one step forward, and suddenly the clinking noise came back. More Voltorb were going to be released. "SHIT! MOVE!", Nick yelled. As quickly as they could, the rebels ran towards the door. Voltorb began to fall from the ceiling, falling in random locations through the entire room. One by one, they started to explode, sending shrapnel and dust everywhere. One Voltorb landed just in front of Nick and Electabuzz. It glared at them and began to turn bright white. But before it could Self Destruct, Electabuzz yelled and punched it away from them.

Voltorb flew away, the look of surprise still on its face. It crashed into the wall, and then exploded.

"THERE'S TOO MANY OF THEM, WE NEED TO TURN AROUND AND GO BACK!", Wallace yelled. He then turned around and began to run towards the door they had entered. But as he did, a Voltorb fell and blocked the entrance. This Voltorb however did not explode instantly, but sat there and watched them. These Voltorb were trained for just such an occasion. Team Rocket booby trapped this room for just this purpose. "DAMNIT! WE'RE BLOCKED!", Wallace yelled. Suddenly, another Voltorb fell from the ceiling, this one much closer to Wallace. He turned around and began to run away as it exploded. The blast sent Wallace flying away from the group and towards a wall.

"WALLACE!", Sawyer and Nick yelled, worried for their ally. Wallace was hurt, but not out. He slowly tried to get up, showing the others that he was alright. He was far enough away from the blast where the explosion did not severely injure him. They sighed in relief. Voltorb however continued to fall from the ceiling, it wasn't the time to relax. Sawyer looked to Nick and Electabuzz, who were trying to make sure that Voltorb didn't land near them. She then gasped and pointed to Nick.

"NICK, BEHIND YOU!", Sawyer yelled. Nick turned around just in time to see a Voltorb fall right beside him. He quickly kicked it away, rolling the Voltorb into another wall closer to the door before exploding. Nick sighed, Sawyer had saved him. He turned to her and smiled. She looked at him and smiled back, glad to see that he was ok. Despite the danger that they were in, they shared this brief moment of eye contact and were happy.

As they gazed at each other from across the room, Nick's expression turned from joy to that of pure panic. As Sawyer looked at Nick with a smile on her face, a Voltorb fell from the ceiling. It's face appeared just to the side of Sawyer, but behind her, so she couldn't see it. It's angry looking expression gazed at Nick. Sawyer's expression also changed, as if she felt a presence behind her. Her face turned to that of fear, for she knew what had briefly been by her head. She turned around to see the Voltorb on the ground, by her feet. It instantly glowed white.

Nick yelled for Sawyer to run, but it seemed quiet compared to all of the explosions occurring in the room. Time slowed down. Sawyer turned on a heel and began to run away as the Voltorb glowed whiter and whiter. Nick could only watch, unable to pull her away from the danger, or even to cover her from it. Before she could get to a safe distance from the Pokemon, it exploded. The shockwave sent her flying into the air along with dust and shrapnel. Her purple shirt tore from the blast and her hair blew in all directions.

Nick, Wallace, and Electabuzz watched as Sawyer fell onto the ground, and remained there, completely motionless.

Nick immediately bolted for her. He was so fast in fact that Electabuzz didn't even notice him gone until he was already half way there. Wallace also got up as fast as he could and tried to make it to Sawyer's side. Nick of course got there first and held onto Sawyer. Her eyes were closed, not a good sign.

"SAWYER! COME ON SAWYER, WAKE UP! WAKE UP!", Nick yelled. He held her limp body in his arms. He was in shock, he could barely even register what was going on at the moment. Wallace had made it to Sawyer's side at the same time as Electabuzz. He quickly put his fingers to her neck to feel for a pulse. His eyes widened.

"THE SHOCKWAVE STOPPED HER HEART!", Wallace yelled. These words penetrated Nick, like a knife being plunged into his chest. He found it difficult to breath, and he began to feel the urge to throw up. Just seconds ago, she had saved his life and was smiling. And now...

That smile, he kept thinking of that smile.

"SAWYER! NO! COME ON, WAKE UP! DON'T DO THIS TO ME!", Nick yelled. She did not respond. Explosions continued to rock the room. Electabuzz made sure that none landed near them. Wallace tried to think, but could not come up with a way to help her. His medical supplies were limited to things like gun shot wounds and burns, nothing like this. Nick also tried to think. He was not about to let Sawyer die, he couldn't.

This was like Ian all over again.

It was about a month ago or so, before he became a member of the PTA. Nick traveled around Kanto, not for any particular reason, he didn't need one. He didn't really have a family, all he had was his best friend, Ian. They had grown up together, and decided to travel together when they were old enough. They did whatever they wanted, they had no one to tell them what to do or when to do it. It was the life he had always wanted, a life of freedom.

Well, as much freedom as you could get in a world controlled by a dictatorship.

The two boys traveled all over, but had to always watch their backs for signs of Team Rocket. They weren't wanted criminals in their eyes, but that didn't mean that they wouldn't stop and attack them if given the chance. They avoided danger, saw new lands, and had the time of their lives. Until, that is, that one day.

Ian was feeling a bit homesick, and had wanted to visit his family. He was an only child, so his parents were alone and had no one to take care of them. Nick understood what he was going through, even though he had no family to speak of. So they made their way to a small town not too far from Lavender Town and Saffron City. It was here that Nick and Ian grew up together. They had visited Ian's parents, but their stay had to be short. Team Rocket was apparently causing trouble in this area for some time now, and was occasionally visiting the town. Ian's parents asked Nick to watch over Ian for them, since he was their only child. Nick promised them that he would be alright.

After seeing them, they made their way out of the town and back on their journey. However, they were interrupted once again. This time, not by family, but by Team Rocket. A few Rocket grunts, most likely newbies who wanted to flaunt their power a bit, decided to cause trouble and wanted to interrogate Nick and Ian. After some pushing and shoving, Nick and Ian found themselves surrounded. They were helpless to defend themselves, and thought that this could very well be the end of them.

That was, until Ash arrived.

He must of been watching the fight the entire time, and decided that he needed to intervene. Because of the dangers of being captured by Team Rocket, Ash always had to enter a battle at the last second. It was something he hated to do, knowing that he could help people sooner. But he had no choice, he knew that it was for the greater good.

"Leave it to Team Rocket to gang up on innocent civilians and attack them", Ash said. The grunts turned around to see him, standing in the middle of the dirt road, Pikachu on his shoulder. His arms were crossed and he looked at the grunts with a serious expression. Nick and Ian couldn't help but be amazed at his bravery and air of cool. The grunts recognized Ash from the wanted posters, and decided that he was a much better target. This of course gave Nick and Ian the break they needed.

The two boys fought back when the Rockets were distracted, using both their fists and Pokemon. Soon, the grunts found themselves in trouble and drove away, shouting that they would have their revenge. Ash watched the entire thing and became impressed quickly.

"You two both have great fighting spirit and potential, how would you like to use it to regain freedom from Rocket oppression? Would you like to join the PTA?", Ash asked the two boys. The boys thought it over, but decided against it. Although they wanted freedom, there was too much on the line for them, referring to Ian's parents. Ash understood entirely, and told them that if they were ever interested, to simply find him in Pallet Town. And so he left, but it was only afterwards that Nick found out that he had never really left.

Later that night, a storm began, so Nick and Ian decided to stop for the day and set up camp. As they rested in their tent, Nick got up, having to go to the bathroom. So he stepped out in the rain and walked away from the camp to go.

That's when everything went wrong.

The Rocket grunts were spying on them the entire time, and now that they were separated, they felt that it was a good time to get their revenge. Only this time, Ash wasn't around to help them. They went for Nick first, who was away from camp. After Nick's business was finished, he turned around and began his trip back to camp, but soon found himself ambushed. The Rockets beat him, making him bloody and bruised. He tried to fight back, and even managed to strike a few blows, but nothing compared to what they did to him. He lied there, beaten nearly to death. His body ached and he was bleeding everywhere. But he still refused to back down. He stood up, ready to fight more. The Rockets only laughed.

But their amusement was ending quickly. They became bored, and decided to end it now. One of the Rockets pulled out a pistol, and aimed it at Nick. Nick was too weak however to stop them, he closed his eyes, ready to accept death. He heard the gunshot, but did not feel the bullet. He opened his eyes, only to see an object obstruct his view. It turned out that Ian had woken up, saw that Nick was missing, and went out to search for him. It was Ian who took the bullet for Nick, and it was Ian, who fell to the ground, dead.

Nick fell to the ground too, holding his best friend tightly. He had heard Ian say something just before he fell, but could not make it out due to the storm. Nick to this day wondered what it was that Ian said. The Rockets merely laughed, thinking that Ian had wasted his life to safe someone so worthless. They prepared to kill Nick as well, before they were interrupted. Team Rocket heard a noise and turned around only to see a small ball of lighting running towards them. It was Pikachu, using Volt Tackle. Pikachu blasted the Rockets away from Nick and Ian and into some trees. Ash soon arrived, ready to fight.

The Rocket tried to fight back, they stood up, ready to kill Ash and Nick. However, they did not notice that they were all sitting in a pool of water. Ash however, did notice. He told them to leave now, or face the consequences. The grunts refused, so Ash ended it. He told Pikachu to use Thunderbolt, the water conducted the electricity, making it even more powerful.

The screams of pain from the Rockets was louder than the thunder itself.

Ash immediately ran to Nick and Ian when the battle was over, but it was too late. Ian was already dead. Ash explained how he was keeping an eye on the grunts because they had not returned to base, but lost track of them in the storm. He only found them again when he heard the gunshot. Nick held onto Ian, tears pouring down his face. His best friend, his "brother", had died to save him.

With Ash's help, Nick brought Ian's body back to his parents. They cried for hours, cradling Ian's body all the while. Nick blamed the entire thing on himself. He had promised to keep Ian safe, so make sure that he was protected, and he broke that promise. Ian's parents did not blame him however. They heard the entire story from Nick and Ash, and they knew that Nick did nothing wrong. They told Nick that to them, he was like another son, and that he couldn't blame himself for Ian's murder.

Nick however was not ready accept that, and left. Ash remained outside, waiting for him. They stood there in the rain, looking at each other. Nick could see the look of pain even in Ash's eyes. Ash, who had never met Ian before, took his death just as hard as Nick, who knew Ian all his life.

It was that day, that Nick joined the rebellion.

He snapped out of his trance however and brought himself back to the present. He was still holding onto Sawyer, just like he did for Ian. He was helpless to stop Ian's death, he would not let Sawyer die as well. The memory of Ash using the electricity to kill the grunts came back to him. Perhaps he could use something similar. It was then that it hit him. Nick turned to Electabuzz, filled with a sense of determination.

"ELECTABUZZ! USE THUNDER PUNCH ON SAWYER!", Nick yelled. Both Electabuzz and Wallace looked at Nick completely shocked and confused.

"WHAT ARE YOU THINKING?", Wallace asked. Nick looked at him.

"ELECTABUZZ CAN USE THUNDER PUNCH LIKE A DEFIBRILLATOR! WE CAN RESTART SAWYER'S HEART!", Nick yelled.

"BUT THAT'S TOO MUCH FORCE AND TOO MUCH ELECTRICITY, ELECTABUZZ COULD DESTROY HER COMPLETELY!", Wallace yelled.

"IT'S OUR ONLY CHANCE!", Nick yelled. He then turned to Electabuzz. "ELECTABUZZ, DO IT!". Electabuzz looked at Nick, both confused and worried. But it soon shook it off. It raised its fist, covering it with electricity, and with one might yell and blow, struck Sawyer in the center of her body.

Sawyer's body nearly caved into the blow. But the electricity soon spread across her body. Sawyer screamed out loud, her body being shocked. Electabuzz pulled away and Sawyer twitched on the ground. It was worked!

"SAWYER!", Nick yelled. He held her tightly, trying to make her recover from the shock. Sawyer looked around, completely lost in the moment. She did not know what had happened to her, but loved the feeling of being in Nick's arms. She held onto him tightly, knowing that he did something to save her.

"Thank you...Nick", Sawyer said, although it was nearly impossible to hear it from the explosions. Wallace could not believe that it had worked, but was glad it did.

"I'M GLAD THAT YOU'RE ALRIGHT, BUT WE DON'T HAVE TIME TO CHECK UP ON YOU, WE NEED TO GET MOVING, NOW!", Wallace yelled. Voltorb were still falling from the ceiling, and exploding when they landed. Nick picked up Sawyer, and as quickly as they could, the group ran towards the door. Explosions rocked them back and forth, but they did not stop. They were almost there. All of them dove through the open door and landed on the other side. Wallace quickly got back up and dove for the door. He slammed himself into it, closing it shut.

They had made it, they were safe. Wallace coughed up dust that had infiltrated his throat and looked at the others.

"We made it...thank god!", Wallace said in a sigh of relief. He was not used to these kind of situations. He much preferred staying in a medical lab or watching t.v. Sawyer was still much too weak to move, so Nick helped her to her knees. Nick had used himself as a cushion for Sawyer's fall when they dove, so his back was aching a bit. This of course was noticed immediately by Nick.

"Are you alright?", Sawyer asked. Nick put a hand on his back, rubbing the aching spot.

"Yeah, I'll be fine. But who cares about me, how are you feeling?", Nick asked. He looked at her with eyes of concern. He checked her body up and down to see if there were any major cuts or possibly symptoms from the Thunder Punch. He could not see any. Sawyer smiled.

"I'm fine...because of you", Sawyer said. Electabuzz leaned over with a large smile on his face. Sawyer giggled. "And you too Electabuzz!", she said with a sweet smile. Nick smiled as well.

"Yes, thank you Electabuzz, you did a great job, you deserve a nice long rest", Nick said. he held out a Pokeball and aimed it at Electabuzz. Electabuzz nodded and returned to his home. Nick placed the Pokeball back onto his belt and brought his attention back to Sawyer. "I'm just glad you're alright. I don't know what I'd do if something happened to you". Sawyer smiled and leaned closer to Nick.

"Nick...I...I don't know what to say", Sawyer said. Nick smiled sweetly.

"You don't have to say anything", Nick said. Sawyer smiled.

"Maybe...but I know what to do", Sawyer replied. Before Nick could respond to what she had said, Sawyer leaned forward and planted a kiss onto Nick's lips. Nick's eyes were wide open in complete shock and his face was beat red. Sawyer pulled away and smiled at Nick's face. She then slowly stood up, trying to recover from her recent defibrillation. Wallace looked at Nick and Sawyer in annoyance.

"How come nothing like that ever happens to me?", Wallace asked himself annoyed. He then stood up and pat the dust off of his clothes. "Alright, now that that whole thing is taken cared of...let's go get that bitch", Wallace said. Sawyer looked at Wallace confused.

"I thought we decided to go for the databases first?", Sawyer said. Wallace smiled.

"Didn't you read the sign outside the other door? This leads to the databases! We're hitting two Pidgeys with one stone!", Wallace pointed out. Nick had recovered from his kiss and stood up, although his face was still a bit red.

"That's good. Then we can get the info and revenge at the same time!", Nick stated. Wallace nodded.

"Exactly. But I have a feeling it's not going to be as easy as we think it will be", Wallace said. Sawyer and Nick looked at him confused.

"Why do you say that?", Nick asked.

"As a doctor, I'm good at noticing small little details. I can easily see something others normally can't. Well, right before Calamity Jane ran through that door, before we chased her...I noticed a gleam in her eyes", Wallace explained. Sawyer and Nick seemed to not understand the point.

"So what does that mean?", Nick asked.

"It means, she _wanted _us to follow her! She knew where we were the entire time, she purposely ran into us, making it look like it was on accident. She planned on getting us killed in that room the entire time", Wallace explained further. Sawyer and Nick gasped.

"She played us!", Sawyer said, both shocked and agitated.

"But why wait till now to kill us? Why not just do it when we were looking for her if she was watching us the entire time?", Nick asked.

"Maybe she wanted to wait until we were close to our goal; get our hopes up in a dash", Sawyer guessed.

"Or...she doesn't think she can take us", Wallace said. Nick and Sawyer looked at him. "She's obviously a very talented Rocket, there's no way she would be a Commander if she wasn't. But I think her skills lie in her Pokemon fighting. May had defeated her Spiritomb, and she never released any other Pokemon, she killed her instead. So I think that Spiritomb was her only Pokemon. Which means that her greatest strength is gone. That's why she lead us all the way here; she was depending on the Voltorb booby trap to get rid of us! All we have to do is make sure she doesn't shoot us and I think we can over power her", Wallace explained. Nick and Sawyer nodded with a smile of determination.

"Right! We can do this!", Sawyer said ready to go. Wallace nodded.

"Right! Now let's get going before she realizes that we made it out. For all we know, she already does", Wallace said. He then walked past Sawyer and Nick and progressed down the room. Sawyer and Nick looked at each other for a few seconds, blushed, and then made their way down as well, not saying anything to each other. The room they were in was most likely just a storage room. The only things around were crates and boxes; filled with old computer pieces and papers. They must of been outdated items from the databases. They kept quiet as they moved along. Not only did they want to keep the element of surprise, but they couldn't afford not to. All three of the rebels, Sawyer in particular, were still battered and injured from their near death experience with the Voltorb. They would not last very long in the fight, they needed to end it quickly.

After some walking around, the trio finally managed to find a separate room. It was filled with large machines that were in rows. They were tall and black and lit up with bright green and red lights here and there. There was one walk way going down the middle of the room along with one on each end and several rows going horizontally. With the exception of the lights from the machines, the room was entirely dark. The ceiling could not be seen. The floor was made up of metal grating, which made a clanking noise when you stepped on it. The space underneath the grating was also too dark to see. The three rebels awed at the sight.

"So, these are the databases...alright then, we found one of our targets...where's the second one?", Nick asked. Suddenly, a creepy chuckle echoed through the room. The three rebels prepared for a fight.

"So, I see you all managed to survive the Voltorb trap, how irritating", the voice said coldly. It was obviously Calamity Jane.

"You're gonna pay for what you did to our leader!", Sawyer called out. More laughter echoed, this time however it was more high pitched.

"I highly doubt that darling, you three can barely stand let alone fight! You're all gonna die here, just like that bitch of a leader did earlier", Jane called out. Everyone grew angry. Nick then turned to Sawyer.

"Sawyer, I think you should sit out as much of this fight as you can", Nick said. Sawyer looked at Nick confused. Nick turned back to look for Jane. "You still haven't completely recovered from the Thunder Punch, you can't afford to get involved heavily". Although she refused to believe that she hadn't recovered, she felt like she shouldn't press her luck. She nodded and stepped back while Wallace and Nick began to walk through the room. Wallace went down the far left isle while Wallace went down the far right. Sawyer remained in the back of the room, but looked down the middle.

Nick reached out to his back end, lifted up his white jacket, and pulled out a pistol that was hidden in his belt. Wallace pulled out the pistol that May had given him earlier and glocked it. He was still not comfortable using the gun, but knew it was the best option for him. They all kept their eyes and ears open, ready for the slightest hint of Jane. More chuckling commenced.

"You think you're gonna find me that easily? You're all dumber than I thought!", Jane said with a sneer hinted in her voice. Wallace aimed his gun down the isle, ready to shoot at anything that moved. Suddenly, there was a loud clang from behind him. Calamity Jane had fallen from the ceiling and landed on the grating behind Wallace. He immediately turned around with his pistol at the ready, but Jane grabbed his wrist before he could bring it to her and punched Wallace in the face. He fell back a few feet, but managed to keep the pistol in his grip. He tried to aim it at her again, but this time Jane spun around and kicked it out of his hands. It flew across the room and out of sight.

"SHE'S OVER HERE!", Wallace yelled to Nick and Sawyer. He then reached for his belt and pulled out two scalpels. He held them tightly and prepared to fight. Jane chuckled, thinking that they were pathetic weapons of choice. She ran at Wallace, ready to strike. Wallace swung his right hand towards her, trying to cut her, but she managed to slide to her right and avoid it. He then swung his left hand across, but she ducked down and dodged. Wallace kept swinging away and Jane kept skillfully dodging without even breaking a sweat. Soon however, Nick arrived and aimed his gun at Jane.

"WALLACE, MOVE!", Nick yelled. Wallace quickly dove to his left and Nick fired. He missed and the bullet bounced off the grating. Jane quickly ran down the isle that Wallace had gone down and Nick went down the middle isle to follow her. He saw her as they passed the horizontal isles, but was not able to get a decent shot. As they ran, Nick caught Jane giving a smirk. As he made it to the next isle, she was gone. He stood there, gun at the ready but confused.

"NICK, ABOVE! LOOK OUT!", Sawyer called out. Jane had climbed up the databases and flipped over to Nick's side. Just as Nick aimed the gun up, Jane kicked it out of his hands and then kicked him in the face with her other boot. He fell onto the grating hard, but quickly got back up. Jane however dove and grabbed the gun that Nick had dropped. Now the gun was aimed at both Nick and Sawyer, who remained in the back of the room.

"Game over", Jane said with a smirk. Nick became worried, but then looked down. He noticed that the grating Jane was standing on could be moved. As quickly as he could, Nick dove down and pulled the grating out from under Calamity Jane. She dropped her gun and managed to catch herself just before fell all the way down. This gave Nick the opportunity he was waiting for. He slid his leg across and kicked Jane right in the face, causing her to lose her grip and fall down the hole.

Instead of immediately standing back up, Nick glanced behind him and looked at Sawyer. They both grinned happily and laughed lightly. Nick then returned his attention back to where Jane had fallen, just in time to see the bottoms of two boots heading towards him. They struck his chest and caused him to roll back a bit. Jane had in fact managed to catch the bottom of the grating with her fingers just before falling completely down and did a gymnastic type maneuver to pull herself up and kick Nick.

She stood up and walked over to Nick, grabbing him by the shirt and pulling him closer. She then glanced over to Sawyer and smiled.

"Now you're gonna watch as I gut your boyfriend here!", Jane said, pulling out a very large knife. She then returned her attention back to Nick. "Any last words cutie?". Nick tried to pry himself lose, but couldn't. Jane was a lot stronger than she looked.

"FUCK YOU!", Nick yelled out. Jane smiled.

"That'll work", Jane replied. She then pulled her knife back and prepared to stick it in Nick's stomach. But suddenly, a fist flew towards her. It struck her in the face and caused her to release Nick and fall to the grating. Nick fell to the ground and then turned to see Sawyer standing next to him.

"DON'T YOU EVEN THINK ABOUT GUTTING MY BOYFRIEND!", Sawyer yelled out. Jane stood up, pissed off that she was hit. She wiped away the little bit of blood from her lip and looked at Sawyer angrily.

"So, you wanna play rough little girl? Fine, WE'LL PLAY ROUGH!", Jane yelled out. She then quickly bent down and picked up the grating that Nick had pulled away from beneath her earlier. She threw it at Sawyer, who held up her arms to cover her body from the large projectile. Just as the grating hit Sawyer, Jane dove at her and kicked the grating into her. The sheer force of the kick with the surface area of the grating caused Sawyer to fly backwards and crash into the wall near the entrance. Nick turned back to Sawyer.

"SAWYER!", Nick yelled. He then turned around back to Jane just in time to get kicked in the face by her. She stood over him, a cocky yet horrifying look on her face.

"You kids are all _way _in over your heads", Jane said with a smirk.

"DON'T COUNT ON IT!", someone yelled out. Jane's face turned to that of shock. She turned around to see Wallace standing right behind her. He swung his hand across and struck Jane in the head. She fell back into one of the databases and landed on the grating. Wallace had pistol whipped her. He smirked, looking at the now bloody Jane. "And don't think that I'm out of the fight that easily". Wallace looked to Nick and tossed him the pistol he was holding. Nick caught it and aimed it at Jane. Wallace shook his head. "That won't be necessary, I have my own method of keeping her in her place. You should go check on Sawyer", Wallace said.

Nick seemed confused by this statement that Wallace said, but decided that now wasn't the time to think about it. He nodded, put the pistol in the rear end belt, and then quickly ran over to Sawyer. Wallace meanwhile looked back to Jane. Her head was cracked open, but she was still alive; although barely conscious. Wallace stepped closer to her and pulled out a Pokeball from his belt. He clicked the button on the Pokeball's center and it expanded to normal size.

After expanding the Pokeball, he opened it and a white light came out. This white light landed on Jane's lower body and began to take form. Soon, the light disappeared and a pale purple bug Pokemon took its place. It looked at Calamity Jane menacingly, opening and closing its clawed tail. Jane looked at the bug Pokemon with a mix of fear and anger. Wallace got down on one knee and looked at Jane with a dead pan expression.

"This little Pokemon here is known as a Skorupi. It's a fairly common Pokemon in Sinnoh, but still very dangerous. It's venom can make a human body numb in about two minutes. In ten minutes, the body soon begins to slow down in functions. The blood doesn't coagulate anymore, and your heart rate slows down considerably. Anywhere from fifteen to twenty minutes you become completely immobile and slowly begin to lose the functions of all your organs. And within half an hour...you're dead", Wallace explained. Jane looked at the little scorpion Pokemon with terror. Skorupi brought its needle like arms closer to her face.

"I am not a very good fighter, and my aim sucks. Once you take away my medical utensils I'm pretty much useless. But apart from medicine another thing I'm particularly good at is torture. Now, that being said, I do not have on my possession an Antidote, so if I order my Skorupi to sting you, the only thing you'll have time for in this world is prayer. Now then, I suggest you sit there and remain still. Skorupi don't like to be agitated very much", Wallace continued. He then stood up and walked over towards Nick and Sawyer, leaving Jane to remain perfectly still while death loomed over her.

"You alright?", Nick asked Wallace as he approached them.

"Yeah, just fine. Sorry it took me awhile to help out, I couldn't find my gun", Wallace said. Nick laughed.

"Well, better late then never", Nick replied. Wallace then bent down to check on Sawyer.

"And how are you doing?", Wallace asked. Sawyer looked up to him.

"Well, all I can say is, Nick wasn't kidding when he said I should stay out of this one", Sawyer said with a weak smile. Wallace put two fingers to Sawyer's neck and began to count, looking at his wrist watch at the same time.

"You're heart rate is a bit slow, but you should be fine after some rest. But because I can't give you a complete medical check up here, I think it's for the better good if you don't do anymore dangerous stunts. You're participation here on New Island is pretty much done", Wallace explained. Sawyer seemed disappointed, but nodded.

"Alright, thank you Wallace", Sawyer said. Wallace smiled.

"No problem", Wallace replied. He then stood up and walked away. Nick, seeing that they were now somewhat alone, looked at Sawyer with a smile.

"So...boyfriend?", Nick asked. Sawyer blushed immensely and looked away.

"Well, yeah...uhm. About that...hehehe", Sawyer said with a red face and sweatdrop. Their little moment however was interrupted.

"Guys...we have a problem", Wallace said. Nick and Sawyer looked up to Wallace.

"What is it?", Nick asked. Wallace was currently looking at the databases in the room. He then turned to face the other two rebels.

"...we don't have the flashdrive to download the information. May had it", Wallace reminded them. Nick and Sawyer gasped. They had completely forgotten about the flashdrive. They weren't even certain if their squad was still alive or where they were anymore. And they couldn't afford to leave the room and come back, they might get lost again or attacked by remaining Rockets.

"I knew you guys would forget to bring the flashdrive", someone's voice called out. Sawyer, Nick, Wallace, and even Jane turned towards the source of the voice. Before anyone could react, a small item was being thrown at them. Nick caught the small item with his right hand and then looked at it. It was the flashdrive!

"The flashdrive? But...". Nick and everyone else then turned back to the source of the voice. The person was hiding in the darkness of the other room, but soon footsteps were heard. The clanking on the grating grew louder and louder until a body came into view. Everyone in the room gasped.

"...MAY?".

**OH MY GOOOOOOOOOD! WHAT A TWIST! Eh, not really. This is the reason why I was agitated over everyone telling me how to write this story. Because I have everything planned out already. There will be a lot more explaining in the next chapter over what happened, I wanted to end this one right here. Anyway, I hoped you liked it. I know the fight with Jane seemed anti-climatic. But I was not feeling too well lately and wanted to get it over with. But who knows? Maybe there will be something more later on? (I love keeping everyone guessing). I'll also be going back to Angel and the others in the next chapter, I've been away from them for far too long. "It seems that it's the day for survival, as both Sawyer and May seem to come back from the brink of destruction! But will the others be successful in downloading the data? Will Angel and the others finally destroy the array? And will the PTA be able to get off the island alive? You don't want to miss the next exciting chapter of EVAN AAML's "R"!". Author's Note, I apologize for grammar or spelling mistakes in this chapter. By this time I don't think the site will re-upload the spell check function. So I'll have to check extra now and possibly even find something else to do a spell check for me. I don't know when the next update will be, possibly Sunday, but don't hold your breath. Anyway, that's that, so take care, and until next time!**

**sincerely,  
evan, a fan of aaml -EVAN AAML**


	24. Chapter 24

**I would say welcome back once again to another thrilling installment of "R", but that would seem repetitive, since I do it all the time. So I'll just stick with a good old fashioned "HOW YA DOIN?". Anyway, onto my early A.N. I noticed that a lot of people were happy that May was really not dead, which I am glad to hear. Although quite a few people felt that I was a cruel person, or a son of a b..., amongst other things for putting you through all of that tear jerking suspense. Well, I'm here to say...yeah, you're pretty much right. BAM! But I digress. I also noticed that the last few chapters have not been doing well in terms of both hits and reviews, so please people, BE SURE TO F.A.R.! Thank you! With that being said, let's get on with the update!**

**-EVAN AAML**

Everyone remained still, their eyes fixated on the figure before them. They couldn't believe it, everyone thought they were seeing a ghost. Their eyes were wide in shock and they stuttered trying to say anything. The last time they had seen their leader, she was lying on the ground with blood coming out of her mouth. They were certain she was done for. May was putting her hand against her body, where she was shot earlier. She cringed in pain, one eye closed and the other one fixated on the group. She slowly stepped forward and reached Nick and Sawyer.

"I'm glad to see that you're all alright!", May said, although there was a hint of pain in her voice. She was still hurting from her gunshot wound. Wallace immediately ran to her side and grabbed her.

"YOU SURVIVED THE GUNSHOT! HERE, LET ME SEE QUICK!", Wallace said in worry and disbelief. May smiled.

"Thanks Wallace", May replied. She pulled her hand away from the wound and allowed Wallace to exam it. Blood was still coming out of the wound and her hand and clothes were soaked in the red liquid. Wallace was used to blood, so it didn't bother him in the least. He noticed that the wound looked bad, but was worked on at least.

"Someone tried to help you?", Wallace asked, pointing out the obvious attempt. As he turned her around to see the exit wound on her back, May nodded.

"Yes. After you left, Drew tried to help me while Jacob defended us from the attacking Rockets. But I blacked out, so I couldn't remember anything. Drew told me when I came to that they had finished up and took out all of the Rockets. We lost a lot of allies, but, managed to win. It was only afterwards that I found out that you all forgot about the flashdrive and I decided to look for you", May explained. Everyone nodded, understanding.

"Then where's Drew and the others?", Nick asked. May smiled.

"What, you think Drew would let me go anywhere by myself with this injury?", May asked. She then glanced behind her. Footsteps echoed in the room and soon, two figures stepped out of the shadows. Everyone smiled at who appeared. One was Drew, the other Jacob, who looked around amazed.

"So there you guys are!", Drew said with a smile. Nick, Sawyer, and Wallace smiled back.

"Glad to see you made it out alive", Nick said. Drew nodded.

"Same for you", Drew replied.

"Where are the others?", Sawyer asked, noticing that no one else was with them. Drew stuck his thumb out and aimed it behind him.

"They're back there, guarding the entrance. We found the Voltorb booby trap, but luckily they had all fainted already, so we just walked right in", Drew explained. Jacob looked at the gang with sadness in his eyes.

"Unfortunately, not all of them are waiting for us. We nearly lost half of our group in the fight back there", Jacob said solemnly. He then noticed Calamity Jane on the ground behind Nick and Sawyer; Skorupi still aiming its needles at her. Jacob became angry and pointed at her. "AND IT'S ALL THANKS TO YOU, YOU MONSTER!". May and Drew looked over to Jane, who looked at them all with hate and anger. She could not move a lot without agitating the Skorupi, so she remained still.

"Jane...", May said without any signs of emotion. Jane looked at her in annoyance.

"Didn't I kill you already?", Jane asked. Drew looked at Jane in anger. His fists clenched tightly and even began to shake. May noticed this and, with her not bloody hand, held one. Drew looked down to see her hand holding his fist and then looked up to her. She looked at him with a expression mixed with worry and understanding. It was as if she was saying that she was alright, so there was no need to be angry. Drew nodded and relaxed. May then brought her attention back to Jane.

"You must not be as good of a Rocket as you think you are if you couldn't kill me with a gun", May replied. Jane growled at her. May looked to the rebels. "Jacob, watch her and give us cover, Sawyer, you're good at computers right? Come help me download the information". Sawyer nodded and stood up with Nick helping her. He then handed here the flashdrive and the two girls made their way over to one of the flashing computer drives.

May pulled out a small plastic tray from the machine and a keyboard came out with it. Immediately, Sawyer began typing away at it. A computer screen above them turned on and tons of numbers and words appeared that an average person wouldn't be able to understand. Sawyer began to try to read what had appeared on the screen. Sawyer then took the flashdrive and placed the connecting end of it into the computer. Sawyer then clicked a few more buttons and a small timer began to show on the monitor.

"Good, all we have to do now is wait for the transfer to be complete", Sawyer said. May nodded.

"Great", May replied. She then brought her attention towards Calamity Jane, who was only a few feet away from her now. She looked at her with distaste. Jane's blood by now had slid down from her head injury and to her chin, where it began to drip onto either her or the grating. Skorupi got closer to her, knowing that it could possibly be time to get rid of her. "Now then...what to do with you", May said wondering. The others all looked at her.

"I say we just hurry up and kill her, we don't have much time to waste, we need to get back to the others upstairs", Wallace explained. Jane's expression turned to that of shock and she turned to Wallace.

"YOU MEAN THERE'S MORE OF YOU HERE?", Jane yelled out. Everyone else looked at her, stifling a grin.

"Earlier, when you said that we were foolish to come with such few numbers, we actually had come with more people. We split up into different squads to take on different tasks here at the base. As of right now, the base is under attack in probably four different fronts. Within the hour, the base will be completely useless to Team Rocket", May explained. "So, in other words...you failed". Calamity Jane looked at her angrily. They had played her from the beginning. She believed that they were the only rebels here, when all this time they were only a small group of them. She became angrier and angrier for being tricked so easily. A Rocket commander, a leader in the most powerful group known to man, tricked by teenagers!

Jane would not stand for being treated this way, being tricked and beaten by weaklings. She began to think of a way to escape, but was not sure exactly how to do this when Skorupi was still on her. Spiritomb was still too weak to be able to be of any use to her, and she no longer had a weapon she could use. May turned to the others and they all, in turn, faced her.

"I think that we should...", before May could finish, Calamity Jane saw her opportunity. Skorupi had turned to look at May as well when she began to talk, which distracted it from Jane. She immediately grabbed Skorupi's body and flung it as hard and as quickly as she could. Skorupi was sent flying into Wallace. He had turned towards Jane due to the noise and did so just in time to get hit in the face by his own Pokemon. He fell backwards and into one of the computer drives. Calamity Jane stood up and jumped backwards as everyone else looked at her, ready to fight once more. Jane looked at them all with hatred in her eyes.

"You think you've all won don't you? YOU THINK YOU'VE WON? WELL GUESS WHAT, THIS, IS _FAR_ FROM OVER!...you'll see me again you little maggots. And when you do, expect hell to come down on you! YOU'RE ALL GONNA DIE, SLOW, AGONIZING DEATHS, AND I'M GOING TO ENJOY EVERY...SINGLE...MOMENT OF IT!", Jane yelled to the group of PTA members. She eyed them all down, particularly May, and then crossed her arms against her chest. Before anyone knew what she was going to do, she jumped back and fell down the open hole in the metal grating; the one Nick had made to make her fall during their fight.

Jacob immediately ran forward after she jumped in and pulled out his machine gun. He opened fire down the hole, but could not tell if he was in fact hitting her or not. The sound of bullets bouncing off other objects down there and the sight of sparks was showing however that he was not.

"That's enough Jacob...she's gone", May said. Jacob had stopped firing once May began to speak. He sighed and put his weapon away, still looking down the hole. He was annoyed that they let her get away, but there was nothing more he could do. They needed to stay focused on the task at hand. Drew turned to Wallace, who was still on the ground.

"Are you alright Wallace?", Drew asked. Wallace pulled Skorupi off of his face and shook his head like a dog. He then adjusted his glasses and looked to Drew.

"Yeah, I'm alright...are you ok Skorupi?", Wallace asked his Pokemon. Skorupi nodded, but then looked down at the ground ashamed. Wallace smiled and began to pet the little big Pokemon. "It's alright, it's not your fault she got away. Don't blame yourself, you did a good job of holding her down". Skorupi smiled and jumped for joy. Wallace then held out a Pokeball. "Return!". Skorupi was pulled back into its Pokeball and Wallace put the ball away. He then stood up. May turned to Sawyer.

"How's the download coming along?", May asked. Sawyer turned to her, and then to the computer monitor.

"It's almost done, a few more seconds I think", Sawyer said. May nodded and then looked to the others.

"Once it's done, we need to destroy the drives. We can't let them keep any information on the PTA or us", May said. Everyone nodded. Jacob turned towards where they had entered and thought for a moment.

"Hmm...I wonder", Jacob said. He then began to walk back the way they came. Everyone else however ignored him. Sawyer looked at the computer screen and saw that the download time was complete. She began to type away madly and then pulled out the flashdrive.

"There, it's done", Sawyer said. May nodded and took the flashdrive from her. She placed it in her pocket and made sure it was secure. Suddenly, Jacob returned, carrying with him a very large red container with a yellow tube sticking out of it. It was a gas tank.

"Well then, let's get going on removing the leftovers", Jacob said. He then began to pour the gasoline all over the computer drives. He made sure to put the majority of the gas on the drives themselves, since putting it on the ground would only result in the gas going through the metal grating. After a few minutes, he had poured the entire contents of the tank onto the machines. He tossed the container aside and turned to the others. "I suggest leaving now, cause things are gonna get explosive in here", Jacob said, pulling out from his jacket his grenade. Drew immediately recalled back when they had that brief fight earlier when he said that he only had one grenade left, this was that last remaining one. Everyone nodded and immediately ran out of the door. Jacob pulled the ring out of the grenade, tossed it behind him, and then ran out as well.

The group kept running, not stopping for a moment, until suddenly the entire area began to shake violently. Flames shot out from behind them, nearly reaching the rebels. The explosion from the grenade sparked and caused the gasoline to explode along with it. Everyone covered their ears from the deafening noise of the explosion and made sure they were not near the flames; which began to catch onto the boxes and crates closest to the database room. Jacob smiled.

"Well, I'd like to see Team Rocket try to save those databases! WOO!", Jacob said. May nodded.

"Good. We're finished here, let's regroup", May ordered. Everyone nodded. Quickly, they made their way out of the storage room and then through the booby trapped corridor. Nick, Sawyer, and Wallace looked around at the carnage as they walked. Large holes appeared everywhere on the ground and lower sections of the walls. There were few intact remains of the tiled floor, pieces of tile, ceiling, and walls where everywhere. Unconscious Voltorb bodies were scattered throughout the room. They knew that they would be fine, so they let them be. Soon, the teens made it back to the halls. When they arrived, they saw the remaining squad members. They all looked tired and weak, but happy to see that Nick, Sawyer, and Wallace were alive. Some had minor injuries to their bodies that were being taken cared of. May walked towards the center of the hall and looked at everyone there.

"Listen up!...I know this has been very difficult for you all. We have lost a lot of our friends today", May said. Everyone became downcast, remembering the dead. Some cried to themselves, others prayed. "But, we cannot mourn for them, not yet. We still have a mission to accomplish! We have to regroup with everyone upstairs and help them out in anyway we can! Then, we're gonna get off this god forsaken island and make it back home. Then, and only then, can we properly remember our fallen allies...LET'S GO!", May yelled. The rebels all held their fists or weapons high and cheered back. May smiled at the sight.

Her group, despite all of the hardships they had endured since leaving Kanto, were still brave and strong. She was proud to call them PTA members and even prouder to call them friends. She then turned down towards the hall, ready to find the others and help them. She only hoped that they were all safe.

During this, Angel's group had made some terrific progress on their way to the array. Because of the fighting in the main lobby, most Rockets had left their posts and were gone. Any remaining Rockets were silently and skillfully dispatched or at least incapacitated. Tracy followed the blue prints exactly and thus far it had led them exactly where they were supposed to go. Everyone however remained on the ready for even the slightest distraction. Many of the rebels were tense and nervous. A lot was riding on their success, and their lives were all on the line.

Angel walked along side Aleksi and Brian. Since her injury from the Rocket earlier, she had not participated in any other fighting. Her concussion would occasionally make her trip or dizzy. She would need medical attention when she returned to base, but there was nothing anyone could do for her now. She felt like she was only slowing the team down, but didn't tell anyone this. Suddenly, everyone stopped. Tracy and Dawn were in the lead and Dawn had turned to everyone and held out her hand. Everyone remained still and silent. Dawn looked around a corner on the right side of the hall and noticed a lone Rocket guard.

The grunt was situated in a dead end, but attached to the wall behind where the Rocket stood was a ladder. Dawn then backed away from the corner and turned back to the others. She did not talk, but held up a finger and then pointed the finger towards the direction of the Rocket. Michael nodded and slowly walked towards where Dawn was standing. He pulled out a throwing knife from his belt and prepared to throw it. He took a deep breath, and then jumped out from the hiding spot. The Rocket quickly turned towards him but before he could even see who it was Michael threw the knife into his chest. The grunt fell back into the ladder and the fell to the floor, dead. Michael turned to the others and nodded.

"Ok, he's down", Michael said. Everyone nodded.

"Good, Tracy, there's a ladder over there, is that it?", Dawn asked. Tracy nodded.

"Yep, according to the blue prints, that ladder should lead us to the roof of the base where the array is", Tracy explained. Everyone smiled. They had finally made it to their destination. Dawn faced the group.

"Alright, listen up. We're gonna send a few people up there to help set charges. The rest of you stay down here to give us cover. If we find ourselves under a lot of heat, warn us. Remember, the fate of the world rests on our victory here", Dawn said. Everyone nodded. "Ok, Brian, what kind of explosives do you have for this?". Brian smiled almost wickedly.

"I'm glad you asked. I have a explosive so powerful, it ought to bring the entire array crashing down, not just the computers controlling it!", Brian said. He then pulled off his backpack and pulled out a few large square bombs. "I decided to go with D-5 for this project!". Everyone looked at him confused.

"Uhm...don't you mean C-4?", Michael asked. Brian grinned.

"Oh no, this is so powerful, even it's name is upgraded!", Brian said, excited to show it off. Everyone sweatdropped.

"Uh...ok then. Brian, you're coming with us. I also want Aleksi, Michael, Angel, and Jeremy. The rest of you stay down here", Dawn ordered. The group nodded. Dawn then turned around the corner and approached the ladder. One of the male rebels pulled the dead body away and tossed the throwing knife back to Michael as Dawn began to climb up. The ladder immediately led to a closed hatched door. Dawn pushed up onto the hatch and it lifted up, revealing sunlight. Dawn covered her eyes from the brightness and continued her climb to the roof. Tracy immediately followed her, along with Aleksi, Brian, Angel, Michael, and finally Jeremy. Everyone else stayed down stairs and began their watch.

The sunlight sparkled off of the array's dish. Everyone looked up at it in wonder. It was much larger up close. It seemed impossible for the building to be able to support such a large object. The dish seemed to be hundreds of feet tall, possibly even as tall as the building it was situated on. Jeremy whistled at the sheer size of it.

"That'll be fun to explode", Jeremy said. Michael nodded. Aleksi began to walk towards the array.

"Can we please hurry up with this? The sunlight is making me hot in these heavy clothes", Aleksi said.

"_You're _complaining? I'm in a black outfit! How do you think _I _feel?", Jeremy asked. She completely ignored him. He then sighed and followed Aleksi. Brian pulled off his backpack and began to take out all of the D-5 bombs. He tossed one to Michael, one to Jeremy, one to Aleksi, and the rest he held in his hands.

"Alright, place those on weak points of the array. All of the bombs should work no problem, but just in case, I'm putting the majority on the control box", Brian explained. As Angel stayed back, everyone began to place the bombs on precise locations on the array. As they did this, Dawn and Tracy searched the roof of the base, making sure that there were no Rocket guards up there. It appeared that there were no longer any guards on any of the roof tops. They must of all been ordered to fight off the rebels in the main lobby of the building. This would make their work here much easier. Brian approached the control box of the array, bombs in hand.

"Here you are!", Brian said, referring to the box. He placed the bombs down and immediately began to try to pull off the cover. After a few hard tugs, the box cover came off. He placed it down on the ground near him and looked at the controls. They seemed simple enough, he could even see the dial that determined the position of the array and the off switch. Of course, he wanted the entire thing destroyed, not turned off. He grabbed his bombs and began to place them onto the control box. "This is gonna be a big bang! My god, we could probably be able to see this from our Kanto base!", Brian said. He was over exaggerating.

After placing all of the bombs onto the control box, he stepped back and looked at it. He couldn't even see the controls under the plastic explosives. Afterwards he nodded in approval and turned to see the others placing their bombs on good spots of the array. When they had finished, Brian turned around to look at Angel, who was standing away from the group. She watched them almost in envy. He knew that since her injury she was acting weird. He thought it was from the concussion, but was not positive. Either way, Brian wanted to help her. He smiled and waved towards Angel.

"Hey Angel, how about doing something for me, it's really important!", Brian said. Angel looked to Brian. She smiled and nodded, happy to be able to do something. Brian pulled out from his backpack a small device with an antenna. It had two buttons and was attached to a body that reminded Angel of an old school walkie talkie. "This here is the detonator, I want you to hold onto it for me. When we get off the island, you can have the honor of blowing up the dish!".

"Wow! Thank you!", Angel said. She felt that he only did this to give her something to do, but she was glad to be able to help regardless. Not feeling like moving, Angel held out her hands. "Here, toss it to me, I'll catch it!". Brian saw this and smiled. For some reason, he felt like he shouldn't be doing this, but he shrugged it off. There was a certain way the buttons had to be pressed, so Angel couldn't accidentally detonate the explosives.

What could possibly happen?

"Alright then, here, catch!", Brian yelled. At the sound of these words, Aleksi, (who had finished placing her bomb and was checking out the dish with Michael) turned towards Brian. She panicked as he pulled his arm back, ready to throw. She held her hand out towards him.

"NO, STOP!", Aleksi yelled. But it was too late. Brian tossed the remote high in the air towards Angel. Aleksi watched as the detonator was thrown in the air. Time slowed down as her heart seemed to stop beating. She ran forward, hoping that she could possibly stop the device. Angel kept her eyes on the detonator, ready to catch it in her hands. Until suddenly, something large and quick flew at the device and before anyone knew it, they made contact with each other and exploded. Angel covered herself as the shockwave of the blast nearly knocked her off her feet. Everyone watched in horror as the detonator was destroyed instantly. Brian gasped as the flames and little remains of the explosion fell to the rooftop.

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?", Brian asked, running forward a few feet. Aleksi approached Brian and grabbed him by his black shirt. She looked at him angrily.

"DON'T YOU REMEMBER THE MISSLE LAUNCHERS ON THIS ROOF? THEY'RE DESIGNED TO DESTROY ANYTHING THAT FLYS, EVEN IF THEY ONLY FLY TEMPORARILY!", Aleksi yelled, pointing to the corner of the roof. Brian looked to where she was pointing and noticed a very large machine that held a large box with six holes. Each hole had in it a missile. Below this large missile box was a machine gun mount, with a fifty caliber machine gun sticking out. The entire machine was aimed towards the explosion.

"FUCK! FUCK, FUCK, FUCK!", Brian yelled, angry at himself. He had completely forgotten about those machines. Dawn and Tracy immediately ran over towards the group.

"WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED?", Tracy asked, worried. He had thought that someone had been killed.

"THE DETONATOR BLEW UP!", Brian yelled, still angry.

"WHAT?", Tracy yelled.

"I FORGOT ABOUT THE GOD DAMN MISSLE LAUNCHERS!", Brian yelled. He grabbed his head with his hands and yelled in anger. Angel walked forward and looked at the pieces of the detonator and missile that had landed on the roof. The few remaining pieces were charred to a crisp and some were even still on fire. She fell to her knees and picked up the burnt pieces. They caused her hands to burn from the heat, but she ignored the pain. She looked at the metal in her hands. it was as if their hopes and dreams were all destroyed along with the detonator. After everything they had done, all of the work, the fighting, the lives lost...it all ended because of a small explosion.

"I...I can't believe it", Angel thought. She gripped the burning metal tighter. It felt like her hands were on fire, but she didn't care. The burning of her hands was nothing compared to the pain she felt in her heart. She couldn't believe what had happened. All of the preparation and planning, all of the people who were killed because of this mission, it was all for nothing. Jonny and the other rebels, who believed that they were fighting for freedom, all died in vein. Her parents.

...she would never get to see them again.

She bent over and began to cry. It was all her fault. She was the one that told Brian to throw the detonator. Because of her, it was destroyed. Because of her, they wouldn't be able to detonate the D-5. She tried to think of another way to destroy the array without using the D-5. Enough Pokemon _could _destroy the array. But it would take a long time to be able to do so. And she wasn't certain if the missile launcher wouldn't attack them. They could try to reprogram the turrets, but that would only take up more of their already short time limit. For all she knew, Rockets were on the way up right now. Angel suddenly felt something on her shoulder. She looked up to see Aleksi, bending down and putting her hand on her shoulder.

"Angel...", Aleksi said. Angel's tears kept coming down her face.

"I-I'm sorry...Aleksi. It's all my fault!", Angel said stuttering. Aleksi shook her head.

"No Angel, don't say that!", Aleksi told her. She got closer to Angel and held her in a hug. "It's no one's fault, not yours, not Brian's, no one's!".

"But it is! I've been nothing but useless since we started. I was the one that told Brian to throw the detonator, if it weren't for me, it wouldn't be destroyed! I can't even hold my own in a fight against a grunt! What use am I if I can't even do that?", Angel asked.

"Angel. You can't blame yourself for this, it was just a freak accident", Aleksi explained. Angel looked back to the ground, downcast. She dropped the pieces in her hands, listening to them clink onto the concrete. Slowly, Aleksi grasped Angel's hands and looked at the burns. They weren't severe, but needed to be bandaged. She grabbed her backpack and looked through it. There were no bandages left. She sighed. Aleksi then put her backpack down and looked through her pockets. She hoped that she would find something of use. After checking her outside pockets, she looked in her inside ones, and found something. Aleksi pulled out from her inside pocket a red piece of cloth.

The cloth was in fact Jonny's bandanna. Aleksi recalled back when she dove underwater to find him after the ship was destroyed. After realizing that he had died, she placed the bandanna into her jacket pocket. She did not want to use probably the last remaining thing of Jonny's, but she knew that he would want her to use it. She tore the bandanna in two and began to wrap the cloth around Angel's hands.

Angel knew that she was tearing up a memento of Jonny, but she was so depressed at the moment that she didn't even argue with her about it. Angel watched as Aleksi wrapped the red cloth around and tied it in a knot. When she had finished, she looked at the make-shift bandages. Angel reflected back to when Jonny had saved her from the Rocket spies in Pallet Town. And when he was driving the boat away from the Rockets.

"Jonny...he died for nothing", Angel said.

"No, he didn't", Brian said. Angel and Aleksi looked over to Brian, who had approached them. He was still upset over the detonator, but had calmed down. "Jonny died for what he believed in. He knew that there was a chance he wouldn't come back, but he went anyway. He wanted to fight for freedom, even if it meant dying for it". Aleksi nodded, agreeing with Brian. Angel however did not really change her mood.

"But we're not gonna get freedom if we don't detonate the D-5, and now we can't!", Angel remarked. Brian thought for a moment, but then shook his head.

"We can still use the D-5", Brian stated. Aleksi and Angel looked at him, slightly shocked.

"You have a second detonator?", Aleksi asked, filled with more hope. Brian shook his head.

"I did, but it was back on Misty's boat, lost with the rest of my explosives. But we can still detonate the D-5, the only problem is, we'd have to do it manually", Brian explained.

"But wait, that means...", Aleksi said. Brian nodded.

"Right, someone would have to be here when it explodes", Brian said. The group was silent. No one was sure exactly how to respond to something like that. "And that's not all", Brian threw in. Everyone looked back to Brian. "Obviously the Rockets are onto our plans. It would only be a matter of time before they come up here to check on the array. Which means we wouldn't have time to wait for everyone to get off the island before we detonate the explosives. We'll have to have someone set them off immediately".

"That could kill everyone here!", Michael said. Brian nodded.

"Yeah...I know. But we don't have a choice", Brian said.

"Well wait, what if we used a distant Pokemon attack to detonate the D-5? That could work!", Jeremy said.

"No, it wouldn't. Plastic explosives won't detonate without a proper detonation. Shooting them, or in this case using a Pokemon attack, wouldn't do anything", Brian explained.

"Uh, what about using Pokemon to destroy the array itself, that would even save you from using the D-5!", Michael stated.

"That will take too long. Team Rocket made the array particularly strong, especially against Pokemon attacks. They knew that there was a chance that someone like us would try to destroy it. That's why I made these bombs specially for this task. Besides, there's still a chance that those four missile launchers could attack them. We don't know how they operate exactly and it would take too long for someone to hack them", Brian explained.

"So, in other words...the only way for us to blow this array, would be for someone to detonate them manually, which would in fact, get them killed", Tracy summed up. Brian looked to him, making eye contact. Slowly, he nodded. The group was beginning to grow anxious. Everyone began to think of what they could possibly do. But they were running out of options. Time was not on their side, and they needed to act fast before Team Rocket found them.

Angel began to think herself, but could not come up with anything. What a stretch. Once again, she found herself useless for anything here. She began to think that she was way over her head. How could she think that a twelve year old would be capable of accomplishing something as big as bringing down Team Rocket. She doubted that she could of done something like that even when they were much smaller, before the world takeover. She wanted to help, but couldn't do anything, and what little she _could _do she seemed to mess up. She then thought of a solution, something that would GUARANTEE to be useful. Angel stood up, clenching her fists.

"...I'll do it", Angel said.

**"With the detonator destroyed and all hope seemingly lost, Angel steps forward; willing to sacrifice herself for the destruction of the array. Will she go through with her radical decision? Will May and the others make it back to the rebels in time? And will everyone be able to escape? Find out next time on EVAN AAML's "R"!". Yeah, decided to begin by ending A.N.s with my narration. For those who wanted to ready this Sunday, I apologize. I had all intent and purpose to finish this chapter by Sunday, but I had lost some time due to work I had to do here where I live. And Monday I was plagued with internet troubles, which did not resolve themselves until the end of the day. So I tried my hardest to finish it up here. I hope you all liked it! I know I have a habit of leaving you off at cliff hangers, my apologies. I usually just come up with them at the last second, and I feel like they're good spots to end a chapter. Anyway, I am not sure when my next update will be. I would say by this weekend, but that is not a guarantee. I am, after all, only human. And I'm also a bit busier than I expected to be this week. Nothing major, but they do distract me from my writing. Oh well. BE SURE TO F.A.R.! DON'T FORGET! **

**sincerely,  
evan, a fan of aaml **

**p.s.- For those looking for a good read, I suggest checking out prettygirl17, (Aleksi in this story)'s story called "Ethrill Love Overcomes". It's a dramatic story involving mostly May and Drew. I'm sure you'll all enjoy it. **

**-EVAN AAML**


	25. Chapter 25

**WELCOME BACK! I would start off the chapter with a A.N., but quite frankly I don't have any. So I'll just get started immediately with the story. **

**-EVAN AAML**

Angel looked at the group before her without the slightest hint of fear in her eyes. No one could believe what she had volunteered for. Aleksi stood up and grabbed Angel by the shoulders, looking her deep in the eyes.

"Angel! You have no idea what you're saying!", Aleksi said. Angel shook her head and pulled Aleksi off of her.

"No, I am. I know _exactly _what I'm saying!", Angel stated. She looked back to Brian. "Let me detonate the D-5. You all go and help the others escape. When you're off the island I'll blow it". Tracy stepped forward.

"No! Out of the question, you are NOT sacrificing yourself for this!", Tracy exclaimed. Angel looked at him.

"THEN DO YOU WANT TEAM ROCKET TO WIN?", Angel asked. Tracy and Angel shared eye contact for a moment, trying to read each other. Angel was sure that if she did not do this, then Team Rocket would kill them all and no one would be able to stop them. Tracy knew this, but couldn't bring himself to allow Angel to do this. No one should kill themselves for something like this, especially someone as young as Angel, who still had a lot to live for.

"Angel...", Tracy said. Angel stopped him from continuing.

"If I do this, then I know that it will be for the greater good! You'll all be able to stop Team Rocket, and finally achieve peace", Angel said.

"But Angel, you won't be able to enjoy it with us if you do this!", Dawn said. Angel smiled.

"It's alright...I never really got to experience peace anyway. I lived my entire life in fear, always watching my back, for someone to put a knife in it. I wouldn't be missing anything", Angel explained. No one was sure exactly what to say. Had it really come to this? The war, it had taken its toll on everyone. The years were not kind to anyone in the PTA, or even civilians. Team Rocket's cruelty showed to limitations. Had the fight for peace really succumb to children committing suicide for the benefit of the war?

"Angel, this isn't what we want", Dawn told the little girl. Angel smiled, looking up to her. The wind blew her hair just over her face as the sun made her glow.

"But it is what you need", Angel replied. No one responded back. She was right, this was what they needed. But no one would agree to letting her do it; not admittingly at least. Aleksi stepped over to Angel and looked her in the eyes. Although their height difference was little, Aleksi still had to look down onto the young girl before her. The idea of letting someone who had practically become a sister to her die for their cause was too much to bear. She quickly grabbed Angel and gave her a hug. Her grip was tight, nearly making Angel gasp for breath.

Tears welled up in Aleksi's eyes. Angel was not sure how to respond to this. But soon, tears began to form in Angel's eyes as well. She wrapped her arms around Aleksi's body and pulled her in tightly. Angel moved in closer and whispered in Aleksi's ear.

"Aleksi...you have been the best friend I could ever ask for. You're like a sister to me", Angel told Aleksi. Both girls were still crying, but Aleksi continued to listen. "Could you do me a favor? When you save my parents, tell them...that I said I love them...and that I'm sorry". Aleksi was not sure how to respond to this request. But she knew that there was no changing her mind.

"...ok Angel...I promise", Aleksi reassured the little girl. No one else spoke, for words weren't needed. Jeremy looked at the scene with worry. He didn't know Angel well, in fact, he didn't know her at all. But the idea of letting her die was unbearable. He turned around and looked at the bombs. The idea of doing it himself had crossed his mind, but he soon rid himself of the plan. Although he would never admit it to anyone, he was afraid of dying, and wouldn't sacrifice himself for this.

But then another idea came to mind. Perhaps there _was _a way to detonate the explosives from close range and not sacrifice anyone in the process.

"...WAIT...I GOT IT! I KNOW HOW WE CAN DETONATE IT WITHOUT KILLING ANGEL!", Jeremy yelled. Everyone looked at Jeremy in shock, although they were also confused.

"How?", Brian Michael asked. Jeremy approached Brian.

"Brian, you said that Pokemon attacks wouldn't cause the D-5 to explode, but what if the attack wasn't a physical one?", Jeremy asked. Brian looked at him in bewilderment.

"What do you mean not physical?", Brian asked.

"I mean, what if it was a Psychic type attack? Would that work?", Jeremy asked with the sound of hope in his voice. Brian thought over it for a second and then nodded.

"Yeah, I guess so", Brian replied.

"THEN WHY CAN'T WE DO THAT?", Jeremy asked.

"We could, but that would still put the Pokemon at risk! A Psychic attack wouldn't work from a distance, the Pokemon would have to be close. And I don't know any psychic type Pokemon strong enough to survive a blast like this", Brain explained. Jeremy smiled.

"What if the psychic Pokemon was already dead?", Jeremy asked. Brian at first thought that Jeremy had gone insane from the fighting and the pressure. But then, he began to understand what he was getting at.

"You mean...a ghost Pokemon?", Brian asked. Jeremy nodded.

"YES! EXACTLY! A ghost Pokemon could use a psychic attack to detonate the explosives, without getting killed by the blast!", Jeremy explained. Tracy nodded with a smile.

"Yes! That would work! A powerful ghost Pokemon could have the capabilities of doing that! And it couldn't get killed because it's already dead!", Tracy explained further.

"RIGHT! WE CAN DO THAT, ANGEL, YOU DON'T HAVE TO SACRIFICE YOURSELF!", Aleksi yelled happily. She picked up Angel and jumped up and down in excitement. Angel was glad that they would be able to do this without getting herself killed. Maybe this way, she would be able to see her parents again after all. But even though the others were so quick to dismiss her original plan, Angel still had a feeling deep inside her. She felt that, perhaps, she still wouldn't be able to be of any help to them. But she kept this to herself.

"So then, all we have to do is find someone who has a ghost Pokemon and tell them what to do. Once we're off the island, the Pokemon can detonate the explosives and make its way back to its owner on the boats!", Michael said.

"Good! Now then...who owns a ghost Pokemon?", Dawn asked. She first looked to Tracy, who held his hands up and shook his head no. She then looked to Brian, then Michael, then to Aleksi and Dawn. None of them had ghost Pokemon. Jeremy began to snicker.

"You know, I probably wouldn't of come up with this plan if I didn't have a ghost Pokemon of my own!", Jeremy said. He then grabbed a Pokeball from his belt and threw it in the air. The Pokeball opened and out came a large ghost Pokemon, a Gengar. It smiled and looked at the group before him. The smile looked sinister, but they all knew that this was typical for a Gengar's looks.

"GENGAR!", Gengar yelled, managing to say it without even moving its mouth.

"Gengar, listen, we need you to do something for us, and it's a very important task!", Jeremy explained. Gengar turned to Jeremy, ready to listen in. "We need to blow up this array, but the only way we can do it is if we do it manually. We need you to detonate the explosives using Psychic when we get off the island. Then, make your way back to our boat. You got that?". Gengar nodded.

"GENGAR!", Gengar replied. Jeremy smiled.

"Alright, thank you. Well then, we're all set!", Jeremy told the others. Just as the others all began to smile and become excited over their now close victory, they all heard a noise. It was like a yell, but not a human's. It was a Pokemon's. They turned towards the source of the noise, behind them. It was coming from the entrance to the roof, the hatch door, (which was open). Now the noise of gunfire could be heard, followed by the yelling of humans. The squad all turned to each other in fear.

"THE GROUP IS UNDER ATTACK!", Michael yelled.

"WE NEED TO HELP THEM!", Angel yelled afterwards. Angel quickly pulled herself away from Aleksi and ran as fast as she could towards the entrance; the others followed. She had to save her squad. She may not have been of much use for the mission, but she couldn't just stand by as her teammates are being killed. She was getting closer to the hatch door, ready to jump down and fight. Suddenly, they all heard the high pitch scream of a female, and then, without warning, a tower of flames shot out from the opening. The flames came out at such a fast rate that it blasted Angel back several feet, close to the others.

They all immediately stopped to help Angel and gasp at the horror before them. The flames flew about ten to twenty feet in the air and spread out, but did not come back down to the ground. All the squad could do was watch as these flame kept shooting out, not showing any signs of stopping. Angel looked at the flames with fear in her eyes. She watched the towering inferno and she could even swear that she saw the face of the devil in the flames. It was if hell itself was rupturing. Just then, the flames disappeared. The tower immediately dispersed and all that they could see was the black cinder and ash around the entrance.

"Oh my god...", Aleksi said. Michael immediately ran over to the entrance to see what had happened. Nearly tripping over his own feet due to his adrenaline and speed, he finally reached the opening of the roof. He looked down and immediately gasped. His eyes were wide open and he felt sick to his stomach. Although he could not see the entire hall from the little opening, he was able to make out the charred remains of his squad. They had all been burnt to a crisp. What remained of their bodies were black and ashy. He couldn't even make out if the bodies were male or female. Michael turned away and stepped a few feet back. He put a hand over his mouth, feeling like he could throw up at any second.

Dawn and Aleksi immediately tried to run to the entrance themselves, but Michael held his hand out towards them.

"NO!...girls...stop. You ladies...you don't want to look", Michael said. His eyes were filled with horror and even fear. He was scared for them to see what had happened to their team.

"What happened?", Tracy asked. He did not get an answer. Michael merely looked away. Although it was obvious what had happened, Tracy still wanted to hear it. "MICHAEL! WHAT HAPPENED?".

"They're dead!...THEY'RE ALL DEAD!", Michael yelled. Everyone's hearts sank into their stomachs. Their entire group, the squad they had fought along side with for the whole mission, were all killed in an instant.

They were all that remained.

Just then, noises yelled out from the halls. At first the others believed they were survivors, but then the noises could be made clear.

"Some are one the roof! They're after the array, kill em!".

"Oh crap! Rockets are coming up here!", Michael yelled. Everyone immediately prepared themselves for a fight.

"Alright, we cannot lose here! We have to make sure that we destroy the array at all cost!", Tracy exclaimed. The others nodded and readied themselves. Immediately following, Rockets began to climb up the ladder to the roof. There were only six or so of them, but they looked powerful. They were only ranked as Corporals, or maybe Sergeants, but no low level Rockets could of killed all of those rebels with one blow. One of the Rockets looked over to the gang.

"KILL EM, KILL EM ALL!", the Rocket yelled. The other Rockets yelled back and charged towards the rebels. The one who yelled however remained behind. He looked at Michael, who was the closest to him. The Rocket had scruffy hairs all over his face and dark brown eyes. He looked worn, like he had been in every single major battle for Team Rocket. Although he was older, he was also had a lot of experience. He smirked at Michael with a cocky expression. "So, I'm stuck with the little kid?". Michael scoffed.

"I'm closer to my late teens, and I'm a lot more trouble than you think", Michael replied. The Rocket began to laugh, looking at the ground.

"You know kid, you remind me of myself when I was your age", the Rocket replied.

"I'm _nothing _like you! I'm not a cold hearted killer!", Michael said. The Rocket smiled and looked back up to Michael.

"You're not eh? Well that sucks...cause I am", the Rocket responded. He then held out a Pokeball and showed it to Michael. "So then, are you ready to die?". The older Rocket threw the ball towards Michael and it landed on the ground. Soon, the ball burst open and a large creature emerged from it. It was a very large dragon Pokemon, a Charizard. After stretching its wings and roaring, it looked at Michael; with every intention of killing him violently. Much like its owner, it looked old and worn. But Michael could easily see the lack of soul in this creature. "Alright Charizard, just remember, don't fly up here or those defense turrets will blast ya. Just stick to your fire attacks and soon he'll be a cinder like his teammates downstairs". Michael's expression changed to that of shock, horror, and anger. He clenched his fists and eyed down the Rocket.

"So...YOU'RE the one who killed all of my friends?", Michael said angrily. The Rocket chuckled.

"Yeah, that was me", the Rocket responded. "And I intend to do the same thing to you all as I did to them". Michael growled at the Rocket in anger. His fists were clenched so tightly that he thought he had stabbed his own hand with his fingernails. He immediately grabbed a Pokeball on his belt and aimed it at the Rocket.

"I'M GONNA MAKE YOU PAY FOR WHAT YOU DID TO MY SQUAD! YOUR KILLING ENDS HERE AND NOW!", Michael yelled. He then threw the Pokeball towards the enemy Charizard. It landed several feet away and then opened. The white light took form into a very large Pokemon. Once the light vanished and the Pokeball flew back to Michael, the Pokemon's identity was revealed.

"BLASTOISE!", the Pokemon yelled. Blastoise's canons moved and aimed at Charizard. The Rocket laughed lightly.

"Well, at least we know you can choose the right type of Pokemon to fight. Now let's see if you can make anything of it", the Rocket said. Michael became angrier at the cocky old man.

"ERGH! BLASTOISE, HYDRO PUMP!", Michael yelled. Blastoise yelled and fired from his two canons water at a very high velocity. The Charizard, knowing it could not dodge by flying up here, merely crossed its arms in front of it and took the force of the blast. The Hydro Pump pushed the Charizard back a foot or so, but soon the attack ended. Charizard roared, blasting the little remains of the attack away as it forced its arms back out. The water droplets evaporated due to Charizard's internal heat. The Rocket chuckled.

"Good job...MY TURN!", the Rocket yelled. Charizard immediately charged forward towards Blastoise. It swung its massive flaming tail and struck Blastoise in the face. Blastoise fell back slightly, giving the Charizard an opening. It swung back around and clawed at Blastoise's chest. It did not do a tremendous amount of damage, but still managed to go through Blastoise's think armor. To finish off the combo, Charizard fired a Fire Blast attack at close range, causing Blastoise to fall back several more feet away.

Michael became worried. He knew that his Pokemon were powerful, and that he was capable; but he was still not the best Pokemon trainer the PTA had. He was not sure if he could win this fight. But he refused to give up trying. Blastoise shook off from the attacks and prepared for another round. It was then that Michael got an idea. He smirked.

"BLASTOISE, ICE BEAM!", Michael commanded. Blastoise nodded and soon fired a haze of ice from its mouth at Charizard. The Rocket smirked.

"Fool. CHARIZARD, FLAMETHROWER!", the Rocket ordered. Charizard opened its mouth and fired a beam of fire. It immediately nullified the Ice Beam attack. This however only made Michael smile more.

"I was hoping you'd do that", Michael said. The Rocket seemed shocked. "BLASTOISE, SKULL BASH ATTACK!". Blastoise pulled itself into its own shell and then launched the shell towards Charizard. Charizard however was still firing its Flamethrower attack. Blastoise went through the flames, protected from its shell, and then struck Charizard directly in the upper body and head. The sheer force of the attack caused Charizard to fall back. Blastoise then began to come out of its shell in mid air. "NOW, HYDRO PUMP!", Michael called out. Blastoise aimed its canons at Charizard, who was still falling back from the Skull Bash attack. At close range, Blastoise struck Charizard with the water. It immediately crashed into the ground and was continuously pounded with water. Blastoise did not stop until it was fully out of its shell and back on its feet.

Charizard lied on the ground, but still tried to get up to fight. Blastoise walked over and put its foot on Charizard's long neck. It did not crush it, only applied pressure so that Charizard could not move. The Rocket looked angrily at Michael and his Pokemon, but then suddenly began to laugh. Michael seemed confused over why he was acting this way. The Rocket grinned and looked at Michael.

"Kid, are you _sure _you're not a cold hearted killer like me...cause it really looks it from here", the Rocket stated. Michael looked at the situation ahead of him and saw that he was right. It looked like he was going to kill the Charizard. "So go ahead, prove me right...kill it!", the Rocket said. Michael began to think of a plan. Killing the Charizard would only make him as bad as the Rockets, but releasing it could endanger the lives of him and his friends. Plus, it was this Charizard that killed his entire squad.

No! It wasn't Charizard that did it, it was _him_! It was because of him that Charizard did what it did. Team Rocket always used Pokemon to kill and slaughter. It was against a Pokemon's nature to be naturally evil. Michael then knew what he was going to do.

"Blastoise...", Michael said. Blastoise listened intently, ready to obey. The Rocket grinned. "...grab that Rocket". The Rocket's grin quickly disappeared as Blastoise eyed the Rocket down. As quickly as it could move, Blastoise released Charizard and ran over to the Rocket, grabbing him with both arms. It lifted the Rocket in the air, watching as he tried to struggle out of its grip.

"It's not Charizard that's gonna pay...it's you", Michael said. The Rocket looked at Michael in anger.

"KILLING ME WOULD BE JUST AS BAD AS KILLING CHARIZARD YOU STUPID BASTARD!", the Rocket yelled out. Michael shook his head.

"Oh no, I'm not going to kill you, and neither is Blastoise. We're gonna leave it up to fate to see what happens to you", Michael explained. The Rocket seemed confused. "So then...let's see how well you can fly". The old man's eyes grew wide in fear and shock. Blastoise immediately spun around and tossed the Rocket high in the air. He yelled as he flew higher and higher from the force of the throw. Immediately, one of the defense turrets turned and aimed itself at the Rocket. "I guess fate was not on your side", Michael said. The defense turret then fired one of its missiles towards the Rocket. All he could do was scream as the missile impacted him. The explosion caused a small shockwave to make Michael's clothes and hair move.

Nothing was left of the Rocket when the blast ended. Charizard stood up and eyed Blastoise down. Michael was not sure if Charizard would seek revenge on him or Blastoise for the death of its master. Charizard then turned and eyed down Michael. As it did, Michael noticed something in its eyes.

A glimmer...of light.

Charizard snorted, a light puff of smoke coming out of its nose, and then immediately stomped away, towards the side of the roof. It turned and fired a powerful fire attack at the defense turret closest to it, destroying it instantly. Once the turret was done for, Charizard spread its giant wings and took off. Michael watched as it flew away to god knows where. Perhaps maybe the Pokemon _could _be saved after all. They obviously showed no major loyalty to the Rocket trainers.

But now wasn't the time to get distracted, the others were still in danger.

Meanwhile, the other Rockets had begun their attacks on the remaining rebels. One Rocket had Angel cornered at the side of the roof. She looked behind her, seeing her boot heel just off the edge of the roof. She then brought her attention back to the Rocket. He was too close to let her pull out a weapon or Pokeball. She swung a fist at the Rocket, but he merely laughed and caught it as it was being thrust at him.

"So, you think you can take me on huh?", the Rocket asked. His voice sounded like he was a very heavy smoker. Angel merely looked at him in anger. The Rocket chuckled. "Tell you what, I'll let you get one free shot...right here". The Rocket bent down and pointed to his right cheek. Although the grunt kept his grip on Angel's right hand, her left hand was free. She clenched her hand into a fist and prepared to punch. She held it back, but then instead pulled her leg back. Before the Rocket saw it coming, Angel kicked the grunt in-between the legs. He bent down even further and yelled in pain. Seeing her opportunity, Angel punched the Rocket in the face, right where he said she could.

The Rocket fell to the side and onto the ground, his hands where he was kicked. Angel did not like the idea of fighting dirty, and even at that moment hated doing it. But if it meant her survival, she would do what was necessary. The Rocket however quickly got back up and grabbed Angel by the arm, this time much tighter.

"YOU LITTLE BITCH!", the Rocket yelled. She could tell that he was about to throw her off the roof. She tried to struggle free, but his grip was strong. She could feel the lack of blood flow in her arm at this point. All of a sudden, the sound of an object flying at a very high speed rang in her ears and in a split second, a object pierced through the Rocket's chest, near the heart. The Rocket looked at it in shock and pain. It was an arrow. The Rocket released Angel and fell forward, off the roof of the base and down below. Angel turned over to see Aleksi back at the center of the roof. Her bow was aimed towards where she fired the arrow.

"YOU ALRIGHT?", Aleksi asked. Angel nodded.

"YES, THANK YOU!...ALEKSI, WATCH OUT!", Angel yelled, pointing behind her. Aleksi turned just in enough time to see a Rocket swing a massive knife down at her. She bent down, spun around, and held her bow out. The knife was blocked by the bow and the two forces kept trying to overpower the other. The Rocket hovered above Aleksi with a look of evil in his eyes.

"You might as well give up girly, you're never gonna win!", the Rocket said. Aleksi pushed back with all her might.

"You just wait and see!", Aleksi replied. She then turned the bow so that the Rocket's blade slid down to the end. Once it did this, she grabbed the knife with one hand, and then swung her bow with the other. It struck the Rocket in the head and he fell over, unconscious. Aleksi stood up, saw that the Rocket was done for, and then brought her attention to the others.

Brian stood a few feet away from another Rocket. In front of this Rocket was a Pokemon of his own, a Mankey. The Rocket laughed at Brian.

"Well, are you going to release a Pokemon? Or am I going to have to beat you to a pulp right here and now?", the grunt asked. Brian smirked.

"Alright, I guess I can choose a Pokemon", Brian replied. He pulled a Pokeball from his belt and dropped it onto the ground. The Pokeball rolled all the way past Mankey and in front of the Rocket. But for an unknown reason, the Pokeball did not open. The Rocket looked at the Pokeball confused.

"Wow, the dumbass sent out an empty Pokeball", the Rocket said. He then looked up to see that Brian was running away. Putting two and two together, the Rocket looked back to the Pokeball in fear before suddenly, it exploded. Mankey was thrown away from the blast and crashed into the side of the roof. Swirls appeared in its eyes. Brian smirked.

"God, I LOVE those bombs!", Brian remarked. Just then, he heard a very loud noise. He looked up to see a large tail swinging down at him. He gasped and dove out of the way just in time. The tail crashed into the ground and caused a giant hole to appear to the lower level. Brian looked back to see the tail connected to a giant Steelix. This Steelix was currently fighting off Tracy's Marill and Dawn's Mamoswine. Both Pokemon were tired however and could faint at any moment. Dawn turned to Brian.

"BRIAN! WE NEED HELP!", Dawn yelled. Brian nodded. He pulled of a Pokeball from his belt and clicked it, making it expand.

"ROGER THAT!", Brian yelled. He then threw the Pokeball and out came a small fox Pokemon, a Vulpix. It yelled and prepared for battle. "FOXY! WE NEED TO HELP THEM, LET'S GET TO IT! EMBER ATTACK!", Brian yelled. Foxy ran forward and fired small flames at the Steelix. However, the flames merely bounced off its steel body. Brian looked on in shock. "BUT STEEL TYPES ARE WEAK AGAINST FIRE TYPES!", Brian yelled.

"THIS STEELIX IS A LOT MORE POWERFUL THAN A NORMAL ONE!", Tracy yelled back. Brian looked over to see the Steelix's trainer. He was a bit older than the other Rockets, but not by a major amount. He had a look that made him appear as cold as the steel Pokemon he used. He smirked. This made Brian worry.

"WE NEED TO DO A COMBINATION ATTACK THEN, LET'S GO!", Brian yelled. Dawn and Tracy nodded. Foxy and Marill then hopped onto Mamoswine's back and Mamoswine began to charge forward. Unfortunately, Mamoswine was very slow, which went to Steelix's advantage. The trainer laughed.

"THAT'S IT, HEAD RIGHT TO YOUR DEMISE! STEELIX, HYPER BEAM ATTACK!", the trainer yelled. Steelix opened its mouth and prepared to fire the attack. Dawn reacted quickly and turned to the others.

"GET READY YOU TWO! THIS MAY ONLY WORK ONCE!", Dawn yelled. Brian and Tracy nodded in agreement. She then brought her attention back to her Pokemon. "MAMOSWINE, YOU USE HYPER BEAM TOO!", Dawn yelled. Mamoswine opened its mouth and prepared to fire as well. At the exact same time, both Pokemon fired their massive attacks. They sped towards each other and collided. Both Pokemon tried their best to overcome the other, but the beams remained in a stalemate. It was during this that Marill and Foxy jumped off of Mamoswine's back and launched themselves high in the air, above Steelix.

"MARILL, WATER GUN!", Tracy yelled.

"FOXY, FLAMETHROWER!", Brian yelled. Both Pokemon opened their mouths and released their respective attacks. The Water Gun and Flamethrower attacks struck Steelix right on the top of its head. Due to the double combination of attacks and the double damage done for weakness, Steelix's Hyper Beam attacked weakened. Mamoswine saw this and increased the power of its own, causing his attack to fly back and hit Steelix. The large iron snake Pokemon flew back and crashed onto the ground. The trainer looked at its Pokemon, and then back to the rebels.

"You think this is over? GUESS AGAIN! STEELIX, GET UP!", the Rocket yelled. Steelix began to rise up, looking at the enemy Pokemon with anger in its eyes. It was hurt, but still ready for a long fight. The other Pokemon however weren't as lucky. All three Pokemon were now beginning to get weak. Dawn, Tracy, and Brian began to think quickly of what they should do, but could not come up with anything.

"What are we gonna do?", Tracy asked the others with a hint of fear.

"I think the only option we have left is...to blow it now", Dawn answered. But before the others could comment on this new idea, Steelix went on the offensive. It raised its massive tail as it glew a bright white color.

"STEELIX, IRON TAIL!", the Rocket yelled to its Pokemon. The others all panicked as the snake like Pokemon swung its tail at them. It struck Mamoswine, Marill, and Foxy all at once and sent them flying backwards, back to their trainers. Foxy landed just a foot or so away from Brian whereas Marill crashed directly into Tracy, sending him back a few feet. Mamoswine crashed hard onto the ground a little bit aways from Dawn, shaking the roof as well.

"OH NO! MAMOSWINE!", Dawn yelled. Steelix, seeing its enemy down, raised its tail once more and swung it down towards Mamoswine. Dawn quickly pulled out her Pokeball. "RETURN!". Dawn recalled Mamoswine just before the tail collided. Iron Tail struck the roof and put a huge hole into it, just like earlier. Brian turned around and looked towards Jeremy, who was battling a Rocket grunt with his Gengar.

"Jeremy! We need you to detonate the D-5, now!", Brian yelled to Jeremy. He turned and looked at him in complete shock and misunderstanding.

"ARE YOU NUTS? THAT COULD KILL EVERYONE HERE!", Jeremy yelled. He then jumped back to dodge the Rocket. Gengar blasted him with a Psychic attack and sent him flying away. Brian quickly looked back to Steelix just in time to see the large tail coming down, heading towards Foxy. Unlike the last few swings though, this one was directed to stab Foxy, not crush it. Brian quickly grabbed Foxy and jumped back, falling onto the ground. The tail crashed into the roof just a foot or two away from Brian's lower region. He turned back to Jeremy.

"BLOW THE FUCKING THING!", Brian yelled, desperate now. Everyone's lives were on the line already, they needed to destroy it now before it was too late. Jeremy looked scared, but nodded. He turned to Gengar.

"GENGAR, PSYCHIC! BLOW THE D-5!", Jeremy yelled. Gengar nodded, still smiling as always. It then looked to the plastic explosives and closed its eyes. After a second or so it opened them, revealing purple glowing eyes. All of the bombs were shrouded in a purple glow until suddenly, they all went off. Everyone on the roof watched as the bombs exploded. The shockwave and flames from the D-5 nearly blew everyone off of the roof. Gengar was caught in the explosion, but was unharmed. It however did manage to push Jeremy back, saving his life.

Everyone fell to the ground and watched as the array began to twist to one side. The lower section, where Brian had placed all of his explosives, was especially damaged and weak. The array slowly but surely began to fall to the side. This was the time to worry. The array could easily fall on top of them and crush them all in an instant. Tracy looked around to where they could all possibly escape. They still couldn't fly off of the roof, not with the defense turrets. The way they came in was too far away now, they would never make it. How would they be able to get out alive?

He then saw it. Their way out. The two large holes that Steelix had made from crashing its tail into the ground. They led to the top level of the base. They may have a chance after all.

"EVERYONE, DOWN THE HOLES, NOW!", Tracy yelled. Everyone looked at Tracy and then to the large holes in the ground. They nodded. Aleksi and Angel ran and jumped down the hole closest to them, followed by Jeremy and Gengar. Michael ran as fast as he could towards the next hole. As he ran, he was intersected by the Rocket who controlled Steelix.

"YOU'RE NOT GOING ANYWHERES!", the Rocket yelled. Michael did not have time to deal with this, not when he could die at any second.

"OUT OF MY WAY!", Michael yelled. He then tackled the Rocket. The two wrestled on the ground, trying to overpower the other. Soon, Michael found himself on top and punched the Rocket in the face as hard as he could. It was not a very big blow, but enough to allow Michael to escape. He ran quickly towards the others. Brian and Tracy had just recalled their Pokemon when Michael reached them.

"DOWN THE HOLE, NOW!", Tracy yelled. Michael nodded. He jumped down, followed by Brian, Tracy, and then Dawn. The Rocket saw them jump down and quickly got up. He was going to follow them and then kill them off one by one. But as he began to run towards the same hole, the array finally began to lose the battle with gravity. The Rocket that Jeremy was fighting stood back up from the battle but then found himself in the path of the array. He held his arms up in fear as he was crushed. The remaining Rocket began to worry, he needed to get off now. He ran towards the hole, but was quickly blown away from another explosion caused by the previous bombs.

Steelix, seeing that its trainer was now gone, slithered off the side of the roof and away from the array. The array had completely fallen off of the roof and was now crashing into the forest and plains that surrounded the base below it. It felt like the entire island shook when the array landed. The dish itself caved in on itself upon impact and exploded. Shrapnel flew everywhere, mostly into the forest or plains, but some into the base itself. The entire side of the base where the array had fallen broke off and was now just a big gaping hole. Almost all of the lower buildings were destroyed, probably killing most everyone in them.

Pokemon that were near the area all began to flew as a fire and more explosions broke out. People inside the base were quickly wondering what had happened and began to think that the entire base itself would blow up. The PTA rebels however all knew what this meant, and smiled.

The array was finally done for, the mission was a success.

**And...I'll leave it there! Wow! A lot of fighting and drama in this chapter huh? I'm sure a lot of you are glad that Angel is alive and didn't sacrifice herself for this. Well that's good and all, but now everyone's in more trouble. I don't think Team Rocket will take this little thing too kindly. Oh, and be prepared for a bit more bloodshed; if you think I'm being soft lately think again! Sorry if it all seemed rushed. Because of the Memorial Weekend, I've been very busy with work. Yeah, you'd think that a mini vacation like this would mean I'm off, well, no. In fact, I'm working even more now. Lakefront construction and such. Oh well. Well I hope you enjoy this little treat I gave you, expect a update sometime this week if I have the time. Happy Memorial Day to you all! Honor the soldiers of the past and present!**

**sincerely,  
evan, a fan of aaml -EVAN AAML**


	26. Chapter 26

**Hello everyone, and I hope you enjoyed your holiday! I apologize for the long awaited update. I have been dealing with some rather serious personal issues as of late, which are still not completely resolved., (please don't ask). On top of that, I have had some rather odd computer issues which have prevented me from working much. This of course ALSO isn't fixed yet. Because of this computer problem, it has caused some problems with me receiving, sending, and replying to message of reviews or what not. So my apologies. But either way, here is the next thrilling installment! And I hope you all enjoy it. Be sure to F.A.R. now!**

**-EVAN AAML**

The sky was as bright as ever, with the sun shining above them. Although this would make for good visibility, their vision was clouded. Dust and fire was blowing every which way. Angel had to cover herself from the heat and dust. It felt like a volcano was erupting right beside her. The entire base shook and the heat was unbearable. Angel felt like her life could suddenly just end in an instant and she wouldn't see it coming. She felt arms wrapped around her, most likely Aleksi's. She couldn't tell because her eyes were closed and she was too afraid to open them.

Angel knew that the array had not fallen on top of the base, as previously planned. This went against their strategy but it did save their lives and possibly the lives of everyone inside as well. At least the job was done. Even though the loud noises of the explosions and the sound of things burning did not stop, Angel could make out the voices of her team mates.

"Is everyone alright?", a voice called out. This was obviously Tracy.

"I'm fine!", a female yelled. Dawn.

"Me too", this was Jeremy.

"We're all ok I think", Aleksi replied. "What about you Angel?". Angel took this opportunity to open her eyes slowly. Immediately, dust flew into them and began to sting, but she ignored it. She looked up to see Aleksi's face, which was covered in dust and even what appeared to be a fine layer of charcoal. Her blue green eyes however still looked as bright as ever, and stuck out even more from the darkness of her dirty skin and outfit.

"Yes, I'm alright", Angel replied, coughing slightly from the dust and smoke. Aleksi smiled, her teeth seemingly whiter in comparison to her body.

"I'm glad to hear that", Aleksi replied. She then helped Angel to her feet. The two girls looked around to see where the others were. The two of them were currently standing on a large pile of concrete from the ceiling that caved in when Steelix attacked from above. Jeremy was only a few feet away from them, standing below them on the remains of the hall in which they fell down to. His Gengar was standing right beside him.

Across from them was what appeared to be a wall that collapsed along with the ceiling. The hole in the wall revealed a room on the other side, where the others were located. Tracy stood on top of a table and looked towards Angel and the others. Dawn was currently helping Michael to his feet not to far away from Tracy; with Brian standing idly by.

"What happened? That didn't go according to plan", Aleksi said, mostly to Brian. He shrugged, just as confused as she was.

"I haven't a clue. The explosives went of as planned, but it should of been bigger than it was. Technically none of us should be here right now", Brian explained. He then brought his attention to Jeremy. "You wouldn't happen to have anything to do with this would you?".

"Not me, Gengar. He must of used Psychic to control the explosion more, thereby saving us and redirecting the blast force. I think that's why the array fell to the side and not on top of us", Jeremy guessed. Gengar smiled, a sign that what Jeremy said was true.

"Well that's good to hear. That means that the others are possibly all alive now. Now that we're done here, we need to regroup with the others and get out of here. I'm sure the explosion will gain attention from the other islands, and we can't afford it right now", Tracy explained. Dawn nodded.

"The others should all be done with their missions, so they should be with the distraction unit downstairs. We'll regroup with them and get off of New Island", Dawn told the others. They all nodded. Jeremy pulled out his Pokeball and returned Gengar, thanking it for its work. As he did this, Aleksi and Angel hopped down from the pile of concrete. Aleksi turned and looked at Angel.

"So, are you sure you're ok?", Aleksi asked. Angel nodded.

"Yep, I'm ok and ready to get off this island!", Angel replied. Aleksi smiled. She then turned to talk to Jeremy. But as she did this, Angel began to think to herself. She thought about how she felt helpless to the PTA's goals. Once again she had to be rescued by the others, she couldn't do anything on her own. Although she now could see how stupid her original suicide plan was, she still felt like she hadn't done anything to help. The others all did their part and were equally important...except for her.

She began to think of her parents, and how they might react to her uselessness. She imagined the two of them looking down at her in disappointment. It hurt her more than the minor concussion did. But she shook the idea out of her head. Although it was just her emotions getting the better of her, it still felt real. She brought herself back to the present.

"We need to get going now and meet up with the others. They'll need our help down there to fight off the remaining Rockets. Then we'll head to the boats as fast as we can!", Dawn said.

"Right, let's get moving!", Michael stated. The group then began to head towards the others. Angel's mind was set onto the task at hand, but at the corner of her mind, she was still thinking about her uselessness thus far. The remaining squad walked down the broken remains of the hall and turned around a corner, being careful not to attract anymore unwanted attention. Once they did however, they found something that sent chills down their spine and possibly even scarred them for life.

Not too far away from them were piles of debris from the ceiling. Buried under this mess however were body parts...burnt body parts. They were the remains of their squad, now crushed under concrete and rock. Dawn covered her mouth in shock the moment she spotted it. Michael and Brian looked away, not wanting to see the remains. Aleksi covered Angel's eyes, although she herself couldn't bare to see the bodies either. Tracy sighed heavily. These were all people that not even an hour ago he was talking to and becoming closer friends with, and now they weren't even recognizable.

The group remained quiet, giving their former squad members a moment of silence. After a minute or so, Tracy stepped forward and began to pull the concrete off of the bodies. Everyone else looked at him both shocked and confused.

"Tracy, what are you doing?", Brian asked. Tracy stopped only for a moment and looked back to Brian. He then went back to removing the rocks.

"We still need to retrieve their Pokeballs, as we do with all of the deceased. We owe them that much", Tracy explained. The others remained quiet. It was true that this was standard protocol for anyone who died, but this wasn't a normal case. The thought of seeing the bodies burnt to a crisp and possibly falling apart as they removed the Pokeballs, it haunted them.

But watching Tracy doing it alone urged them to help out; despite the horror that they could see. Angel was the first to respond. She released herself from Aleksi's grip and stepped forward. She immediately saw the first body and nearly threw up upon seeing it. But she did her best to hold it in and moved in closer. She stopped in front of it and looked at the body. The face of the body was towards the other direction, so Angel couldn't see it, which she secretly thanked for. The body from the waist down was covered in rocks and one of the arms was missing, probably crushed and removed.

Angel could see that only one large slab of concrete prevented her from reaching the Pokeballs, so she knew what she had to do. She pulled as hard as she could on the rock, barely making it budge. She was afraid of crushing the Pokeballs underneath it, and so this affected her pulling. Deciding that pulling on the concrete itself wouldn't work, she decided to pull on the iron support rods that were built inside of the concrete. They were sticking out to the side, near Angel's hands. She gripped the rods as tightly as she could and began to pull.

It didn't take long for the concrete to slid off of the body. But unfortunately, the force of the moving object caused the body to move, the head turned around and faced Angel. The little girl looked at the face of the deceased person. The skull was visible and looked a mix of red and black from blood and fire. The nose was missing entirely, burnt off completely. The eyes were swelled and looked like raisins to her, she wasn't even sure if they were eyes or just bits of charcoal that lodged themselves in the eye sockets. The hair was also gone completely, although there were a few follicles that remained in the skull. Angel guessed that the body belonged to a girl because one of the ears remained at least partially intact and had in it a gold earring.

She felt her stomach churn and her heart sink into her lower chest. She wanted to look away, but at the same time couldn't find the nerve to do so. The body looked wet from the remaining blood, but she knew that it was most likely still hot from the fire. All she could do was stare at the body, not even sure of exactly how to respond to it. Eventually, someone touched her and snapped her out of her trance. She turned around to see Tracy, putting a hand on her shoulder. She also noticed that the others had begun to remove the rocks and concrete while she was in her state of shock.

"I know it's hard to look at. I'm surprised you're even holding it in as well as you are", Tracy said. Angel merely looked up at him. Tracy could see the sudden change of color in Angel's face, he knew what was coming next. The only thing that had stopped her from doing it before was shock. He pulled Angel away and turned her head just as Angel bent down and threw up. The others looked at her, but did not say anything. They did not blame her for doing it, in fact, they felt like it was a matter of time before they did it themselves.

Tracy rubbed Angel's back after the one hurl, making her feel a bit better. She spat out what remains she could and wiped her mouth. Her throat and stomach felt like they were on fire, but she ignored it. The sight of her former team mates hurt much more than the stomach acid could. After she finished, she stood up and looked back to Tracy.

"...sorry...about that", Angel said. She felt weak doing it. Tracy shook his head.

"No, you have nothing to be sorry about. War is hell, stuff like this is hard to see, but it happens. All this shows is that you're not used to seeing things like this...be grateful. I don't think you _want _to be used to it like me", Tracy explained. Angel thought of it for a moment and then nodded. She could see what he meant by it. Tracy was so used to seeing these horrors that he wasn't even affected by it. Angel felt like she was going to have those images in her nightmares for years to come.

Just how bad was this war for freedom?

After thinking about it for the moment, she shook out of it and turned around, facing the body once more. The concrete slab had come off the body and the remains of the legs and waist were visible. Angel approached it and looked for the Pokeball belt. She couldn't tell if she was looking at burnt leather or skin, most likely both. She then found what she was looking for, but not the way she wanted to. She saw a few Pokeballs, but they were burnt just like the bodies and cracked along the sides. Angel picked one up and tried to rub the charcoal off of it.

The black came off for a bit, showing the shine of the red, but then suddenly, the Pokeball cracked completely and broke. Angel gasped.

"Wh-what happened?", Angel asked. Tracy sighed and took the Pokeball from the little girl.

"The fire must of caused the Pokeballs to break", Tracy explained.

"But wouldn't that just mean that the Pokemon would come out of the Pokeball?", Aleksi asked. Tracy shook his head.

"Normally yes, I remember a case similar to that years ago where Ash's Pokeball broke and his Snorlax came out. But not in this case. The flames were so intense and lasted for so long that the Pokemon didn't have time to come out once the Pokeballs broke. They were still in their red light form. That means that they were destroyed entirely before they even knew what hit them", Tracy explained.

Angel was not sure how to react to this news. She had witnessed the murder of many of her allies, but none yet of Pokemon. She remained quiet, merely trying to take it all in. She felt like crying, but refused to. She wasn't going to give any Rockets the pleasure, even if none were around to see her.

"The same for these Pokeballs here", Brian said.

"Here too", Dawn replied. Tracy shook his head.

"There's no point then, all of them are dead", Tracy decided. He then looked to the squad, and noticed something wrong. "Wait...where's Michael?". As if Michael himself heard Tracy's question, the sound of someone throwing up behind the wall echoed to the group. After a few hurls, Michael approached the group. He felt ashamed of himself, but couldn't help it.

"Sorry...bout that", Michael said. The others said nothing. Tracy shook his head.

"Don't worry about it...come on, let's get going...there's nothing for us to do here", Tracy explained. Everyone nodded, hopped off of the piles of concrete and debris, and began to make their way down the hall. Angel kept pace with the others, but had enough time to take one last glance over at her fallen allies, who remained behind.

During this time, more fighting ensued back in the main lobby. The destruction of the array was evident now, and the collision of it with the ground caused more destruction that anticipated. Parts of the ceiling and walls crumbled down, crushing whoever was unfortunate enough to be below them. Many more people found themselves stuck under something that had fallen and/or injured. Medical personnel were running back and forth, dodging Pokemon attacks and bullets to help the wounded.

Brock was currently hiding behind his cover, which was at the moment merely a couch that was overturned. His back was to the Rockets, who were still trying to shoot him. He reloaded his pistol and glanced back over towards the Rockets. Although their numbers were decimated by the destruction of the array and the constant fire of the PTA, they were still fighting back with everything they had. Although most of the rebels were injured rather than dead, they were still incapable of fighting back.

To Brock's right were the two rebels that survived the attack from the com room, the boy and girl. To his left was Darrel. Since Misty and Emily left to find Angel and the others, they have been holding up in the main lobby, trying to survive long enough for the others to meet up with them.

"WHERE THE HELL IS EVERYONE?", Darrel asked, reloading a heavy machine gun much like Hunter's. Brock turned around and fired a couple shots towards the Rockets; hitting one of them in the chest.

"I DON'T KNOW! THE ARRAY HAS BEEN DOWN FOR ABOUT TEN MINUTES NOW, EITHER THEY'RE GETTING CLOSER TO US OR", Brock said before getting cut off.

"OR THEY GOT THEMSELVES KILLED BY THE EXPLOSION!", Darrel continued. Brock did not like the answer that Darrel gave, but as much as he wouldn't want to admit it, that could of been the case. "WHAT ABOUT MAY AND HER SQUAD?".

"I DON'T KNOW, WE HAVEN'T RECEIVED CONTACT FROM THEM AT ALL. I'M GETTING WORRIED ABOUT THE OTHERS!", Brock yelled.

"WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO THEN?", the female rebel asked. Brock thought for a moment, not even sure of how to answer her.

"WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO EVACUATE SOON, SO MAKE A DECISION DAMN IT!", Darrel yelled.

"...FINE, WE HOLD OUT FOR ANOTHER TEN MINUTES OR SO, IF WE DON'T HEAR FROM THE OTHERS BY THEN, WE LEAVE!", Brock decided. Darrel nodded.

"ALRIGHT!", Darrel yelled. The other two rebels were more against this new decision, but they knew that they didn't have much a choice. If they stayed here for too long they would surely all be killed. Brock turned around and began to fire once again at the Rockets.

"Come on everyone, hurry up and get here!", Brock thought to himself as he fired shot after shot. Meanwhile, on the other side of the lobby, Ryoto and Trent were still fighting off the Rockets. Trent managed to keep himself alive by only fighting a Rocket or two at a time, but he quickly began to notice that Ryoto's strategy was much different. He was relentless, striking down Rocket after Rocket, male or female, young or old. Trent did not know Ryoto well, but he could tell that despite being with the PTA, he still had the Rocket personality he said he left behind.

Trent swung his sword around, cutting a Rocket behind him who was about to shoot him down. After he did so, he looked around him. All of the Rockets near him were dead and the others were either too busy to deal with him or unaware of his presence. Seeing that he finally had a moment to breath, Trent backed himself up and hide behind some large plants placed in large pots. After seeing that no one noticed him, he took a moment to breath and see what was happening to the others.

His injury was still hurting but from the constant fighting he only just remembered he had one. His adrenaline was still pumping, so the pain was small. He put his hand on it and pulled it away, looking at the blood. It was still bleeding, but he did notice that it was less than before. He then looked back towards the others on the other side. Although he could not see exactly who was who, he could tell that the numbers were lower than when they first arrived.

"Crap, this isn't good. I should of gone to their side, at least then I could of been more help", Trent thought. He then looked over to Ryoto, who was still fighting several Rockets. "I don't even think Ryoto is worth saving. He could be a lost cause. It looks like he'll always be the same old Rocket". Just as he said this, he noticed that Ryoto was getting tired. He was breathing heavily, and his movements were slower. But Trent noticed something in his eyes. Something he was hoping to see earlier. They weren't the same old void eyes, they had emotion in them now. It was small, but unmistakable. The Rockets noticed the slower pace too because they soon ganged up on him. Trent knew that he had to act now. Just as he stepped out of hiding, one of the Rockets grabbed Ryoto from behind and held him in a Full Nelson.

The Rockets took turns in punching and kicking him as he was being held, laughing out loud and enjoying every second of it. Trent quickly ran towards Ryoto and the Rockets as fast as he could. He held out his sword and plunged it into the back of the Rocket closest to him. The blade went through the Rocket's body and out the other side. Trent, not pulling the blade out of the Rocket, swung himself around and kicked another Rocket near him in the chest, causing him to fly backwards. One of the Rockets to the side of Trent tried to grab him, but Trent swung the Rocket with the sword still in him, causing the body to slid off the blade and crash into the approaching Rocket.

Trent then quickly pulled out a pistol and aimed it at the Rocket who was holding Ryoto. The Rocket looked at Trent scared, but held onto Ryoto tightly.

"DON'T MOVE A MUSCLE! YOU SO MUCH AS TWITCH AND HE'S DEAD!", the Rocket yelled. Trent did not budge, but was ready to fire if the time came. Ryoto smirked however, which caught the attention of both the Rocket and Trent.

"Fool, I don't think you even realize what you got yourself into", Ryoto stated. The Rocket held onto Ryoto tighter.

"OH, IS THAT A FACT?", the Rocket replied. Ryoto smiled more now.

"Yeah. In fact...you were dead the moment you grabbed me", Ryoto stated. In the blink of an eye, Ryoto managed to turn around while still in the grip of the Rocket, pry himself free, and twist the Rocket's arms; causing him to flip in the air and land hard on his back. Ryoto looked down at the Rocket, and then over to Trent. "...thanks", Ryoto stated. Trent nodded and lowered his pistol.

"I think you're beginning to lose it Ryoto", Trent said. Ryoto smirked.

"What makes you say that?", Ryoto asked. After he asked this, the Rocket he had flipped began to raise his head up from the ground. Ryoto immediately pulled out a pistol and shot the Rocket in the head. He fell down motionless.

"You're not merely killing here, you're butchering them", Trent said. Ryoto merely looked at Trent, as if he has heard this story time and time again.

"I'm not butchering them, I'm just doing to them what they would to us", Ryoto stated.

"...and what's the difference?", Trent asked. Ryoto put his pistol away and picked up his Katana, which had fallen to the ground when he was grabbed. He slid it back into its sheath and looked back at Trent.

"Fine, since you helped me, I'll listen. We'll do it your way", Ryoto said. Trent sighed. It was a relief to not have to worry about it anymore. Trent put his own pistol and sword away and approached Ryoto.

"Good, now we need to make our way back to the others. It looks worse over there and they could really use our help", Trent said. He was then about to run to the other side when Ryoto grabbed his arm. This caused Trent to stop running and turn to look at him.

"What, you're going to just run across? You're not thinking. No one can make it across that line of fire", Ryoto said. Trent looked back to the now very long looking lobby, seeing the bullets that zoomed back and forth. He felt embarrassed for thinking he could easily make it across. "Listen, I know you want to help the others, but we would be far more useful over here. We're not going to survive the run over there, what good would we be if we were dead? We'll stay here and take out as many Rockets as we can. We still have a couple rebels on this side, we'll surround them".

"But a few rebels won't be enough. We need a larger force on this side!", Trent said. Just as Trent finished his sentence, a very large Rocket appeared and tried to shoot both Ryoto and Trent. He was so close and quick that the two rebels did not have any time to react to it. Suddenly, out of no where, a large stream of water shot out from behind Trent and Ryoto, aimed perfectly between the little space between the two, and struck the large Rocket. The Rocket was thrown far far back, towards the front of the lines. Ryoto and Trent barely had time to even realize what had happened.

"What the...", Trent said. Ryoto turned around first, followed quickly by Trent. They looked to see a Wartortle on the ground, the cause of the stream of water. Behind Wartortle was a familiar face, one that both rebels were glad to see.

"Sorry we're late to the party", the trainer said. Trent smiled greatly while Ryoto showed a smirk, albeit a small one.

"Bout time you got here May!", Trent said. May stood over her Wartortle, smiling at the boys. Behind her was the remaining squad from their mission. May turned around and looked at her group.

"Alright everyone, we've got Team Rocket surrounded, let's see if we can help stop this fighting, shall we?", May said. The rebels all smiled and cheered. They then all ran out and spread across the lobby, releasing Pokeballs and firing guns. As they did, May approached Trent and Ryoto, with Wallace, Drew, Nick, and Sawyer at her side. "Ok, fill me in, what have we missed?".

"The com room was taken, but then we were discovered, we ended up losing nearly our entire squad. But we managed to destroy the room and escape", Trent began to explain.

"We came down here to help out the attack force but we're not going to last much longer", Ryoto threw in. May nodded, understanding.

"We felt something like an earthquake downstairs, was it the array?", May asked. The boys nodded.

"Yes, it was taken down. But we don't know where the others are", Trent said.

"We then we're going to have to find them won't we?", Drew said with a smirk. Just then, one of May's rebels ran towards them. It was Jacob, who was holding his machine gun.

"WE'RE GOING TO NEED MORE HELP HERE!", Jacob yelled, noticing the group not doing anything. He then turned back around and began to fire at a couple of Rockets that were trying to attack them.

"Right, let's get to, ARGH!", Trent yelled, holding his shoulder. His adrenaline finally wore out and now the pain was coming back. Wallace immediately ran to Trent's side and checked his shoulder, which was bleeding.

"Everyone is getting shot here! Ok, you're not doing anything, you need to stay still while I bandage you up properly. May, I suggest you stay out of fighting as well. The rest of you go and help out", Wallace decided. May was going to argue with him, but there would be no sense in it. So she sighed and looked to the others.

"Everyone, be careful and do your best", May said. Drew nodded.

"Don't you worry, we will", Drew said with a smile. May smiled back. Ryoto walked away from the cute scene, not wanting to be a part of it. He made his way towards the fighting. The others saw this and prepared as well. Nick pulled out a Pokeball and smirked.

"Well then, if we're going to finish up here, we might as well do it with a bang!", Nick said. He then threw his Pokeball and released his Salamence. It roared out loud and prepared to fight. Wrapped around one of its wings was a large bandage. During their brief moment of rest before the mission, Nick gave his Salamence medical attention from when it was shot during the boat fight. Although Salamence's flying was affected by it, it would heal relatively quickly. "Ok Salamence, we need your help to stop Team Rocket, are you ready?", Nick asked.

Salamence roared in reply. Nick took that as a yes. Nick however would not be alone. Sawyer, Drew, and even Ryoto pulled out a Pokeball of their own.

"How about we help you out there huh?", Sawyer said with a smile. The three trainers then tossed their Pokeballs in the air. Sawyer released a powerful looking Growlithe, Drew a elegant Absol, and Ryoto a menacing Infernape. May looked down to her Wartortle, who looked back up to her at the same time.

"You go too Wartortle", May said. Wartortle nodded and ran forward with the others. All five Pokemon stood in a line, facing the now much more aware Rockets.

"SALAMENCE, HYPER BEAM!", Nick yelled.

"REX, FLAMETHROWER!", Sawyer yelled.

"ABSOL, RAZOR WIND!", Drew yelled.

"INFERNAPE, FIRE BLAST!", Ryoto yelled.

"WARTORTLE, HYDRO PUMP!", May yelled. All five Pokemon fired their respective attacks towards Team Rocket. Explosions scattered throughout the lobby, Rockets were blown into walls or make-shift barriers. The rebels on the other side of the lobby took notice quickly. Seeing the opportunity, Brock turned to the three rebels near him.

"COME ON, LET'S GET TO THE OTHERS!", Brock yelled. Darrel and the two younger rebels nodded and the four of them quickly got up and ran to the side of the lobby, where the medical members were helping the injured. Both Hunter and Ashley were still receiving medical attention, but were more than aware of the sudden change of power. As Brock and the others reached them, Ashley stood up.

"WHAT'S GOING ON? WHO ARRIVED?", Ashley asked. Brock looked out from cover and looked towards the other side. Although he still could not see very well, he was still able to make out Drew's green hair and May's bright orange outfit. He smiled greatly.

"IT'S MAY AND DREW! THEY MADE IT!", Brock yelled. Ashley sighed in relief.

"Oh thank goodness", Ashley said to herself.

"NOW WE HAVE TEAM ROCKET SURROUNDED ON BOTH SIDES, ALL WE HAVE TO DO IS KEEP UP THE FIGHTING AND THEY'LL HAVE TO SURRENDER!", Brock said. Saying this gave Hunter an idea. He smiled with a mischievous grin and laughed. This caught the attention of the others.

"OHHHH SHIT. I KNOW THAT LAUGH, HUNTER, WHAT DA HELL YOU THINKING UP NOW?", Darrel asked. Hunter stood up, nearly knocking his medical helper over, and approached Brock.

"HEY, HAVE YOU EVER PLAYED BASEBALL?", Hunter asked. Brock looked at him with a mixture of bewilderment and worry.

"Uhm...yes?", Brock answered.

"GREAT! CAUSE THIS PLAN I HAVE IS JUST LIKE BASEBALL...ONLY EXPLOSIVE!", Hunter stated. Everyone else sweatdropped. Hunter looked at the group. "NO, REALLY, IT'S A GOOD PLAN! AND ALL IT REQUIRES IS A REALLY BIG POKEMON AND MY LITTLE FRIEND RIGHT HERE!". As Hunter said this, he pulled out a Pokeball and smiled. Brock was not sure exactly where this was going, but if it would help end this fight, he wouldn't argue with him.

"ALRIGHT, HOW ABOUT THIS POKEMON?", Brock asked. He pulled out a Pokeball and opened it. The white light took form out in the open and revealed a very large Steelix. It looked at Brock and roared, ready to do what it had to. Hunter smiled.

"OH YEAH, THAT'LL BE PERFECT!", Hunter yelled. He then threw his Pokeball in the air and it opened. The white light took form and became a Electrode. It rolled around the ground with its trademark grin. Hunter ran to Electrode and smiled, picking up the heavy ball Pokemon. "ALRIGHT ELECTRODE, WE'RE GOING TO END THIS FIGHT WITH A BANG, ARE YOU READY?". Electrode roared in excitement, it shared the same taste for destruction as its trainer. "PERFECT! ALRIGHT THEN, BROCK, YOU READY?", Hunter asked. Brock nodded.

"READY!", Brock replied. Hunter, with as much strength as he could, tossed Electrode into the air towards Steelix. "STEELIX, HIT ELECTRODE TOWARDS THE ROCKETS!", Brock commanded. Steelix roared and raised its large tail. Once Electrode was in range, Steelix swung its tail like a bat, striking the Pokemon and sending it flying towards the Rockets at great speed. Electrode immediately knew what to do. It glew white and as soon as it struck the ground, self destruct.

The explosion rocked the entire lobby, anyone near the explosion was instantly killed or thrown. The rebels all ducked for cover, thinking that the base would collapse from the explosion. Electrode had a naturally larger Self Destruct power than its previous form Voltorb, but Hunter's seemed to be a bit more powerful than a average one. Not to anyone's major surprise.

Once the explosion settled and the lobby stopped shaking, Brock and the others ran out from cover and aimed their weapons at the remaining Rockets. The few Rockets that survived looked around the lobby. On both sides of them were PTA rebels with powerful Pokemon and plenty of weapons. Dead bodies were scattered everywhere, some burnt, some in pieces. The lobby was barely recognizable at this point. The walls, ceiling, and floor were so heavily damaged by explosions and bullets that it looked like a building about to be torn down.

Everyone was silent, no one said a word. It felt weird to have it so quiet after such a long battle with nothing but yelling and gunfire. Brock, seeing the opportunity, stepped forward. No one followed him except for his Steelix, who slithered behind him, ready to protect its trainer. Brock approached the few remaining Rockets and looked down at them. They were either laying on the ground in pain or kneeling behind cover. He then glanced across the lobby and saw that May was also approaching the Rockets, being helped by Drew. The three leaders stood on both sides of the Rockets. Brock looked back down to the grunts who were injured and beaten.

"So then...do you surrender?", Brock asked. There was a moment of eerie silence throughout the lobby. All of the rebels readied themselves just in case the surrender went south. The few Rockets left looked at Brock, then at May and Drew, and back to Brock. They knew that there was no chance for them to escape or survive should they fight back. They dropped their weapons, (some Rockets recalled Pokemon), and raised their hands up in the air slowly.

Unconditional surrender.

**PERFECT WAY TO END THE CHAPTER! I liked it, and I hope you did too. I tried to show some more emotion in this chapter, especially with Angel earlier on. But I didn't have a lot of time to do so because not only did I want to finish up the fight in this chapter, but as I stated in the earlier A.N., I have some things to deal with. So my apologies if there are mistakes or if it seemed quick in pace. I don't know when I will update again, so please be patient. I may update "The Alphabet Game: EVAN AAML Style", sometime soon as well, just because it's quicker and I don't have to think over it as much. Well, I'll end it here I guess. Be sure to F.A.R., and take care!**

**sincerely,  
evan, a fan of aaml -EVAN AAML**


	27. Chapter 27

**Welcome back everyone! Here we are again for yet another update of "R"! Now my personal issues that I stated in my last chapter have been resolved, (for the most part at least, still a few I need to deal with), but unfortunately my computer problems are still here. I've done all I can to fix it, but to no avail. As such, there is a chance that my updates will take longer to post than normal. It's annoying enough that it will randomly delete all of my work, I don't even know what else it could do. I just so happen to have time for it now though because it's particularly busy where I live. I live relatively close to the Boxing Hall of Fame, which is having their induction ceremony this weekend. I am not a fan of boxing, so I don't attend, I just stay at my house on the lake where it's quiet. But the town being busy means that my friends are also busy, so I have a lot of free time. Anywho, enough rambling. Let's do this.**

**-EVAN AAML**

The halls were quiet, the only sound that could be heard was the sound of their feet pounding on the tiled floor. Even with all of the destruction and death around the building, this area was almost unaffected; not a thing seemed out of place. It felt cold, creepy, like a morgue or cemetery.

Something was going on, and they didn't like it.

Angel, Dawn, Tracy, and the few remaining survivors of the array's destruction made their way down the halls, stairs, and rooms to get to the lower levels. They moved as quickly as they could without getting any unwanted attention, but at this point in time, they sort of wanted to be found.

"Man, this is creepy shit", Jeremy said as the group ran down a hall. The others nodded.

"Yeah, I agree", Michael replied.

"Something's not right here, it's way too quiet. And this section of the base seems...untouched", Tracy commented.

"Yeah, tell me about it, I want to blow something up here just for the sake of it", Brian said. Aleksi, who was running just behind Brian, was thinking more about Tracy's comment. The more she thought about it, the more she came to realize something. Just then, she stopped running all together.

"WAIT!", Aleksi said. The others all stopped running and looked to her with some concern.

"What is it?", Dawn asked. Aleksi didn't say anything immediately, she looked around, as if she was looking for something. She then held out her finger, saying to keep quiet. The group did, and listened in themselves. Not a sound.

"I don't hear anything...", Angel said. Aleksi nodded and looked to them.

"...exactly", Aleksi said. The others looked at her confused. They had already confirmed that it was quiet, why did she seem to surprised about it. Aleksi must of understood what they were thinking, for she went on. "What is the one thing that we don't hear, the one thing that, until we were about to get on the roof, we couldn't _not _hear?". The others thought for a moment, wondering what she was talking about. Dawn then quickly realized what she was talking about.

"There's no fighting", Dawn said. Aleksi nodded.

"Exactly. No gun fire, no explosions, no Pokemon roars. That means that the fighting downstairs stopped", Aleksi explained.

"She's right...so then, did we win...or did Team Rocket?", Tracy asked. It was silent for a moment, the idea that their friends could possibly all be dead at the moment sunk in. However, Michael quickly shook the feeling out and stepped forward.

"Well, there's only one way to find out isn't there? Let's get going and see", Michael said. The others all nodded. Quickly, they began to run again, making their way down the hall. The hall seemed to stretch down the entire length of the base, they could see the end, but they just couldn't seem to reach it quick enough. It took them what felt like minutes to reach it, even thought it was in fact only seconds.

Just as they were closing in on the corner however, a loud noise echoed throughout the area. It was the sound of a metal door being thrown open and shut. The others all immediately stopped running and listened in. Their hearts began to beat faster and their nerves intensified. Footsteps could be heard now coming from around the corner. They weren't running, but they were definitely in a hurry and looking for something.

The group quickly and quietly ran to the wall and slide their way down to the end of the hall. Michael remained in front, followed by Dawn, Tracy, Brian, Jeremy, Angel, and Aleksi at the end. Michael listened in carefully. The people that were approaching weren't talking, but their footsteps grew louder. They were getting closer. Michael turned to the others behind him and nodded. They nodded back. Quietly, he drew out a throwing knife while Dawn and Tracy pulled out their pistols. Then, just when the footsteps were at their loudest; they jumped out.

Michael aimed his knife at the people approaching them while Dawn and Tracy aimed their guns. The people that had made the noises also had pistols and aimed them at the gang. All of them yelled at each other until they got a better look at their opponents. The people who were making the noises were in fact Misty, Emily, and Shinx. All five of them sighed and put their weapons away.

"We nearly killed you girls!", Michael said, glad to know that they weren't Rockets.

"Not likely, we would of killed you first", Emily said, somewhat annoyed but more relieved. Shinx, who was sitting on Emily's shoulder, sighed heavily. Angel, seeing the two, jumped out in happiness.

"MISTY! EMILY!", Angel yelled. She ran into Misty and hugged her, which Misty was quick to return.

"I'm glad to see you too Angel!", Misty said. The others then came out of hiding. Misty looked at them with a smile, but then looked confused. "Where's the rest of your squad?". The entire squad then looked at the girls downcast. Dawn stepped forward, closer to Misty.

"They're...they're all dead. We're the only ones that survived...", Dawn replied. Misty and Emily remained silent, both in shock and sadness. Brian however broke the silence.

"What about you and the others? Are they...?", Brian asked. Emily shook her head.

"No, not all of them. We lost most of our squad in the attack on the com room", Emily said. Jeremy nodded.

"Right, we got your message", Jeremy stated.

"Afterwards, we went down to the main lobby to help the distraction unit. It was pretty bad down there, god only knows how many people we lost", Emily continued.

"It sounds like the fighting stopped though", Aleksi stated. Misty nodded.

"We thought the same thing, but we left before it stopped, so we don't know the outcome", Misty said.

"Why _did_ you leave?", Tracy asked.

"We came to look for _you_", Emily said matter of factly.

"At the time we left, the array wasn't down, so we were afraid of what might of happened to you, so me and Emily went to look for you guys and help demolish the array. But obviously we were too late", Misty explained.

"Well it doesn't matter now. The array is down and now we can go back to the others, let's get going", Tracy said. Misty and Emily nodded.

"We'll go back the way we came, it leads straight to the lobby", Misty stated. The group then turned around and went back the way Misty and Emily came. "When we get to the lower level, we need to contact Brock and May, to see what's been happening. We haven't heard any contact from the others in awhile", Misty continued.

"Right, I'll just", before Emily could finish, a loud noise banged down the hall. The others immediately stopped and turned around. The noise came from another hall that was close to where the group bumped into Misty and Emily. Unlike the noise earlier though, this one was louder. Whoever was approaching, they were in a big group. The others remained quiet, unsure this time if it would be friend or foe.

Their hearts beat faster and faster, they did not like the constant surprises. Just then, the source of the noises appeared.

Rockets

"SHIT, RUN!", Brian yelled. The Rockets immediately pulled out their weapons and began to open fire on the group. Misty, Emily, Michael, Tracy, and Dawn dove out of the line of fire and into another hall while the others began to follow. Brian, Jeremy, and Aleksi fired back, using their own weapons. They began to walk back, trying to get to cover all while supplying cover fire. Aleksi fired an arrow and struck a Rocket dead on in the chest.

"COME ON!", Aleksi yelled. She then dove down the hall with the others. Brian did the same. Jeremy was just about to, when he was suddenly struck by a bullet. He fell to the ground, yelling in pain. Brian quickly grabbed his arms and pulled him out of the line of fire. Brian then pulled out a Pokeball, clicked its center button to expand it, and then threw it down the hall. Within seconds, a loud explosion rocked the entire area. Pain filled shrieks could be heard afterwards.

Dawn looked at Jeremy to assess the damage.

"JEREMY! ARE YOU ALRIGHT?", Dawn asked. Jeremy looked at Dawn, revealing a graze on his cheek. It was bleeding badly, but the bullet missed anything vital.

"Damn...that hurt", Jeremy said. He wiped away as much blood as he could with his PTA jacket.

"You'll live, come on, on your feet soldier", Dawn said, helping Jeremy up. Brian then looked to the group.

"I REALLY suggest we get moving, we can't stay here!", Brian said. The others nodded.

"He's right, let's go!", Misty said. The squad stood up and began to run down the hall. As they ran, they could hear Rockets yelling, they were getting closer. Jeremy, Brian, Dawn, and Tracy began to shoot down the hall towards the approaching Rockets. Misty lead the group down the hall and towards a intersection. There were now three other ways to go, not including the way they came to get there.

"We need to go this way, let's hurry and maybe we can lose the Rockets", Misty said, pointing to the way on the far left.

"TOO LATE!", Tracy yelled. They fired shots towards the Rockets who were now getting much closer. Both sides fired back, but all of them weren't hitting their targets. One of the Rockets pulled out something from his jacket pocket and threw it down the hall towards the rebels. It bounced off the wall and slid down the hall towards the others. The group looked down to see that the object was a Rocket hand grenade.

They were more powerful than the typical ones Brian and the others used. They were smaller but had more explosive power to them. The group gasped.

"GRENADE! MOVE!", Misty yelled. Everyone then ducked for cover in any which way they could. As they dove out of the way, Angel turned around and noticed a object on the ground. It was a Pokeball, just lying there. Not knowing which trainer owned it or what Pokemon it was, she grabbed it to save it from the bomb. Then, the explosive went off. Shrapnel and fire shot out in all directions. Angel covered herself from the explosion, the shockwave nearly blowing her away. The explosion had stopped relatively quickly however, and she looked up for the others. Emily and Shinx were by her side, but the others were no where to be seen. Part of the ceiling had collapsed from the grenade and landed between the halls. They were separated.

Angel quickly climbed the pile and looked to the other side. She could see Misty and the others, just getting up from the explosion.

"GUYS! WE'RE STUCK OVER HERE!", Angel yelled. The others looked at Angel and panicked.

"WE NEED TO GET THEM OUT OF THERE!", Aleksi yelled. But more gunfire shot down the halls towards them.

"WE DON'T HAVE TIME! ANGEL, YOU AND EMILY GO AROUND AND TRY TO FIND US, WE'LL MEET YOU ON THE OTHER SIDE, STAY SAFE!", Misty yelled.

"THEY'RE COMING IN FAST!", Michael yelled. Misty looked towards the Rockets, and then back to Angel.

"GO, NOW!", Misty yelled. She then ran down the hall, the others right behind her. Angel turned to the side and saw the Rockets quickly running after them. A couple however stopped when they saw Angel.

"THERE'S ONE OF THEM!", one of the grunts yelled. The pile was too tall and close to the ceiling to reach them, but they must of known a way around, for they went a separate direction from the others. Angel quickly got down from the pile and turned to Emily.

"WE NEED TO GO!", Angel yelled, placing the Pokeball she had picked up on her belt.

"WHICH WAY?", Emily asked.

"ANYWAY, LET'S MOVE!", Angel yelled. She then ran down the hall. Emily had just enough time to grab Shinx before she followed close behind. It didn't take long before they could hear the sounds of the Rockets closing in on them. The entire right side of the hall was window, revealing the bright outside. It was on a side not showing the devastation that was the array. Because of the bright outdoors, the hall was quite bright and seemed to glow white.

"DO YOU KNOW WHERE YOU'RE GOING?", Emily asked, somewhat annoyed that she was leading.

"NO!", Angel replied. She then looked to the left and could see a door. She quickly grabbed Emily's hand and ran towards it. As quickly as she could, she opened the door, ran inside, and slammed it shut. The room they ran into was large and dark. Only the area near the door had any form of light, and it was little at that. It looked like a boiler room of sorts from what they could tell. Emily and Angel pressed themselves against the door and listened in carefully.

At first there was no noise at all, but soon, the sound of stomping feet and angry voices came from the other side of the door. Angel and Emily remained quiet, not wanting to make them suspicious. Soon though, the voices went down the hall and seemed to disappear. After another minute or so of quietness, Angel looked to Emily.

"Do you think they're gone?", Angel asked.

"I think so, but...we should wait here...just in case", Emily said back just as quietly. She then stepped away from the door while Angel looked at her.

"Wait? We don't have time to wait! We need to reach the others! If it comes down to it, we have to fight our way out!", Angel said, slightly above a whisper but still very quiet.

"Oh, what? A twelve year old is going to go out there and fight off a bunch of Rockets? Oh yeah, that'll definitely work", Emily said sarcastically. Angel didn't understand why she was this rude all of the time. She didn't think she did anything to make her hate her so much. It made Angel angry that she would act this way, especially when they were in a situation like this. But then, she noticed something. Angel noticed a change in Emily's personality. She seemed...sad. Her back was to her, but Angel could definitely see the signs, especially in her voice.

"Angel...we can't fight them...I can't fight them...", Emily said. Angel looked at Emily, as if she didn't even know her; like she was meeting her for the first time. Emily then picked up Shinx and placed it gently on the floor as she leaned against the wall next to a large metal water tank and slid down to the floor, wrapping her arms around her legs. She looked up at Angel, and it reminded her of a little girl, lost and confused. "Angel...I can't fight them. I just...I can't".

"What do you mean? You're trained like any other PTA, I know you can!", Angel said, trying to comfort the older teen. it didn't work.

"No Angel, I can't. I'm not like the other rebels. Why do you think I mostly do computers and communications? I just...I don't have the confidence the others do. I can't do what they can! I'm not a fighter!", Emily explained. Angel was shocked at what she was hearing. She stepped closer to Emily, who was nearing tears now. "That's...that's why I put up a front to people, like I did to you when we first met...If they saw just how useless I was...they would betray me. I don't want to fail them because I can't do anything right. So I act mean and cold...so that people leave me alone...and I won't be betrayed...just like before". A few tears then slid down the cheek of the young teen. Shinx understood what its master was going through and put a paw on her leg. She continued.

"When I first joined the PTA, I was a lot different. I had confidence in what I could do, and I was ready to do anything and everything for freedom and peace. But...once I started going on missions and fighting, I found out just how bad at it I was. I constantly let people down...they...they left me. They stopped...talking to me...because I let them down. I failed in so many things that it endangered them constantly. So I practiced and practiced, and I got a lot better. I even passed them in skills...but when it was time to go on the missions, and we were on the field, I failed...they still acted cold. They betrayed me...so I myself became cold. My confidence was shattered...and I left myself to work in the communications department...away from everyone else", Emily explained further.

Angel couldn't believe what she was seeing. Someone who had such knowledge and abilities didn't have a lot of confidence in herself. It reminded her of herself actually, just days ago. She recalled the memory well. She was sitting against a tree in the woods during a rain storm. She was holding her legs, much like Emily was sitting against the wall. Tears slid down her face just like Emily's did. She was scared, and alone. Angel recalled that she didn't know what she was going to do or how to do it. But this was different, Emily wasn't alone. Angel stepped closer to her and smiled.

"Emily...you remind me a lot of myself not too long ago", Angel said. Emily listened to what she had to say, but kept her eyesight away from the young girl. "I was afraid, unsure of what to do. I didn't have any confidence in my own abilities either. But here I am, only a little bit later from that, and I can't believe what I've accomplished. The one difference between me and you though is...you're not alone", Angel finished. In truth, she couldn't believe what she was saying, she felt like she was in fact lying to herself.

Since they got there, she hasn't done anything worth while, and in fact has only made things worse, so why lie to herself to make Emily feel better? It seemed hypocritical. But it seemed to work. Emily looked up at Angel, the tears still coming down, but much slower. Angel smiled.

"How...how do you know I can?", Emily asked.

"...because I'm your friend, and friends believe in each other", Angel replied. These words seemed to strike Angel herself just as hard as they did Emily. The words that were coming out of her mouth seemed foreign to her, almost like she wasn't even saying them. In a way, she began to hate herself for acting this way. She was lying to herself, making it appear like she was getting farther in life, when in fact she was probably just as lost and hopeless as she was before. She didn't think it would affect her so much, and yet it did. But she had to hide her true feelings, she couldn't let Emily see the truth.

Emily smiled and began to wipe away her tears.

"That was pretty cheesy, you know that right?", Emily said with a smile and a hint of laughter. Angel giggled back.

"Yeah, I guess so", Angel said. Emily looked up to Angel.

"...Thank you", Emily said. She then stood up and snapped out of her depression. Shinx happily ran up her leg and found itself on her shoulder. "So then, what do we do from here?".

"Well, I guess the only thing we can do is get out of here and meet up with the others...I just hope they're alright", Angel said. Emily nodded. Just then, she spotted the extra Pokeball on Angel's belt.

"Wait, what Pokemon's that? You have Evan's Sharpedo, and another one. Is that Ledyba?", Emily asked. Angel looked down to the Pokeball and shook her head.

"No, actually, I don't know who's Pokemon this is. I found it just when everyone dove out of the way of the explosion, it must be one of the other's", Angel said.

"You don't think it's one of Brian's explosive ones do you?", Emily asked. Angel's eyes grew wide in fear.

"Geez, I didn't even think of that...well, it probably isn't. Brian wasn't that close to the bomb when it went off, he was at the corner of the hall defending against the Rockets. So I don't think so", Angel replied.

"Well either way, you better be careful with it", Emily said. Angel nodded.

"Right", Angel replied. Just then, the sound of the voices came back from the other side of the door. Angel and Emily quickly turned to the door in shock.

"Damn it, we lost her!", one of the voices said.

"Well she couldn't of gotten far, check these rooms, there's a good chance she ran into one of them", another, more gruff voice commanded. They didn't know that Angel was with a friend. Then again, they did only see Angel from atop the pile of debris. Angel quickly ran to the other side of the room and hid behind some junk while Emily slid behind the large water tank. The two kept quiet as the Rockets opened the door and entered the room. There were five of them in total. They all walked into the room and looked around before one of them shut the door behind them. At first they were well hidden in the darkness, Angel and Emily could only make out their dark figures. But then one by one they pulled out flashlights and turned them on, revealing themselves more.

All five of them looked relatively young, the oldest looking to be in his mid twenties. But all five of them looked ruthless and ready for action. They flashed their lights in different directions, trying to get a better look around.

"Do you guys see anything out of the ordinary?", one of the Rockets asked.

"Nah, nothin", one of the Rockets replied. Both Angel and Emily kept quiet, hoping that they wouldn't get spotted. Although their hiding spots weren't the best, the darkness of the room went to their advantage. Eventually, the Rockets would feel like they were wasting their time and just leave to check another room. All they had to do was wait it out and hope for the best.

Angel leaned forward, just enough to be able to hear the Rockets better, when suddenly, she accidentally knocked something over. It was a piece of metal that clanked on the hard on the concrete floor. All five Rockets immediately turned to the source of the sound and flashed their lights towards of the lights managed to land directly onto Angel and the Rocket who controlled it, the oldest one, laughed.

"Peek a boo, I see you!", the Rocket said. The other Rockets laughed.

"Alright, come out you!", another Rocket yelled. Angel didn't want to come out, but knew that she had to. Slowly, she stood up and looked at the Rockets. All five of them got a good look at her and seemed to be more shocked and confused than angry.

"A kid, all this time we were chasing a kid? WHAT THE HELL?", one of the Rockets yelled. Ironically, this was the youngest looking Rocket in the group that said this.

"Sheez, they're letting anybody into the PTA now a days huh?", another Rocket said.

"ENOUGH!", the oldest Rocket yelled. The Rockets all shushed. The older Rocket then looked to Angel. "Alright then little girly, you're going to lead us to your friends, right now!". Angel merely looked at the Rocket with hatred.

"And why would I do that?", Angel asked. The Rocket smirked.

"Why? I'll tell you why", the oldest Rocket said. He then pulled out a pistol and aimed it right to the left side of Angel. He fired the gun and the bullet struck the wall right beside Angel. The bullet ricocheted off the wall and struck some of the junk near her. She jumped in shock from the bullet. The other Rockets laughed. "Because if you _don't _lead me to the others, I'll shoot you dead, and then find them myself. You're all dead anyways, I just figured it would be nice of me to let you see them one last time before you all die", the Rocket answered. Angel was scared, but she wasn't going to help these Rockets, not on her life.

"Well I don't know where they are, and even if I did I wouldn't tell you!", Angel replied. The Rocket's smirk faded away. He looked at Angel with distaste.

"Well then...toodles", the Rocket said. Suddenly, all five Rockets began to glow a bright yellow and they yelled in agony. Angel watched in shock, unsure of what had just happened. When the yellow disappeared, all five Rockets fell to the ground in pain, moaning. From across the room, Angel could see Emily standing, Shinx right in front of her sparking. She had Shinx use a electric attack to save her.

"YOU'RE NOT GOING TO HURT MY FRIENDS! I WON'T LET YOU!", Emily yelled. Shinx yelled back, sparking more. Angel watched this in admiration as the other Rockets slowly got to their senses and looked at Emily in anger.

"So, there were two of them here! That's it, you're both dead!", the older Rocket said. All five Rockets then picked up their guns and prepared to fight. Angel panicked, she couldn't let Emily and Shinx get killed. She tried to think of something to do, but nothing came across, she was too scared and worried. Just then, a sudden feeling coursed through her body. She wasn't sure what it was, it was almost like a out-of-body experience. As if her body was being taken over temporarily, she reached down and pulled out the Pokeball that she had saved from the grenade. Suddenly, the feeling disappeared, and she was back in control. She knew what to do.

"GO POKEBALL!", Angel yelled. She threw the Pokeball forward. It struck the youngest Rocket in the chest, (it sounded like punching a punching bag, the Rocket was well built) and landed on the ground.

"OW!", the Rocket yelled. The Pokeball then burst open. Everyone in the room was blinded temporarily from the light, their eyes were not used to it due to the darkness. When the light vanished, everyone looked around. No Pokemon was in sight. It was obvious that a Pokemon had come out of the ball, otherwise the light would not of appeared; but what the Pokemon was or where it was hiding was unknown to the group. The young Rocket looked around, not seeing anything, and then looked at Angel. "Alright you, you're first!", the Rocket yelled.

Just as the Rocket raised his Uzi at Angel, something large grabbed him from around the neck, causing him to drop his gun and flashlight, and pulled him up. He screamed as he was pulled up to the ceiling; and then vanished in the darkness. The other Rockets all watched in shock and horror. Angel and Emily themselves were afraid as well.

"WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT? IT JUST GRABBED HIM!", one of the Rockets yelled. Suddenly, from the corner of the ceiling closest to the entrance, large purple needles came out of no where and struck the Rocket who had just yelled. They pierced him in the chest, sticking through almost completely. The Rocket looked at them, his eyes wide. He then suddenly began to foam at the mouth and fell to the ground, his eyes bloodshot.

"POISON STING, EVERYONE, WATCH OUT!", the oldest Rocket commanded. The three remaining Rockets became more cautious and looked around, their guns at the ready. They flashed their lights at the ceiling, but found nothing. Angel looked around as well, but couldn't see anything in the darkness. One of the Rockets, farthest away from the door, looked to the other Rockets.

"I SAY WE KILL THESE TWO AND GET OUT OF HERE!", the Rocket yelled. The others nodded and he aimed his gun towards Emily. Emily prepared herself, but just then, something long and large shot out and grabbed the Rocket by his ankles. He fell to the ground hard, dropping his gun, and was dragged towards the darkness of the interior room. He screamed and tried to pull himself away, but had nothing to grip on the ground. The other Rockets immediately began to fire towards whatever was dragging the Rocket, but couldn't tell if they were hitting it.

The Rocket screamed louder and louder as he was being taken away at great speed. All the Rocket had in his hands was his flashlight. In a move of desperation, he turned around and threw the flashlight towards whatever had him. The light only showed a glimmer of large fangs before the flashlight landed far away. The Rocket could now no longer see him. They heard one last blood curdling scream before it was quiet once more. The two last remaining Rockets looked towards the darkness with fear in their eyes.

"WHAT THE HELL DO WE DO?", one of the Rockets asked. Just then, the Rocket was electrocuted. He screamed and was blasted past the other remaining Rocket and into the wall near Angel. The older Rocket turned to see Shinx on the ground, sparking. The Rocket grew angry and as quickly as he could, charged towards the creature. They were within close proximity, so it did not take long for the Rocket to reach Shinx. He swung his leg back and kicked Shinx as hard as he could, sending it flying into the wall right beside Emily. She turned to her Pokemon, her eyes filled with worry.

"SHINX!", Emily yelled. Before she knew what hit her, the Rocket charged into her as well. It knocked the breath right out of her and gave the Rocket the time he needed to grab her. He turned her around and pointed his pistol at her head.

"YOU SHUT UP!", the Rocket yelled to Emily. He then looked around the room with a paranoid look about him. "OK YOU DAMN POKEMON, YOU COME ANYWHERE NEAR US AND WE'LL SHOOT THEM!", the Rocket yelled. The Rocket then looked across the room to the other Rocket, who was just slowly getting up from the blast. They shared eye contact and knew what to do. The Rocket quickly shot up and grabbed Angel before she could even react. He positioned her just like the other Rocket did to Emily.

"YEAH, YOU GOT THAT? YOU COME NEAR US, AND WE KILL THEM!", the younger Rocket yelled. No one else made a noise. They weren't sure if the Pokemon remained still to protect the girls or was merely getting into place to strike again. Angel tried to pull herself free, but the strength of the Rocket was too great. She began to think of a way to escape, and then remembered the fighting lessons Ryoto gave her before they left.

She swung her elbow into the Rocket's stomach, causing the Rocket to lose his grip slightly. This was more than enough to let Angel swing his arm around and kick the Rocket away from her. Unfortunately, she couldn't grab the gun out of his hand. The Rocket stumbled a few feet away and then quickly stopped himself. He turned around and aimed his pistol at Angel.

"WHY YOU LITTLE BRAT!", the Rocket yelled. Just then, a long tail wrapped around the Rocket's waist. The Rocket panicked and yelled as he was pulled into the darkness. Multiple shots were fired before it went silent. The older Rocket remained still, wondering if the other Rocket managed to hit it or not. His heart rate went up and he began to sweat. Suddenly, everyone heard the sound of hissing. They looked to the side of the room, the side filled with darkness. This was the source of the kissing. They watched as a very long and relatively large black Pokemon came out of the darkness, looking at the Rocket, ready to strike. Angel and Emily recognized the Pokemon immediately.

"SEVIPER!", Angel yelled.

"IT MUST BE JONNY'S! ALEKSI MUST OF DROPPED IT IN THE EXPLOSION!", Emily yelled. Seviper slithered towards the Rocket and then stopped, eyeing him down and ready to kill. The Rocket smirked, but was still afraid.

"So, it was you that was killing off my men huh? Well, now I have the upper hand. You so much as stick your tongue out at me the wrong way and I'll blow her brains out!", the Rocket said, gripping Emily tighter. She winced in pain. Seviper remained still, not wanting to let harm come onto Emily. The Rocket then smirked some more, this time in a more cocky way. "Yeah, that's what I thought. Well then, now that I know what the hell you are, I know how to get rid of you". Pressing Emily closer to him, he used his hand with the gun to grab a Pokeball from his belt. He then threw it towards Seviper. It only landed a few feet away from him and Emily due to the lack of mobility in his arms.

The ball burst open and a large and powerful looking Hariyama came out. It thrust its arms forward, ready to fight. The Rocket laughed out loud.

"ALRIGHT HARIYAMA, GO AND BEAT THAT SEVIPER TO A PULP! TACKLE!", the Rocket yelled. Hariyama leaned forward and charged, running at a quick speed for a large Pokemon. Seviper quickly slithered to the side, easily avoiding the Tackle attack. But Hariyama could not stop, it kept charging, towards Angel. Unable to get out of the way in time, Hariyama struck Angel, causing her to fly into the wall behind her.

"ANGEL!", Emily yelled before having her mouth covered by the Rocket's hand. Hariyama looked to Angel, who was in pain and leaning against the wall. It had no intentions to tackle her, but ignored the matter. It turned around and faced Seviper, ready to fight once more. Seviper hissed angrily and flew to Hariyama, wrapping its entire body around it. They fought each other and soon were dragged into the darkness. The sound of both Pokemon struggling echoed throughout the room, but no one could tell if any of them were winning.

Worried over Angel, and wanting to help, Emily thought of how to escape. Her mouth of still covered by the Rocket, so she started with that. With her free hand, she gripped onto his hand tightly and bit down on it as hard as she could. He yelled in pain and loosened his grip on her. She tasted blood in her mouth, but ignored it. She then spun around and punched him in the stomach, and then again quickly in the face. Seeing the opportunity, Emily bent down and picked up Shinx. She then tried to run towards Angel, but was quickly grabbed by her hair. She yelled in pain as the Rocket threw her as hard as he could into the wall behind him.

She kept her grip on Shinx, and looked at the Rocket, who's hand was now bleeding badly and had a look of pure anger. he held his gun in his good hand.

"YOU FUCKING BITCH! I'M GONNA BLOW YOU AWAY!", the Rocket yelled. Emily covered Shinx and prepared for the onslaught. She heard the bullet go off and cringed...but felt no pain. She had heard from other PTA rebels that often you wouldn't feel any pain from getting shot, but she didn't think they were right. She opened her eyes and looked at the Rocket. His eyes were fixated on her, but they no longer looked angry, more like in pain. Suddenly, the Rocket fell forward and onto the floor, dead. Emily seemed confused, but looked up to what was the cause. Angel was leaning against the wall on the other side of the room, her Beretta in hand.

She looked like she was in pain, and somewhat shock over her quick reaction. It was a good thing that she had shooting training with Evan. This would be twice within a matter of minutes that training with the PTA had saved her life. Emily smiled, both relieved and happy. She ran over to Angel's side to check on her.

"Are you alright?", Emily asked. Angel smiled.

"Well...I've felt better!", Angel replied. Emily couldn't help but giggle.

"We should be thankful then that it was only a Tackle attack and not anything more powerful", Emily replied. That reminded her, what of the Pokemon battle? She turned towards the darkness, but heard nothing now. She was so lost in the moment with the other Rocket that she lost her attention towards the other fight. One of the Pokemon must of come out victorious, but which one? Both Emily and Angel kept quiet, waiting for a response.

After a minute or so, the sound of a Pokemon moving caught their attention. It grew louder and louder until the Pokemon came out of the darkness. Seviper. The girls sighed in relief. Hariyama must of fainted. Seviper slithered closer to the girls, a smile on its face. The girls smiled back as well. They had survived.

**WOW! Another one of those longer chapters! I prefer writing my chapters long like this, but I notice a trend where the longest of my chapters in "R" also have the least number of hits and reviews, weird. Anyway, I hope you all liked this little bit here. I have a little bit more in store for the next chapter or two, and then it will be the escape off of New Island! WOOHOO! Afterwards there will be some other things going on, I don't want to give it away really, but I sort of have to. Question to the authors who made OCs, can you play any instruments? If you can't, no problem, if you can, please say so. Please don't make up that you can, I prefer authenticity with the OCs. This question does NOT apply to prettygirl17, TwinkieTUTUS, Kefka VI, or myself, EVAN AAML. The reason why is because I have things in store for your OCs already. The rest of you however, I would like to know. Please and thank you. Not sure when my next update will be, probably sometime before the weekend. Please be sure to F.A.R., and see you all next time!**

**sincerely,  
evan, a fan of aaml -EVAN AAML**


	28. Chapter 28

**Hello one and all, and thank you for your patience! First off, I would like to thank the authors who responded back to my question from the last chapter. As I said, I may or may not even need to use it, but I wanted to make sure just in case for a upcoming section of the story. So thank you for your feedback. Now then, who's ready for a lot more action with a lot more drama with a tinge of comedy and sadness thrown in? I sure am, so let's get to it!**

**-EVAN AAML**

With Emily's help, Angel managed to slowly get up and try to stand. It was difficult at first, but she soon was able to do it without any problems. She was still shaken up from the Tackle, but she would be fine. She then placed the Berreta back onto her belt in the holster, making sure that it wouldn't accidentally go off on her. After she did this, she looked to Emily and noticed that she was still carrying Shinx. In the battle she failed to remember what happened to the little electric Pokemon.

"How's Shinx?", Angel asked, worried for the little Pokemon. Emily looked at Shinx with some concern.

"I don't know. I wish I had a potion or something, but I don't", Emily replied. Angel took off her backpack and began to look around in it. Emily looked at her, hoping that she had something that could help. Angel's eyes suddenly gleamed with joy as she pulled out a small pink spray bottle with a white handle and top.

"Perfect! I have a Hyper Potion! I don't have a lot, but this should do the trick", Angel said. She then handed the bottle over to Emily.

"Thank you", Emily said as she took the bottle. She then bent down and cradled Shinx in her arms. As she did so, she sprayed the bottle onto the spot where the Rocket kicked it. Shinx cringed a bit, showing that it was still alive. Emily applied the spray a couple of times before stopping. She handed the now empty bottle back to Angel who placed it back into her bag. As Angel placed her backpack back on, Emily smiled. "Shinx will be a lot better soon, but I'm putting it in its Pokeball for now though. Shinx won't like it, but I'm not going to let it battle for the rest of this mission", Emily explained.

Emily then pulled out a Pokeball from her belt and returned the little electric Pokemon. She stood up and put the Pokeball back onto her belt. Emily then looked at Angel and smiled.

"Thank you Angel...what you did for me before the Rockets attacked, and what you did for Shinx...I really appreciate it", Emily stated. Angel smiled, blushing slightly.

"Aww, it was nothing", Angel replied. She then turned to the large snake like Pokemon beside her. "And than you Seviper, you really helped us out there!", Angel said. Emily nodded.

"Yep, we couldn't of done it without you!", Emily said. Seviper nodded back to the girls, thanking them in its own way. But then, like a switch, Seviper seemed to change personalities. It looked at Angel with a seemingly depressed look. Angel knew immediately why Seviper acted this way. Angel reached her hand out and rubbed Seviper's head. Seviper leaned into the rub, but then backed away from it. It looked at Angel's hands, and noticed the red bandages.

Angel recalled back to when Aleksi ripped Jonny's bandanna in half to cover her burn marks. Seviper recognized the cloth instantly. She kept her hand out and allowed Seviper to smell the cloth, as if taking in the last scent of its master. Angel didn't get to know Jonny very well, they had only just met before he died, but she already felt a strong connection with him. But she couldn't imagine what pain Seviper must of felt. She didn't know how long Seviper and Jonny had been together, probably for years. The pain seemed unbearable to her.

Without warning, Angel dove into Seviper and hugged it. It was easy for her to wrap her arms around Seviper's body, and she held onto it tightly. Seviper lowered its head and leaned into Angel's body, hugging back in its own way. Emily began to get teary eyed, understanding all to well what the two were going through.

"I'm sorry...Seviper. Jonny was...a great person", Angel whispered. She wasn't sure exactly what Seviper thought of her. It had only seen her the one time during Jonny and Nick's battle training; and did not know what Jonny and Angel did together. But she felt that Seviper knew enough. Slowly, Seviper moved its tail to Angel's waist and pulled off its Pokeball from her belt. Angel released Seviper and watched as it held the Pokeball out to her.

She looked at it for a second, and then back to Seviper. It nodded, which in turn caused Angel to nod back. She held out her hands and Seviper made the Pokeball expand and carefully placed it in her hands. Angel grasped the sphere, and felt a kind of warmth she never had before. It was as if she was feeling more than a mere Pokeball, she was feeling a soul. She felt the same exact way when she first grabbed Seviper's Pokeball to protect Emily from the Rockets.

At that time she was somewhat scared, but now she understood it more, and smiled. She held the Pokeball out towards Seviper, her arm straight and strong. She felt like there was another presence with her, and she knew what it was.

Jonny was right by her side.

"Seviper, return!", Angel called out. Seviper nodded, as if it knew that Jonny was right there with her. The red light shot out from the Pokeball and pulled the large snake Pokemon into it. Once Seviper was gone, Angel looked at the Pokeball. Emily stepped closer to Angel.

"Are you ok?", Emily asked. She did not know what Angel and Seviper knew. Angel smiled.

"Yeah...I'm going to be ok", Angel said. The Pokeball seemed to glimmer in the little light of the room. But Angel didn't have any more time to appreciate it. She had to come back to the present. She shrunk the Pokeball and placed it onto her belt, looking at Emily in the process. "We need to find the others and quick. The Rockets that found us were only a part of the group that attacked us before. Aleksi, Misty, and the others could be in danger". Emily nodded.

"Agreed. Let's get going", Emily said. They ran to the entrance of the boiler room and opened the door, letting the light of the windows shine on through. It revealed more of the room, but the only body that was still visible was that of the older Rocket Angel shot. They ran out of the room and closed the door, leaving the bodies there alone.

The Rockets that followed them must not of told the larger group where they were going, because the hall was empty and quiet. The two girls looked around and saw that they were alone. Emily then quickly grabbed her Pokenav and began to work with it.

"My Pokenav has gone through a lot this mission, I just hope it can last a little bit longer. Shinx gave it a boost earlier, but I won't be able to do that now", Emily commented. She began to type a message to the others, hoping that it would send and that they would reply.

"Jeremy has a Pokenav, you can send the message to him", Angel said. Emily nodded.

"That's good to know, I'll do that", Emily said. She finished the message and sent it. "Ok, I hope they got it. Come on, let's get moving. It's too dangerous to stay in one place too long, especially after we were spotted". Angel nodded and together, the two girls began their run to the others. They kept their eyes and ears open, ready to fight off Rockets if it came to it. But their prime concern was finding the others and escaping New Island with their lives.

Their energy was nearly gone by this point. The PTA have gone through a lot of intense fighting since they left Prof. Oak's lab. Their nerves were at their highest and they hadn't had anything to eat or drink to replenish what they lost. The only thing that was keeping them going was what little adrenaline their body had left and pure will power. With all of this occurring, their bodies would not last much longer. They needed to get out and fast or else they wouldn't be able to keep up the fighting.

As they ran around a corner and made their way down another hall, Emily's Pokenav began to beep. Emily quickly pulled it off of her waist and clicked a button; all while still running. The screen lit up and revealed Jeremy's face. His face was covered in beads of sweat and he looked at Emily with a look of worry.

"EMILY! WHERE ARE YOU GIRLS? ARE YOU ALRIGHT?", Jeremy asked yelling. The sounds of yelling and gunfire could be heard in the background.

"YEAH, WE'RE FINE! WE HAD TO FIGHT OFF SOME ROCKETS, BUT WE MANAGED. WHAT'S GOING ON?", Emily asked.

"WE GOT OURSELVES CAUGHT IN A CROSSFIRE, ROCKETS SURROUNDED US. WE'RE ALL STILL ALIVE, BUT WE NEED YOUR HELP!", Jeremy yelled.

"WHERE ARE YOU?", Emily asked.

"BY THE ELEVATORS, WE WERE GOING TO TAKE THEM TO THE MAIN LOBBY WHEN WE GOT HIT", Jeremy yelled. He then quickly ducked as a bullet zoomed past him. "WHERE ARE YOU?".

"ON THE WAY!", Emily replied. She then put the Pokenav back onto her belt and looked at Angel. "They need our help, let's get moving!", Emily said. Angel nodded and the two girls quickened their pace. The elevators were actually not that far away from their current position, only a few halls away. What they were worried about was where the Rockets were located. If they showed up right in the middle of the crossfire they wouldn't be of much help. They had to appear either behind the Rockets or next to their friends.

They ran through hall after hall until they eventually heard the sound of bullets being fired. The girls prepared themselves for a fight. Soon, they reached another corner and stopped right before it. Emily was in the front and had Angel stay back a foot or so away. She then peeked over the corner and looked down the hall. She could see a bunch of Rockets hiding behind make shift cover. She couldn't see the others, but the Rockets were firing at the right side of the room. She figured they were there. Emily turned back to Angel.

"Alright, I see the Rockets. Unfortunately they're a bit of a distance away. If we just go running down there they'll see us before we can reach them", Emily explained.

"Then, what do we do?", Angel asked. Emily thought for a moment. She then got an idea.

"We hit them with a long range attack!", Emily said. She then reached down and grabbed a Pokeball off of her belt. She opened it and out popped a little grass Pokemon, a Bulbasaur. It shook itself for a moment and then looked at Emily, ready for action. "Bulbasaur, charge up for a Solar Beam attack!", Emily said. Bulbasaur nodded and began to capture light from around the room and forming it at the tip of the bulb on its back. As Emily kept an eye on the Rockets down the hall and as Angel covered their backs, Bulbasaur continued to gather the energy required for the attack.

Because they were not in direct sunlight, it took a bit longer for the attack to completely charge. But soon enough, it was ready. Bulbasaur could not hold it for long though, so they needed to make it quick.

"Ok Bulbasaur, get into position!", Emily said. Bulbasaur nodded and ran out into the hallway, its bulb aimed down the hall. "FIRE!", Emily yelled. Bulbasaur launched the Solar Beam attack down the hall. The girls covered themselves for the blast. They heard the explosion and the sound of things crashing. After a few seconds, Emily peeked back out and looked down the hall. All she could see was destruction.

"Alright, looks like we're in the clear, let's go and see", Emily said. Angel nodded. The two girls then ran down the hall; Bulbasaur right by their side. They stopped right before entering the room, just in case someone shot at them when they entered. The destruction of the room was great. The Rocket bodies were against the wall and covered by what remains of the furniture and cover they had.

"YOU GUYS THERE?", Emily yelled.

"YEAH, COME ON OUT!", someone yelled. It was Misty. Emily sighed and Emily popped out, followed by Angel and Bulbasaur. Misty and the others were also hiding behind make-shift cover, right beside the elevators. Bullet holes were scattered all around them. Misty stood up and smiled. "Glad to see you're both alright", Misty said. Emily nodded.

"Same for you", Emily said.

"And thank you Bulbasaur!", Dawn stated to the little grass Pokemon. Bulbasaur smiled, glad to be of help. Emily turned to her little Pokemon and smiled as well.

"Yes, thank you Bulbasaur, we couldn't of done it without you, return!", Emily said. She pulled out a Pokeball and returned Bulbasaur.

"So what happened?", Angel asked as Emily placed the Pokeball back onto her belt.

"After we got separated, we were chased the entire way here by the majority of the Rockets. We tried to look for you, but were surrounded", Misty said.

"What about you girls? What happened to you?", Aleksi asked.

"Oh, we got into a _little _bit of trouble, but nothing we couldn't handle", Emily said, winking at Angel, she smiled back. The others seemed confused by this, but were at least glad they were alright. Angel then remembered something.

"Oh!", Angel said. She went to her side and pulled off a Pokeball from her belt. She then walked over and held it out to Aleksi. "Here's Seviper, you must of dropped it from the explosion". Aleksi looked at it wide eyed. She didn't even realize she dropped it.

"Wow, thank you!", Aleksi said. She then reached out to take it, but then stopped. She looked at Angel for a moment and then smiled. "...on second thought, why don't you hold onto it? Obviously you're doing a better job than I did. It'll help you", Aleksi said. Angel smiled.

"Ok then, I will", Angel replied. She placed the ball back onto her belt.

"Well, not to ruin the sentimental moment here...but can we get going?", Jeremy asked. The others all looked at him.

"He's right, we should regroup with the others", Brian said. The others all nodded. There were two elevators in total, both of them had the same number of floors they could go to. Instead of risking everyone in one elevator, they decided to break off between the two. Misty, Angel, Aleksi, and Jeremy went into the elevator to the right while Brian, Michael, Tracy, Dawn, and Emily went to the one on the left.

"See you guys at the lobby", Dawn said to the other elevator car.

"Or in the afterlife", Jeremy replied morbidly. The doors closed and Misty clicked the button to go to the main lobby. The elevator made a ringing sound and then went on its way.

"Where do the elevators let out in the main lobby? Do any of you know?", Misty asked the group.

"I think they come out across from the desks on the left hand side of the lobby. I thought I saw a glimmer of them when we first entered the base", Aleksi explained. Misty sighed.

"That would put us right by the line of fire. If the fighting isn't completely done, then we're in trouble", Misty said.

"I hope that the others are alright. Do you think that everyone is already there?", Angel asked.

"Well, by now May's group would of finished their mission with the downloads. It's just a matter of knowing if they were successful or not. But if they were, then they should of regrouped with the distraction unit. So not including us, all surviving PTA rebels _should _be there waiting for us", Misty said. To Angel, it seemed morbid and somewhat cold in fact that Misty was talking about their possibly deceased friends like it was not a big deal. She merely spoke of it like anything ordinary. But then again, to them, this _was _the ordinary. Misty and the others would of grown used to the deaths of their friends, especially for a mission as big as this one. They went in knowing that a lot of them wouldn't be coming back. Angel just hoped that by the end of this, she wouldn't have to think that way either.

"So Misty, how are we going to get off the island? Your ship is gone", Aleksi asked.

"Well, we will have to either make room onto the other two boats or ride a Pokemon all the way to Ash and the others. It won't be a easy ride, but it's definitely possible. Me, Ash, and Tracy rode a Lapras all through the Orange Archipelago back when we were traveling together. This was of course before Team Rocket's time. The only problem with it is that we didn't have as bad of currents way back then. And those who aren't experienced with riding a Pokemon could find themselves in trouble", Misty explained.

"To be honest, I don't think that it will be that big of a problem", Jeremy said. The girls all looked at him. "In all honesty, we lost a lot of rebels trying to take down this base. I don't think space will be a big issue at this point". All three girls gave him a look of disappointment. They knew that it was true to a point, but Jeremy said it in a way that almost seemed uncaring. He noticed this very quickly and sighed. "Sorry".

"It's alright, I guess it shouldn't be that hard for us to be thinking the same thing. Not in these times anyway", Misty said.

"Ok, here's another question...just how long do you think it will take for the reinforcements to get here?", Aleksi asked. This question seemed to confuse Jeremy and Angel, although Misty understood it.

"What do you mean?", Jeremy asked.

"I mean, Team Rocket is sending back up here, as quickly as they can", Aleksi said.

"She's right. We took down communications and killed a bunch of Rockets, but there's no way to completely shut off this island from the outside world. Some Rockets are bound to know of the fighting going on here, and are probably alerting the head base as we speak. I would give it a couple of hours before this entire island is either completely swarming with high level Rockets and killers, or completely wiped off the map", Misty explained. Angel gasped, Jeremy gulped.

"Oh, well then, how about we get going then huh, what's taking this elevator so long?", Jeremy asked. Just then, the elevator suddenly stopped moving. It made another dinging sound and the doors opened up. The others looked at the doors in a suspicious and confused manner. "Uh, that wasn't me was it?", Jeremy asked. Aleksi looked up at the lights above the elevator door and saw that they were still a few levels above the main lobby.

"No, we just stopped for some reason", Aleksi replied.

"Did the power go out?", Angel asked. She noticed that the area they were dropped off at had no lights on. Aleksi shook her head.

"No. It if were, then the lights wouldn't be on in here, and the doors wouldn't of opened", Aleksi answered. Misty stepped out of the elevator and onto their new floor. Next to her, Tracy and Dawn stepped out of their elevator. They too were suddenly stopped short.

"Any idea what's going on?", Tracy asked.

"Not a clue", Misty replied, shaking her head. The hall was dark, not a single light was on. Both elevators ended up only leading to a single hall that led to a single door. The hall itself was short and had nothing in it. Everyone wondered what was going on, unsure if this was a trap or an accident. They all stepped out of the elevator, cautiously looking around.

"I don't like this", Aleksi said.

"Me either", Misty replied. Jeremy and Brian pulled out their guns and readied them for anything. Dawn looked down the hall and noticed the door ahead of them.

"There's a door down there", Dawn pointed out. The others looked at it. Tracy then looked back to the elevators.

"Well, I don't think we're going to be able to go down these elevators again anytime soon, so we might as well check this out", Tracy exclaimed. The others nodded.

"You realize that this is probably a trap right?", Michael said.

"Do we have a choice?", Misty asked. Michael shrugged, seeing her point. He reached for his belt and pulled off two larger throwing knives. Aleksi pulled her bow out and prepared it for combat. "Is everyone ready?", Misty asked. The group all nodded, their weapons or Pokeballs at the ready. Misty nodded back. "Ok then...let's go", Misty said. Slowly, the group of rebels progressed down the hall and made their way to the door. As they reached it, they all made themselves ready. Misty put her hand on the door handle and turned it, beads of sweat coming down her head.

The door clicked open. She was at least relieved that the door wasn't rigged to explode. She pushed the door open gently and the group looked inside. It was too dark to see exactly what the entire room was; but they were able to make out a large white circle in the center of the room's floor. Misty opened the door entirely and the others all got a better view.

"What is this?", Jeremy asked confused.

"I don't know...but I think it's a...Pokemon field", Misty replied.

"HOW RIGHT YOU ARE!", someone suddenly yelled out. Everyone looked around, ready for a fight and wondering who it was that yelled. Suddenly, lights began to turn on from the ceiling above; lighting the entire room. The large field was revealed. It was grey in color, meaning it was a basic training field for no Pokemon type in particular. It was however a bit wider than a normal field; it must of been made for double battles. Above the field and across from the rebels was a ledge overlooking the entire room. Misty kept her eyes on it, and in time, two bodies emerged from the darkness behind it. She gasped once she recognized them.

"It's...you", Misty said. The others looked at Misty confused, and then back up to the ledge. Tracy also recognized them and gasped. The others on the other hand, did not.

"Haven't seen you nuisances in awhile", one of the two said. The two figures were both Rockets, one male, the other female. The female was the one doing the talking so far. She had long golden hair that reached her mid back and purple eyes. She smiled with a wicked, cocky grin. She wore a black and grey outfit with the letter "R" across the front. The "R" however was not the traditional bright red that the normal Rocket would wear, but a much darker red.

The male Rocket was just as tall as the female, but had green hair, much like Drew. He had brown eyes that seemed to show the same evil that the girls did. His outfit was the same as hers, even down to the dark red "R".

"It's Cassidy!", Misty said to the others.

"And Botch!", Tracy said. The male Rocket looked at Tracy angrily.

"It's Butch! All these years and you STILL can't get it right!", the Rocket yelled. He then suddenly recollected his cool and snickered. "Not like it matters, you won't need to remember it where you're going!". Angel looked at Misty and Tracy confused.

"You know these two Rockets?", Angel asked. Dawn seemed just as confused as the others.

"I never met them either. I was expecting _another _Rocket duo", Dawn stated. Misty nodded, gritting her teeth.

"Yes. We dealt with them a couple of times, before the Rocket takeover. Back then they were nothing more than an annoyance. But I haven't seen them since then", Misty said.

"So congratulations on making it this far alive, we're quite impressed. You kiddies sure have come a long way from when we last saw you", Cassidy stated with a smirk.

"But a lot has changed since then, before we were just grunts without any powerful Pokemon. _Now_, we're Rocket Commanders, third strongest in Team Rocket and the leaders of the base here on New Island!", Butch exclaimed, filled with a cocky confidence. Brian smirked.

"Oh, only third strongest? Is that all?", Brian asked. Butch and Cassidy merely snickered while looking down at them. They were a lot different from when Misty and Tracy last saw them. They had a lot more confidence in themselves, and they didn't get angered nearly as easily. This worried them both. Just how much stronger were they? Could they still be taken down relatively easily? Or would this be much harder than they anticipated?

"You may have big talk now, but you won't be saying that after we defeat you", Cassidy said.

"So what? You two against all of us in a Pokemon battle?", Misty asked. Butch shook his head and wagged his finger.

"Not quite, it's going to be three on three, a fight to the death. Three of you versus us and another Rocket Commander here", Butch explained. Cassidy and Butch then stepped apart from each other, making a gap between them. Everyone from below watched as a figure stepped out of the shadows and into the light. It was another female Rocket, but this one looked younger than Cassidy. For a reason unknown to them, this Rocket Commander had a bandage around her head. She eyed the rebels down with a cocky grin, but it seemed like she also showed signs of hatred. It seemed like she had fought someone else here already.

"PTA, meet our second in command here...Calamity Jane!", Cassidy said, introducing the girl. The others merely looked at her with a mix of worry, disgust, and caution. She didn't say anything, she only looked at the rebels and allowed Butch and Cassidy to do the talking.

"You see, Jane here already had a little run in with some of your rebel friends here. They were trying to take information from the databases downstairs. And now, she's looking for a little bit of revenge; so we're going to help her get it", Butch said. Dawn stepped forward, closer to Misty. Tracy did the same.

"If she was defending the databases, that means that she fought May and Drew's squad!", Dawn said.

"They could be in more trouble than we realized, we need to finish this and get out of here as fast as we can", Tracy said. Misty continued to look up at the Rockets, but had heard everything her team mates had said. She took one step forward to the Rockets.

"What makes you think that we won't just gang up on you? Obviously Jane is worn out from her earlier battle, and we have the upper hand!", Misty said to them. All three Rockets laughed out loud. This only angered Misty. She wasn't sure if they were laughing out of sheer pride and arrogance, or if they knew something she didn't. Either way it scared her.

"Oh, I'm _pretty _sure that your friends won't interfere", Calamity Jane said.

"She's right...unfortunately", Aleksi said. Misty, Dawn, and Tracy turned around and gasped. Standing behind their squad, nearly completely hidden in the shadows, were Rocket grunts. They had guns and knives pointed into the backs of the rebels, and some of them had them pointed at Misty and the other two. They all laughed out loud, enjoying the look of shock on their faces. How were they able to sneak up on them without them noticing?

"GUYS! NO!", Misty yelled out. Despite their current position, the captured rebels remained calm, (except for Jeremy, who remained still, but was obviously nervous).

"Listen, don't worry about us", Michael said. The Rocket who held a knife to his throat held him tighter into it, but he continued to talk. "Just hurry up and defeat them", Michael said.

"He's right, we'll be fine", Brian said with a smile, although he felt like he was lying to himself. The Rocket behind him had a gun pointed to his back, and he was sure that at least one other Rocket had something aimed at him. Misty, Dawn, and Tracy became worried for their comrades, but there was nothing they could do for them now. If they tried to do anything about it they would certainly get killed. They all turned to the Rocket Commanders above them.

"Ok, you win. Three on three. Once we beat you, we'll get off of this island", Misty said. The three Rockets all snickered.

"We'll see about that", Cassidy said. All three of them then jumped off from the ledge and landed onto the battlefield without any problems at all. They landed on one end of the Pokemon field, where trainers would normally stand for a battle.

"Now then, why don't you all step forward into your trainer box and choose your Pokemon. Three on three, each trainer is allowed only one Pokemon and no one can recall them", Butch said, explaining their rules. Misty, Dawn, and Tracy stepped forward, onto the trainer box. They each grabbed a Pokeball and held it in their hands.

"You guys ready for this?", Misty asked. Dawn and Tracy nodded.

"Yeah, we can do this", Dawn said.

"We'll have to work as a team for this one. We don't know how much more powerful Cassidy and Butch got, and who knows what kind of battling skills that other girl has. We'll need to be on our toes the entire time", Tracy said. The girls nodded in agreement. They then pulled back and threw their Pokeballs forward.

"GO STARMIE!", Misty yelled.

"GO QUILAVA!", Dawn yelled.

"GO SCYTHER!", Tracy yelled.

All three Pokeballs landed on the ground and burst open. Their respected Pokemon came out, ready for battle. The three Rocket Commanders only smiled more, they were fairly confident in their victory. They grabbed their own Pokeballs and threw them.

"GO HOUNDOUR!", Cassidy yelled.

"GO HITMONTOP!", Butch yelled.

"GO SPIRITOMB!", Jane yelled.

Their Pokemon came out of their Pokeballs in the same fashion as the rebels, just as ready to fight. However, something seemed different about Cassidy and Butch's Pokemon. They seemed angry, enraged in fact. Misty, Tracy, and Dawn took notice of this.

"You see what I see?", Tracy asked the girls. They nodded.

"Yeah, enraged", Misty said.

"Their Pokemon must of gone through the "Rage Project" that Prof. Oak is forced to work on", Dawn exclaimed.

"You're right twerp!", Cassidy yelled. The Rockets were listening in on their conversation.

"You foiled our plan to enrage Lugia back in Johto, but ever since we took over, Dr. Namba has done much more research on the "Rage Project". This is just part of his project", Butch explained.

"Instead of large crowns that induce the rage in Pokemon, Namba managed to shrink the size to a mere circle on the back of their heads. It also has twice the power as the original product. That means our Pokemon are three times more powerful than normal, and more than a match for your pathetic Pokemon", Cassidy exclaimed.

"Unfortunately, the device is yet able to be placed on ghost type Pokemon, but Spiritomb here is more than powerful enough to do well without it", Calamity Jane explained. The other rebels who were being held by the Rocket grunts looked on in anger.

"THEY PUT THEIR POKEMON THROUGH THAT TORTURE?", Michael yelled in anger.

"THOSE DIRTY, ROTTEN BASTARDS!", Brian yelled, just as angered. Angel looked on in both shock and pity. Those poor Pokemon were put through such a horrible project. They looked like they were no longer even living beings. More like puppets, created only for destruction and a lust for blood. Unlike the Pokemon Angel noticed on the roof, these Pokemon looked like they had no chance at all of being rescued. They were Pokemon who lost their souls. She nearly cried at the sight. But suddenly, she heard a voice.

"I know it's hard Angel, but you need to stay strong", the voice said. Angel turned to see that the voice came from Aleksi. She looked on at the Rockets in anger, but unlike the guys, kept her cool. She must of been more experienced in these kind of situations. "I've seen a few Pokemon that have gone through this torture. It's not a pretty sight. But no matter how much torture and pain Team Rocket puts them through, all Pokemon can be saved. You just have to know how".

Angel looked at Aleksi, unsure if she was right. But seeing the look in her eyes, she knew without a doubt that what she said was true.

The look of hope.

"I just hope that Misty, Tracy, and Dawn know how to save them, and thereby, save all of us", Aleksi finished. The three Rockets all smiled, revealing a more devilish appearance than before. It was as if the mere thought of battle changed them into demons. They all began to laugh maniacally.

"LET THE BATTLE BEGIN!", the Rocket Commanders yelled, their Pokemon beginning the charge.

**I bet you guys didn't see that coming did you? Butch, Cassidy, AND the return of Calamity Jane! I love throwing curve balls at the readers! "With the sudden appearance of Butch, Cassidy, and Calamity Jane, will Misty, Dawn, and Tracy be able to stop them and save the others? Will the remaining rebels realize the danger and come to the rescue? And will the PTA be able to escape before Team Rocket arrives? Find out next time on EVAN AAML's "R"!". Anyway, my apologies for having this chapter out so late. As stated in my last chapter, this was supposed to be out days ago. Unfortunately, I had a really busy weekend. Friday was both my mom AND brother's birthday, Saturday I spent the day with my girlfriend and her family, and of course Sunday was Father's Day. So needless to say, I wasn't working on the story much. But I hope I made up for it with a thrilling battle soon to begin. I had always intended to have Butch and Cassidy appear in the story for the "New Island" arch; but I wasn't sure when to put them in. I unfortunately forgot about them until just recently, so it seems like I'm just throwing them in at the last second...well I am. Rest assured though, it will be a thrilling battle, but not so long where it will take up like 3 chapters. So I hope you all enjoyed it, please be sure to tell other readers about it, and be sure to F.A.R.! Until then, this is EVAN AAML, saying happy belated Father's Day, and I'll see you next time!**

**sincerely,  
evan, a fan of aaml -EVAN AAML**


	29. Chapter 29

**How are you all doing? Ready for another thrilling installment of "R"? I hope so, cause whether you are or aren't, HERE IT IS! I'm glad to see that a lot of you are liking the recent chapters, and I hope you'll like the ones to come. A.N.- I came to the realization that apparently, Dawn actually met Cassidy and Butch in the T.V. series. I did not realize this at the time I was writing the chapter, so my apologies. I did watch most of the Diamond and Pearl series, but I sort of stopped around the end of it, and did not even realize that Ash went to Unova until a few months ago. Needless to say, I sort of just stopped watching them, I find it sad at what's become of the show since I used to watch it. But it's too late now, so I'm just going to roll with it. It's not a big deal really, but I just felt like putting that out there. Also, there is a chance that I will be updating a little bit more frequently next week, for my girlfriend will be away for Girl's State, and will not be here for the week. (sigh, :[). Anyway, here's the next chapter! Hope you enjoy!**

**-EVAN AAML**

The six trainers all looked at each other from across the field. Butch was across from Tracy, Cassidy across from Misty, and Jane across from Dawn. The rebels' nerves were high, there was a lot riding on this battle. Although their backs were to their friends, they knew that they were all rooting for them. Misty glanced back to the trainers momentarily. The grunts were still holding onto them tightly, their weapons at the ready. The slightest sign of an attempted rescue could result in their deaths. They had to make this quick. Misty brought her attention back to the Pokemon ahead of them.

Hitmontop and Houndour were both extremely powerful Pokemon due to the rage device stuck to the back of their heads. On top of that, they had a Ghost type Pokemon in Spiritomb, which would most certainly cause a lot more trouble for them. Misty had confidence in her Pokemon and the Pokemon of Tracy and Dawn; but they were not fully prepared for what could happen to them in this battle.

Just another day at the office.

"Since we're such nice guys, we'll let you all have the first move", Cassidy said. Misty looked at Cassidy with some frustration. They were so confident in winning. Were their Pokemon really _that _powerful? She wasn't sure, but she didn't want to prolong the battle to find out.

"Fine then, you guys ready?", Misty asked.

"Ready!", Dawn exclaimed.

"Ready!", Tracy exclaimed as well.

"Ok, let's go!", Misty yelled. "Starmie, Water Gun on Houndour!". Starmie pointed its top arm towards Houndour and fired a jet of water towards the fire dog. The Rockets didn't even seem the slightest bit concerned.

"Spiritomb, Psychic!", Calamity Jane said with all the signs of calmness. Spiritomb began to glow purple and laughed out loud. The Water Gun suddenly began to glow a bright purple as well, and immediately changed coarse. It turned around and directed itself straight towards Quilava.

"QUILAVA! DODGE, THEN SWIFT AT HOUNDOUR!", Dawn commanded in a hurry. Quilava dove to the side to avoid the approaching water and then jumped in the air, firing multiple stars at the Pokemon. Houndour remained still, not moving an inch. Just then, Hitmontop jumped into the path of the attack and began to spin on its head. It swung its legs around like a top and hit the stars. They were sent flying in all directions of the room, crashing into the walls and ceiling and sending debris down.

"HITMONTOP STOPPED MY ATTACK!", Dawn yelled in shock.

"BUT NOW IT CAN'T FOCUS ITS ATTACK, IT'S WIDE OPEN! SCYTHER, GO! FALSE SWIPE!", Tracy yelled. Scyther flew in towards Hitmontop at great speed. Hitmontop was still spinning, but was unaware of the Pokemon coming in. Scyther raised both of its bladed arms out and prepared to strike. Once again though, the Rockets weren't the least bit worried.

"Spiritomb!", Jane yelled. She didn't even need to call out an attack. Spiritomb fired another Psychic wave, this time at the quickly approaching mantis Pokemon. It stopped Scyther dead in its tracks, right before it could strike the spinning Hitmontop.

"Now then, Houndour, Flamethrower!", Cassidy said. Houndour turned slightly towards the frozen Scyther and opened its mouth. Scyther tried to dodge, but it was too close, and still could not move from the Psychic. Houndour fired a jet of flames at Scyther, blasting it back towards the others. It landed on the ground, burn marks showing in multiple spots on its body. The attack was very powerful, and Scyther was weak to fire type attacks.

"NO, SCYTHER!", Tracy yelled. Scyther began to stand up, but obviously found it difficult. Although it managed to get on its feet, it was panting heavily and slouching. Team Rocket on the other hand, gave no time for them to take a breath.

"Spiritomb, Will-O-Wisp!", Calamity Jane ordered. Spiritomb laughed once more and many balls of dark flames began to form out of no where. Once they were large and plentiful enough, it launched them towards the three Pokemon at great speed.

"STARMIE, WHIRLPOOL, NOW!", Misty called out.

"QUILAVA, HIDE IN THE POOL WITH STARMIE!", Dawn ordered.

"YOU TOO SCYTHER!", Tracy demanded. The two Pokemon dove right to the sides of Starmie just as it released a large whirlpool onto the field. The three Pokemon remained safe inside the spinning vortex as the balls of flames were immediately extinguished upon contact with the attack. Jane however, only smirked.

"A perfect distraction", Jane said. The three rebel trainers looked at her in shock and gasped. Butch laughed.

"Hitmontop, Earthquake!", Butch ordered. Hitmontop stopped spinning around and immediately jumped high in the air towards the Whirlpool. It held one of its legs out and made a bee line for the ground. With one mighty blow, Hitmontop struck the ground, causing a large crack to appear and head towards the whirlpool. The crack went under the whirlpool and the three Pokemon fell into the ground. The crack continued to move, going between Tracy and Misty and hitting the wall behind them. This caused Starmie to lose control of its Whirlpool and the large vortex fell into the ground with the Pokemon. All three of them tried to pull themselves out of the current caused by the water seeping into the large cracks.

"QUILAVA!", Dawn yelled in worry.

"SCYTHER, NO!", Tracy yelled.

"STARMIE!", Misty yelled. The water finally managed to go entirely through the ground, but it left the Pokemon in a heap on the rocks. The Rocket Commanders all laughed.

"Ok, let's see if we can end this now, Houndour!", Cassidy called out.

"Spiritomb!", Jane called out as well.

"Shadow Ball Attack!", both girls called out in unison, still maintaining their calm and cocky attitude. Houndour opened its mouth as Spiritomb began to form dark spheres. As quickly as they could, both Pokemon launched multiple Shadow Balls into the cracks, striking down the Pokemon and the rocks around them hard. They all yelled in agony as the attacks continued. Their trainers could only watch in horror as their Pokemon were nearly beaten to death by these attacks. Soon though, the Shadow Balls stopped, leaving nothing but a trail of destruction.

None of the rebels in the room could believe their eyes. These Pokemon were beyond human comprehension. Not even legendaries could possibly be this powerful, could they? Misty, Dawn, and Tracy could only watch in horror, their eyes wide open in shock and their hearts sinking in their chests. Their Pokemon's lives were hanging by a thread, as were their allies behind them.

Their Pokemon slowly began to crawl out of the wreckage. All three of them were battered and bruised. Blood came out of several cuts on their bodies. Scyther and Quilava panted heavily while Starmie's center jewel began to blink on and off, showing how weak it was.

"What do we do? We can't possibly compare to those Pokemon!", Dawn asked the others. They kept their voices down, hoping that the Commanders wouldn't be able to hear them.

"I know, their power is unbelievable!", Tracy exclaimed.

"It doesn't matter how powerful they are, we have to take them down!", Misty stated. Dawn and Tracy nodded.

"Right, but how do we go about doing that?", Dawn asked.

"Well, at this point, we'll have to rely heavily on their weaknesses. Hitmontop is a fighting type, which means that it's weak to Psychic attacks. Starmie and do those", Misty pointed out. Tracy nodded.

"Right, and Spiritomb is a ghost type, so it has to be weak against Psychic attacks!", Tracy stated. Dawn shook her head.

"No, not that one", Dawn said. Tracy and Misty looked at Dawn confused. "Spiritomb is a Sinnoh Pokemon, I know more about it. It's one of the few Pokemon that doesn't have a known weakness to a Pokemon type". Misty sighed.

"That's not good. And Houndour is a dark type, so it's resistant to Psychic attacks", Misty further explained. Misty then looked back to the ghost type Pokemon. "But still, the key to winning _does _lie in us defeating Spiritomb first". Tracy nodded, but Dawn seemed confused.

"How so?", Dawn asked.

"If you noticed, Spiritomb was mostly using defensive type attacks to protect itself and the other Pokemon, that means that it's probably not that strong physically, or it can't take a whole lot of damage", Misty explained. Tracy nodded.

"That's right. Plus, remember what Calamity Jane said", Tracy said. Even Misty seemed confused by this statement, and both girls looked at Tracy, waiting for an answer. "She said that the rage inducing device can't be placed on a ghost Pokemon, so that means that Spiritomb isn't using one. It's not nearly as powerful as the other two Pokemon. So they use Spiritomb mostly as a defense while Hitmontop does close combat and Houndour attacks from a distance. It's a perfect combination".

"I see. So if we take down their defensive Pokemon, then the other two will be open for attacks. Furthermore, if we can find a way to destroy the devices, their Pokemon will be a lot weaker, and we can win!", Dawn exclaimed.

"Exactly. But it's not going to be as easy as it sounds. We need to use a lot of team work here, are you ready?", Misty asked. The other two nodded.

"Ready as ever!", Dawn said.

"Let's finish this!", Tracy stated. The three Rocket Commanders all laughed at their new found confidence.

"Look at them, they came up with some kind of plan and they think it will actually work!", Cassidy said, laughing out loud obnoxiously.

"Listen punks, you have no idea what you're in for! Why don't you give up now and we'll promise to make your deaths quick and painless!", Butch exclaimed with a sneer. Calamity Jane laughed; not so much in a obnoxious way like Cassidy but more like a terrifying manner.

"Well, _you _may promise, but _I _certainly don't promise the same thing!", Jane called out. The trio then started to laugh uncontrollably.

"I'd hold that laughter while you can, because we're about to win this battle!", Dawn yelled out. "Quilava, Flame Wheel on Spiritomb, let's go!". Quilava was still very much injured from the previous attacks, but shook it off and began to run towards Spiritomb, engulfed in flames. Calamity Jane laughed.

"Oh please, like that'll work! Spiritomb, Psychic!", Jane yelled out. Spiritomb laughed out loud as it began to glow purple once more. Just before Quilava could strike, it was captured in the attack and froze in mid air. Jane only laughed more. "You see, it's futile!". Dawn however smirked.

"Who said I was trying to attack? I was _hoping _you would stop the Flame Wheel!", Dawn said. Calamity Jane's eyes grew wide upon hearing this. "MISTY, NOW!", Dawn yelled. Misty nodded.

"STARMIE, PSYCHIC ATTACK ON SPIRITOMB!", Misty yelled. While Quilava quickly approached Spiritomb, Starmie managed to get closer to the ghost Pokemon without the other Pokemon paying much attention. Starmie began to glow and Spiritomb became worried. Cassidy however, quickly responded.

"HOUNDOUR, GET IN THE LINE OF FIRE!", Cassidy commanded. Houndour immediately ran in-between Starmie and Spiritomb, holding its ground. The Psychic attack struck Houndour, who growled as it was engulfed in the purple glow. But soon, Houndour began to growl louder and louder, shaking violently. Until suddenly, it howled out loud and broke free of the Psychic attack. Misty gasped. They were prepared for a Psychic attack on Spiritomb!

Cassidy only giggled more, causing the others to get angry. She looked at them with a new appearance in her eyes. It wasn't the same type of cocky attitude look; it was as if she had become possessed by something evil. Her eyes looked like they were out for blood. She smirked.

"NONE OF YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT'S IN STORE FOR YOU! YOU'RE GOING TO PAY DEARLY! HOUNDOUR, THUNDER FANG!", Cassidy yelled. Houndour began to growl and its teeth suddenly became engulfed in electricity. It ran high speed towards Starmie. Normally it would dodge by using a Psychic attack, but it was a slow Pokemon otherwise out of water. There was no way to dodge this attack. Tracy knew this, and acted fast.

"SCYTHER, STOP THE ATTACK USING SWORDS DANCE!", Tracy yelled. Scyther flew in towards Houndour, spinning around with its blades at the ready.

"Oh no you don't, Hitmontop, counter attack!", Butch ordered. Hitmontop jumped up and immediately began to spin towards Scyther. Just before it could stop Houndour, Hitmontop struck Scyther, causing the two to strike each other back and forth due to their momentum. This allowed Houndour to come in for the attack. It jumped in the air and prepared to bite down hard.

"NO! STARMIE, WATER GUN NOW!", Misty yelled. Starmie pointed its arm at Houndour and prepared to fire. Calamity Jane knew immediately what to do.

"Spiritomb, put Quilava between the attacks!", Jane commanded. Spiritomb laughed maniacally as it used its Psychic attack to fling Quilava towards Starmie. Within a matter of a couple seconds, Quilava was in-between Starmie's Water Gun and Houndour. Misty and Dawn gasped as Starmie hit Quilava with the water attack. As Quilava took the hit, Houndour jumped onto its back and used it as a platform to dive at Starmie. It reached the star Pokemon and bit down hard, causing the electricity to enter the Pokemon's body.

Meanwhile, Scyther and Hitmontop were exchanging quick blows after quick blows. Their spinning attacks made the strikes nearly impossible to see. Tracy became worried, unsure of how to go about attacking. Butch on the other hand smirked.

"Ok, enough fooling around Hitmontop, SAND STORM NOW!", Butch yelled. As Hitmontop continued to spin, it suddenly began to fire sand out at Scyther. The quick moving sand caused Scyther to stop spinning and merely block the kicks. But the spinning Hitmontop was much to quick for it, and Scyther eventually found itself being pummeled by the kicks and thrown far away from the fight towards Tracy.

"SCYTHER!", Tracy yelled. Meanwhile, Houndour stepped over to the badly injured Starmie and placed its paw down onto the center of its body. It growled and opened its mouth, preparing to fire a fire ball onto the Pokemon. Misty panicked. Starmie was too weak to defend itself at this point. Cassidy laughed.

"Ok Houndour, finish it!", Cassidy ordered. Houndour's fire ball increased to full size. Dawn saw this and knew she had to do something.

"NO! QUILAVA, FLAMETHROWER!", Dawn yelled. Quilava was on the ground in pain, but managed to look up at Houndour. It slowly raised its head and opened its mouth, firing a beam of fire. It struck Houndour in the side of the head just as it was about to release the fire ball. This caused the dog Pokemon to fire the ball away from Starmie and towards the others. It flew at tremendous speed past Misty and Dawn and struck a Rocket grunt in the chest. This grunt stood between the grunts holding Emily and Michael and was blasted backwards into the wall. He screamed in agony as he was engulfed in flames, throwing his arms every which way, trying to put out the fire.

The grunts watched in shock and horror as the Rocket fell to the ground, still burning. The Rocket Commanders however looked at the grunts in anger.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING? GET OUT OF THE WAY OF THE ATTACKS! MOVE TO THE SIDE AND BRING THEM WITH YOU!", Cassidy commanded. The grunts were still shaken up about the fire, but did as they were told. With the rebels in tow, they marched on over to the side of the field. Now they were to the right of Misty, Dawn, and Tracy. Calamity Jane gave no time for the Pokemon to rest however, and looked to the other two Pokemon remaining.

"SPIRITOMB, OMINOUS WIND!", Jane yelled. Spiritomb laughed and suddenly began to create a eerie wind storm. Houndour jumped out of the way just in time for Spiritomb to launch the attack. The wind struck Quilava and Starmie hard, causing them to fly away and crash down hard on the ground, near the large crack caused by the Earthquake attack.

The two Pokemon were barely moving at this point. How they were even still alive was nothing short of a miracle. Tracy's Scyther was fairing no better, just barely being able to stand, let alone move. Within all of this time, they were only able to land one solid hit on any of their Pokemon, and it was a weak one at that. Misty gritted her teeth, trying to think of a way out of this.

Their plan to take out their defenses failed. The Rocket Commanders were much more prepared for this battle than she anticipated. She never would of imagined that Butch and Cassidy would become this much stronger and smarter since their last encounter. It was as if they were reading her mind. Dawn looked to Misty.

"Misty...I don't know how much more we can take here!", Dawn said just loud enough for her to hear. She nodded in understanding.

"I know...we've thrown nearly everything we had at them, and yet it still isn't nearly enough...I wish Ash was here!", Misty said, thinking about their fearless leader. Surely he would know what to do in this situation. But he _wasn't _here, and Misty needed to stop thinking about her love and focus on the battle.

However, perhaps thinking _like _Ash instead might help them win!

She began to think of her opponents ahead of her. Hitmontop was easily the fastest of the group, while Houndour is their strongest both at long and mid range attacks. And then there's Spiritomb, who is nearly impossible to get close to. The distraction idea worked before, but they weren't counting on the other Pokemon defending Spiritomb. Misty strained her brain, trying to think of how that could work to their advantage.

She looked over to Quilava and Starmie, who were just beginning to get up from the Ominous Wind. She then looked back over to Spiritomb, who was watching them all with a large smile and a devilish glare. She then noted the position of Hitmontop and Houndour, who took their places back to the front of their trainers. They must of been trained for that kind of position, furthest away from their opponents. Misty finally looked over to Scyther, who was very tired, but looking like it still wanted to battle. Then, like a bolt of lighting, it hit her.

"YES, THAT'S IT!", Misty yelled in her mind. She then looked over to Dawn. "Dawn, listen, I think I know how we can end this battle!", Misty said. Dawn listened in carefully as Misty explained the plan in detail. Dawn seemed hopeful, but also cautious.

"That might work, but it's awfully risky!", Dawn said. Misty nodded.

"I know it is, but we don't have a lot of options here", Misty stated. Although Tracy was divided from the girls by the crack in the ground, he was still able to hear them speaking.

"I say we go for it!", Tracy replied.

"Agreed. So we'll do it. But we still need to think of an escape, even if we win they can just as easily kill us", Dawn stated. Misty cursed herself. That was most likely the end result if they won. She tried once again to think of something. She looked around the room. She then realized that the grunts and rebels moved to the side of the room, they were no longer behind them. This freed their entrance way, but it was still not a guarantee exit. The elevators were still not operational. She then looked over to the group. All of them looked at her with hope in their eyes. They knew that she could get them out of this situation. They had complete confidence in her.

She couldn't let them down.

The ledge where Cassidy, Butch, and Jane came from was too high for them to reach in time, so that was out, and there were no windows or doors to the room. Misty was running out of options. She gritted her teeth and looked down to the ground, practically giving up. However, it seemed like fate was on her side. For just then, it came to her. She was filled with hope once more, and her eyes gleamed. They could very well win this and escape after all! She looked to Dawn and Tracy and told them the plan. From across the room, the Rocket Commanders watched and waited. They couldn't hear a word they were saying, and they were too far away to read their lips successfully. Cassidy tapped her foot on the ground impatiently.

"Ergh, what's taking them so long? Can't they just give up so we can kill them and get this over with?", Cassidy asked. Calamity Jane looked at Cassidy and sweatdropped. Although Butch and Cassidy out ranked her in skill and position, she felt like they were rather immature.

"Patience, it's not like they can do anything to stop us at this point, we're simply much too powerful for them!", Calamity Jane stated with all the confidence in the world. Butch nodded.

"Right. Let them have their last words together, it's the _least _we can do!", Butch exclaimed. Jane chuckled at the words. Cassidy sighed.

"Well, I guess you're right", Cassidy said. She then looked up and noticed that the rebel leaders had stopped talking and seemed ready to continue. "Oh, looks like they're finally done...ARE YOU FINISHED? WE'D LIKE TO END THIS NOW!". Dawn, Misty, and Tracy all smirked.

"OH, WE'RE READY ALRIGHT!", Dawn replied in a yell. "QUILAVA, GO! FLAME WHEEL!". Quilava burst into flames.

"STARMIE, RAPID SPIN!", Misty yelled. Starmie levitated in the air for a moment and began to spin its body as quickly as it could. When the two Pokemon were ready, they bolted their way across the field, and towards Spiritomb. Jane smirked.

"Oh, _this _again? Didn't this one fail the last time? Oh well, I guess they never learn. SPIRITOMB, PSYCHIC!", Jane commanded. Spiritomb laughed and once again used Psychic. Mere seconds before both Pokemon were going to strike, they were stopped in mid air. Cassidy and Butch laughed out loud.

"DID YOU REALLY THINK IT WOULD WORK A SECOND TIME?", Butch asked laughing out loud.

"YOU GUYS DON'T SEEM TO UNDERSTAND THAT SPIRITOMB IS THE PRIME DEFENSIVE POKEMON!", Cassidy stated laughing. Tracy smirked upon hearing this.

"Maybe...but now it's wide open for a direct attack!", Tracy said. He then threw his arm forward, pointing at Spiritomb. "SCYTHER, GO!". Scyther opened its wings and immediately began to fly towards Spiritomb at great speed. The Rocket Commanders began to wonder what they had on their minds.

"How foolish! Scyther is a physical fighter, it would go straight through a ghost Pokemon like Spiritomb!", Cassidy exclaimed. Scyther flew at great speed towards Spiritomb, not stopping for anything. Calamity Jane smirked.

"Heh, the stupid bastard doesn't even know what he's doing!", Jane said. Spiritomb was prepared for the quickly approaching Pokemon, until suddenly, it changed its trajectory. The Pokemon and their trainers looked on in shock as Scyther positioned itself to the left side of Spiritomb.

"ALRIGHT SCYTHER, YOU KNOW WHAT TO DO, GO! FALSE SWIPE!", Tracy commanded. Scyther raised its claws in the air and then flew towards Spiritomb. Spiritomb was not able to stop it with Psychic, but it was not the least bit worried. It knew that a physical attack would go straight through it. It laughed maniacally as Scyther struck its body and went straight through it. Jane laughed out loud.

"AHAHAHAHA! YOU SEE? YOU CAN'T ATTACK SPIRITOMB!", Jane yelled out. Tracy laughed back, which made Jane look at him both confused and angry.

"WHO SAID I WAS TRYING TO ATTACK SPIRITOMB?", Tracy asked. Cassidy and Butch gasped. Scyther was still moving, and heading towards Houndour and Hitmontop. They were aligned perfectly in a row, easy for a direct attack from the side. Scyther swung one of its blades to the side and struck Houndour in the back of the head. It hit the rage inducer perfectly, causing it to explode and pop off Houndour. Scyther, not slowing down, sped towards Hitmontop and did the same. Hitmontop's rage inducer was destroyed, and Scyther stopped flying, landing safely on the ground.

Houndour and Hitmontop looked like they had just seen a ghost. Their power was drastically reduced, and they felt weak. They fell to the ground; not yet fainted, but no longer able to fight in their condition. The rage drained them of all their energy. Cassidy and Butch could only watch in shock. Their mouths were wide open.

"WHAAAAAAT?", Butch yelled.

"HOW DID THEY MANAGED TO DESTROY THE RAGE INDUCERS?", Cassidy asked. Misty smiled.

"THAT'S NOT ALL GUYS! YOU LEFT SPIRITOMB DEFENSELESS NOW!", Misty yelled. Calamity Jane and Spiritomb both looked at her wide eyed. "STARMIE, PSYCHIC!", Misty yelled. Although Starmie was still stuck in Spiritomb's grasp, it was able to attack using its mind. And due to the close proximity, Spiritomb could not dodge. Starmie used Psychic, causing Spiritomb to yell out loud, echoing throughout the room in a ghostly wail. The attack caused Starmie and Quilava to be freed, and Spiritomb to be stuck in a Psychic attack. It yelled in agony as it slowly began to shrink and then suddenly implode, leaving nothing but the Odd Stone in its place. Calamity Jane could not believe it, Spiritomb fainted!

"HOW COULD THIS HAPPEN?", Jane yelled out. The rebels all cheered at their victory.

"WOOHOO!", Michael yelled.

"WE DID IT!", Angel cheered.

"TAKE THAT TEAM ROCKET!", Brian threw in. The Rocket Commanders all grew red in anger. Butch stomped on the ground repeatedly.

"NO, NO, NO! THIS DOES NOT END HERE!", Butch yelled. Misty, Dawn, and Tracy prepared themselves. They knew what was going to happen next.

"THIS IS NOT OVER, GOT IT?", Cassidy yelled. Calamity Jane turned to the Rocket grunts, who were all flabbergasted at their leader's defeat, but ready to follow orders.

"ROCKETS, KILL THEM! KILL THEM ALL!", Calamity Jane commanded. The rebels all gasped as the grunts snickered. They raised their guns and prepared to fire. Misty immediately turned to Dawn.

"DAWN, NOW!", Misty yelled. Dawn nodded.

"RIGHT! EVERYONE, HANG ON TIGHT! QUILAVA, FIRE BLAST ATTACK!", Dawn yelled. Quilava immediately jumped in the air. Everyone watched as Quilava opened its mouth and prepared to fire the most powerful fire type attack. It then launched the attack, firing the giant "X" of flames into the crevice made by Hitmontop's Earthquake. The Rocket Commanders looked on in shock and fear.

"THEY'RE STRIKING THROUGH HITMONTOP'S EARTHQUAKE CRACK!", Butch yelled.

"THEY'RE TRYING TO ESCAPE BY GOING THROUGH THE GROUND!", Cassidy yelled.

"IF THEY GO THROUGH, IT WILL BRING THE ENTIRE FLOOR DOWN!", Jane yelled. The flames struck the bottom of the crevice and everyone watched in shock as large pillars of flames shot out from the bottom. Everyone covered themselves as the force of the impact caused the crevice to give way and collapse. The floor began to fall in and everyone began to sway back and forth. As the floor began to sink, the rebels quickly responded. The sheer force of the rubble from the floor and the damage done by the Pokemon battle caused the level below it to give way as well. This caused everything to keep falling down and down.

Down in the main lobby, all of the surviving rebels walked around and tried to help the wounded while the grunts who surrendered remained in the center of the room, under careful watch. Suddenly, the rebels and Rockets looked up, hearing the loud noise of something coming down. Brock looked up, hearing the noise as well, and suddenly panicked. He knew what was coming down. He had little time to think, he looked to everyone around him.

"EVERYONE, GET OUT OF THE WAY!", Brock commanded. Everything was happening so fast that some people could barely react. Most everyone was already far away from the center of the room, but backed themselves up even farther. Brock dove out of the way towards the main entrance while Drew grabbed May and dove out of the way towards the back end of the lobby. The Rockets could only look up in horror as the ceiling broke and nothing but parts of the base fell on top of them. The loud noise and sheer force of the blast caused everyone to cover their ears and some people to even be blown away from the center of the room.

Dust blew everywhere, covering the entire lobby. No one could see, and no one knew what was going on. Everyone yelled in fear, thinking the entire base was coming down on top of them. But before they knew it, everything stopped falling. The only noise left was the sound of a few small rocks coming down and hitting the ground. When it seemed safe, Brock stood up. A few rocks landed on him, but they were small and did no damage. He shook off the dust and debris and looked at the center of the room. Everyone else looked towards it; either standing up or covering someone next to them.

No one knew what was going on, but were ready for anything. Some rebels immediately grabbed their weapons while others had their Pokemon at the ready. When the dust finally began to settle, Brock stepped forward. He could make out several bodies in the pile, but could not tell who they were, or if they were even dead. Suddenly, when he got a good enough look, he gasped.

On top of the pile was Butch, Cassidy, Jane, and all of the Rocket grunts; along with Houndour, Hitmontop, and the Odd Stone of Spiritomb. Almost all of them were alive, despite being cut badly. Bruises and blood just seemed to cover their bodies. Three or so Rockets were dead upon colliding with the ground, while only a couple of Rockets from the lobby battle managed to climb themselves out of the wreckage. Butch, who was laying stomach down over a large rock, sighed in agony.

"That...hurt!", Butch exclaimed, almost in a whiny tune.

"Damn those brats, they'll pay!", Cassidy replied, laying on her back with her feet high up in the air. Jane stood up, pushing a smaller rock off of her left arm. It was broken, and she held it tightly with her good hand.

"I'm gonna kill them, I'm gonna kill every last one of them!", Calamity Jane growled. She then slowly returned her fainted Pokemon and looked around. She gasped in shock. They were completely surrounded by PTA rebels, who seemed just as stunned as she was. Butch and Cassidy looked around as well and grabbed each other in fear.

"What the hell is going on?", Brock asked. He did not know where Butch and Cassidy came from, or how they collapsed all the way down here to the main lobby. But he did notice the markings on the three Rockets, showing their Commander status. The surviving Rockets all looked around and panicked, completely surrounded. May stepped forward, immediately spotting Jane. She smirked and crossed her arms.

"Well well, look who decided to drop by! I think we have some unfinished business to take care of!", May said with a sneer much like Jane's. Calamity Jane looked at her in anger. She stepped forward and growled at her, still holding her broken arm.

"YOU BITCH! YOU FUCKING BITCH! THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!", Jane yelled. Drew and the rest of the rebels who knew of her stepped forward, ready to defend their leader. Brock, despite the situation, could not help but laugh. This only angered Jane more, along with Cassidy and Butch, who released each other and stood up.

"Well it looks like we have company!", Brock said in a laugh. All of the other rebels broke out in laughter too.

"LOOK OUT BELOW!", someone suddenly yelled. Brock, May, and everyone else in the lobby looked up, hearing the voice. They watched as, from the darkness above, figures began to slowly come down. The first person they saw was Misty, who was the one that yelled. She, along with Dawn and Quilava, were levitating in mid air by Starmie, who used Psychic. Tracy came down next, who was being held, (very carefully), by Scyther. Then, a large snake like Pokemon appeared from the darkness. It was a Onix, which roared out loud. At the head of this Onix was Brian, who waved happily to the rebels below. Also riding on Onix was Angel, Aleksi, Michael, Emily, and Jeremy. All of them were very happy to see their friends and team mates alive.

Brock smiled and waved back to the slowly descending rebels, and soon, the others copied his actions. Misty and Dawn slowly reached the ground, right in front of Brock, while Tracy landed only a few feet away, closer to the entrance. Onix lowered itself on the opposite side of the Rockets, and everyone slid off.

"Glad to see you're all alright!", Misty said with a smile. Brock nodded.

"Same goes for you, I see you found the others", Brock said, looking mostly at Dawn and Tracy. Dawn nodded.

"Yep, we found each other and made our way back here. But then we were stopped by Butch, Cassidy, and Calamity Jane there", Dawn explained, pointing to the Rockets.

"So we managed to defeat them and brought them down here, as a little present for you all!", Misty said. Brock burst out laughing. The story seemed so unrealistic that it _had _to be true. But, in the end, it didn't matter that they captured these important Rocket Commanders; he was just happy that his friends survived. All of the surviving Rockets stood up and looked at the rebels surrounding them. They all were angry and scared at the same time. Brock turned to them with a smirk.

"Ok then, we'll give you the same option we gave your team mates...who you decided to crush...surrender, or die", Brock said. Butch, Cassidy, and Jane looked at Brock in anger, but then looked at the rebels around them. Almost all of them had guns aimed at them, and the rest merely looked on in anger, ready to fight. The Rockets huddled together closely, but kept their eyes on the enemy. There was no chance that they would survive a fight in this position. Cassidy growled, knowing that their victory was taken from them.

"TEAM ROCKET DOES NOT SURRENDER! HOUNDOUR, FLASH!", Cassidy yelled. Houndour suddenly opened its mouth and in an instant, the entire room became extremely bright. All of the rebels covered their eyes, the light being too strong for their eyes to stand.

"YOU MAY HAVE WON THIS BATTLE!", Butch yelled.

"BUT WE'LL BE BACK!", Calamity Jane finished. Suddenly, the light vanished. The rebels slowly uncovered their eyes and looked to the center of the room. Immediately, they all gasped. Butch, Cassidy, Calamity Jane, the grunts, and even the pile of debris, were all gone.

**CAN YOU BELIEVE HOW QUICKLY I UPDATED THIS? NEITHER CAN I! I was so hooked in writing the Pokemon battle scenes that I couldn't stop typing! It was crazy! I finished this in only a few hours worth of work! Not to seem cocky or anything, but I'm going to go ahead and give myself a pat on the back for this chapter. The scene from everyone falling to the end of the chapter seemed rushed in my opinion, but I loved how I wrote the battles. I honestly think it's one of my best fighting scenes writing wise. I know, bit of an ego, but I can't help it. Well, anyway, I really hoped you liked this chapter! "With the Rocket leaders defeated and gone, Angel and the others come out victorious in their mission! But can they escape New Island in time to reach Ash before the Rockets come? Find out next time on EVAN AAML's, "R"!". Well, that about does it here, I hope you all liked it, please be sure to F.A.R., because I REALLY want to see this get more popular and to read your reviews! Until next time, this is EVAN AAML, signing off!**

**sincerely,  
evan, a fan of aaml -EVAN AAML**


	30. Chapter 30

**Did you miss me everyone? Come on, you KNOW you did! Well here it is, chapter 30 everyone! Well technically, the first one doesn't really count, so I guess this is 29...WHATEVER, I'M COUNTING IT! So, after all this time, and they're only just getting ready to get off of New Island. Wow, I can't believe how long I've dragged this story! I mean, none of my other stories were NEARLY this long! And I'm probably only at the half way point! My goodness. Well, here it is, I don't want to distract you anymore. This will be their escape...or will it?**

**-EVAN AAML**

Of course something like this would happen...

Everyone looked at the once pile of rubble and dead bodies, wondering what had happened within the few seconds that they were blinded. Brock stepped forward, kicking a lone rock that was not taken with the others slightly to the side. There was a evident circle of dust and rocks that did not vanish with the rest. There was also blood on the floor, who's blood they'll never know. Brock sighed and put his fingers to his temple, as if he had a headache. All of this work and they couldn't even capture the Rocket Commanders. It wasn't a mission priority, but it would of made their final plans for Rocket destruction a lot easier.

Misty stepped forward as well, along with May and Drew. Dawn and Tracy turned to the others and prepared them to leave, having them gather their things and clean up before moving out. The leaders all knew what happened, they didn't need to stay much longer. Misty stepped to Brock's side and looked at the pile while Brock continued to rub his temple. Drew stepped into the circle and examined it closely while May walked over to Misty and Brock.

"They vanished pretty quick didn't they?", Drew said, somewhat disappointed and annoyed but more amazed. Brock nodded.

"Yep, they sure did", Brock said, annoyance still in his voice. Not at Drew, but at the Rockets.

"Teleport, we should of figured they would use that. We didn't know one of them had an escape Pokemon with them", Misty said, somewhat apologetically. Brock shook his head.

"No, this isn't your fault. You wouldn't of thought of looking for one, especially in your position. There's nothing we can do now anyway", Brock stated. Drew approached Brock and the girls, making sure to avoid stepping in the blood of what was probably a Rocket.

"All we can do now is move out. They're bound to be Rockets coming here any second now, probably an army", May said.

"We probably managed to keep the outside bases in the dark about what's been happening for awhile, but they surely know by now, or if they don't, will soon enough", Drew said once he reached them.

"He's right. We need to get everyone to the two remaining boats as quickly as possible. Since we don't have to worry about avoiding Rockets or cameras anymore, it should be a lot faster to get to them", Misty explained. Brock nodded.

"Right, you guys said you docked your boat directly across the island?", Brock asked May and Drew. May nodded.

"Yes, along the shore. It's hidden by the jungle side of the island so that Rockets wouldn't be able to see it", May said. Brock nodded.

"Ok, good. Where was Dawn's boat docked?", Brock asked.

"In the town, in a marina. There were Rockets there, but there's no way they would still be there by this point", Drew answered.

"Got it. Alright, Misty's boat was the biggest, so that means a lot more people need to be transferred to the other boats. Gary's and Prof. Oak's are roughly the same size, so we need to distribute the weight evenly", Brock said. Of course, none of the leaders wanted to bring up the truth. Since they left Cinnabar Island to get here, they've lost almost all of their people. Whereas it will still be a tight squeeze on the boats, it's still far less people than they anticipated would be leaving the island with their lives.

"Dawn's boat is a lot closer, we'll have the more wounded people go onto that one and the healthier ones will head to the other boat on the other side of the island", Misty decided. The others nodded. Brock then looked to Misty.

"We should tell the others what we're doing now. But before we do that...I think you should contact Ash, tell him we did it", Brock said. Just saying this made Misty's heart skip a beat. Through all of this fighting, she had forgotten about Ash!

Well, that's not true now is it? She had been thinking about him constantly. If it weren't for Ash, she would never of known how to win in their battle against Butch, Cassidy, and Jane. Now that everything is said and done, it seemed so unreal to be able to talk to Ash again without worrying so much about dying or never getting to see him again. She smiled to herself as she walked away from Brock, May, and Drew to get a Pokenav. The other rebel leaders however all smiled for her, knowing that this was exactly what she needed after all of this.

She deserved it.

Misty approached a random PTA rebel and asked for the Pokenav he was carrying. The rebel was picking up gear on the ground, but had no problem in stopping to hand her his Pokenav. Unless the rebel specifically owned a Pokenav, (which was rare now a days due to the Rocket constrictions), only rebels with communications training were given one. Misty took the Pokenav and began to set the dials so as she could contact Ash.

She felt bad for not having sent him a message earlier, but she knew that he would understand. After finally getting the Pokenav on the right transmission, she clicked a button and began to speak.

"Ash, Ash are you there? This is Misty...", Misty said, speaking into it. The screen remained black, meaning that they hadn't received the message yet, or were fiddling with the Pokenav. Ash was never the best with technology. He had trouble with his Pokedex let alone a Pokenav. "Ash, report, this is Misty, are you there...please answer", Misty said. She wasn't worried at all, she knew that he and the others would be alright.

He had to be.

Suddenly, the black on the screen disappeared and a face became visible. It was Ash. Misty smiled greatly, thrilled to be able to see his raven hair and chocolate eyes once again. Ash smiled back, just as happily.

MIST! YOU'RE ALRIGHT!", Ash yelled, excited. In the background, Misty could hear some cheers. Misty smiled.

"Yes Ash, I'm alright. I can't go anywhere, who else would watch over you?", Misty asked jokingly. Ash smiled back. She even noticed what appeared to be a blush, just skimming across his face. No, it couldn't be, Ash wouldn't blush for Misty...

...would he?

"Yeah, I guess that's true. Mom would have a fit if she were the only one doing it", Ash joked. He then became more serious. "How is everyone, are they alright?". Misty became serious as well.

"It's not pretty. We lost a lot of allies Ash, too many to count", Misty replied. Ash looked away from the screen, down onto the ground. It hit him hard to have to hear this, and Misty knew it. But he needed to know. The others in the background must of heard this too, but the talking that was going on suddenly stopped. Ash put his hand to his mouth, unsure of what exactly to say at the moment, until he lowered it and looked back to the screen.

"Understood. What about the mission? How is that going?", Ash asked.

"We're done Ash...we succeeded. The array is down, the databases were hacked, and we're preparing to escape now", Misty answered. Ash nodded. He was glad that their mission was successful. This victory meant that Team Rocket suffered a major loss, and on top of that, they were one step closer to world peace. However, it came at a heavy cost, and Ash knew this. This is why he kept their victory quietly.

"That's good. At least their sacrifice won't be in vain. Listen, be sure to get out of there as soon as you can. I have a feeling that Rockets are on their way there as we speak!", Ash said. After saying this, Misty looked at Ash's body. She hadn't noticed it at first, but now it was obvious. His arms were bandaged. She gasped.

"ASH! WHAT HAPPENED TO YOUR ARMS? ARE YOU ALRIGHT?", Misty asked worried.

"I'm fine, we were attacked by a Rocket search party. They found out about the speed boats that attacked you. That's why you need to get moving asap!", Ash replied. Misty nodded.

"Roger that. Don't worry Ash, we're on the way to meet you at Cinnabar", Misty said. Ash shook his head.

"No, we had a change of plans. We found a section of current that we can follow back to Kanto. It's located between Cinnabar and New Island. We're going to meet you there and we'll all follow the current to Kanto together. It's longer to get back to base, but it should be safer", Ash explained. Misty nodded.

"Ok, sounds good. Just be careful", Misty said. Ash nodded, with a smile.

"I was going to say the same for you", Ash said. Misty smiled back. She then clicked a button on the device and the call ended. She was glad that Ash was alive and well, but now wasn't the time. She would fantasize about him later. Right now, she needed to get everyone off of New Island and to where Ash would meet them. She turned towards the group leaders, who were helping the others prepare to leave. She approached Brock and got his attention.

"Brock, we had a change of plans", Misty said. Brock turned to Misty and looked at her, ready to hear the change. "We're meeting Ash half way there, they found a current we can take to Kanto. It will take longer, but Ash thinks it will be safer. I guess Team Rocket already knows of the attack here". Brock nodded.

"Right, then we haven't a moment to lose. ALRIGHT EVERYONE, LET'S GET MOVING, TEAM ROCKET IS ON THE WAY HERE, WE NEED TO LEAVE NOW!", Brock yelled to the rebels. Everyone began to pack their things in a faster fashion. Misty left Brock to help the rebels pack quickly. Brock then turned to see that May was trying to help someone pick up weapons, but was also holding her chest area. Brock had noticed the signs of the wound from before, but did not know exactly what happened.

"May, are you alright?", Brock asked. May looked at Brock with a smile, although he could clearly see the pain in her expression.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I got shot earlier, but it's taken cared of", May replied. She then bent down to pick up a machine gun, but gritted her teeth and did a slight yelp of pain. Brock sighed and grabbed her arm.

"May, you're in no condition to help out here. You should get to the boat now", Brock said. May was going to argue, but knew that there would be no point in it. She sighed.

"I guess you're right. Drew, you're in charge of the group that goes onto our boat. I'm counting on you", May said, looking to Drew with a smile. Drew smiled back.

"No problem, you just be sure to watch over yourself alright?", Drew said. May nodded back to him. She then looked to Brock.

"Ok, I guess I'll get going", May said. Brock shook his head.

"Not yet, actually I have a better idea", Brock said. He then turned around to look for someone in particular. After looking left and right be found who he was looking for. "Hey! You there!". He caught the attention of Wallace. Wallace stopped what he was doing and immediately walked over to Brock.

"Wallace sir", Wallace stated, knowing that Brock was the superior officer. Brock nodded.

"Wallace, I need your help. We need to get the wounded to Dawn's boat. Do you know where it is?", Brock asked. Wallace nodded.

"Yes sir, it's the boat I was on getting here, it's in the town", Wallace replied. Brock nodded with a smile.

"Perfect, then there won't be any time wasted. I need you and some others to go find a mode of transport. Bring it here and help the wounded on board. Then bring them to Dawn's boat", Brock ordered. Wallace nodded.

"Yes sir", Wallace said. Brock glanced over to his right and noticed a few rebels, not doing much in particular. One of them was Darrel.

"Darrel!", Brock said. Darrel and the other rebels near him looked up to Brock. "I want you and the others to help Wallace here find some transport to get the wounded to Dawn's boat". Darrel and the other rebels approached Brock and nodded.

"Right, you got it dog", Darrel responded.

"Good. Wallace, you're acting captain, I'm counting on you!", Brock said. Wallace nodded. He then turned and looked to Darrel and the other rebels.

"Ok, let's go", Wallace said. They all nodded and together, they ran towards the main entrance to look for vehicles. Brock then turned back to May, who had watched their entire conversation.

"Once they come back, you and the other wounded can head to the boats", Brock said. May nodded.

"Right, I'll stand watch and wait for them", May said. She walked away, towards the main entrance. During this, Angel was helping to pack by aiding the medical unit in placing their supplies back into their cases. She was on her knees, placing medical bottles and bandages back in their designated spots in the travel cases. As she did this, Aleksi approached her from behind and bent down to her level.

"How you doing Angel?", Aleksi asked. Angel glanced back to her.

"I'm fine, my concussion isn't as bad as before", Angel said. She then turned back to her work. Aleksi nodded, but this wasn't the exact answer she was looking for.

"That's good Angel, but that's not exactly what I meant", Aleksi said. Angel did not stop packing, but responded.

"Then what do you mean, I'm fine otherwise", Angel said. Aleksi looked around to see if anyone was trying to eavesdrop on them. There were a couple people around them, but they were much to preoccupied to take notice of them. She then turned back to Angel.

"Angel...why were you so willing to sacrifice yourself to destroy the array?", Aleksi asked. Asking this caused Angel to stop doing her work. She froze on the spot, although Angel couldn't see her face. Angel looked down, as if she was in a trance almost.

"I...I don't know really", Angel said. Aleksi stepped closer to Angel and got on her knees, so that they were side by side, Aleksi to Angel's right. "I guess, I just wanted...to help".

"You said it was because it was what we needed, but...that's not the case...is it?", Aleksi asked. Angel shook her head, closing her eyes. She didn't want to cry over this, it made her look weak, weaker then she already was. "Then, why? Why throw your life away so carelessly?".

"Because...because it would of been better off that way!", Angel said, almost loud enough for others to hear her. Aleksi's eyes widened in shock. She had no idea what turmoils Angel was going through. She knew that she was living a difficult life, but to want to kill yourself like that...she couldn't even imagine the idea.

"Angel, why? Why would you say such a thing?", Aleksi asked.

"Because, it's true!", Angel said. Now she was in tears, although they were coming down slowly. She couldn't contain them anymore, and she hated herself for it. Just one more thing she couldn't do.

"No it's not Angel!", Aleksi said. Angel turned to her.

"I haven't been any help since we got here, everything I've done has only endangered me and everybody else. I'm a liability! At least...if I was to kill myself to detonate the D-5, then...it would of been for the right cause. I would of finally been useful", Angel said. She said these last few lines looking down at the ground. She then looked back up to see that tears were now coming down Aleksi's face. Angel looked at her confused, wondering why she would be crying like this.

"Angel...you're not useless...in fact, you've been the most help out of anyone here!", Aleksi said.

"Wh-what do you mean?", Angel asked. She didn't think that she had done anything at all, let alone be the most use here.

"You're the symbol of what we're fighting for Angel, and everyone here knows it. That's why no one here ever gives you grief, because they know what you've been through. It is people like you, who go through the hardest of times and yet refuse to give up the fight for peace, that inspires us. The entire time you've been here, we've all looked up to you. The rebels all want to fight, so that people like you could live a life of freedom, out of Rocket control. You're the motivation the PTA needs, and that's why you're the best ally to have", Aleksi explained. These words penetrated Angel.

Now she could see why Brock had called Aleksi their "personal motivational speaker".

"It's true that...sometimes it seems like you can't do anything right. I know what that's like. It's like, no matter what, nothing you do is good enough. As if you're only a burden to those around you, and that it would be better for everyone if you just weren't around", Aleksi said. Instantly Angel looked down and thought back to Emily's words, back in the boiler room.

"_That's...that's why I put up a front to people, like I did to you when we first met...If they saw just how useless I was...they would betray me. I don't want to fail them because I can't do anything right. So I act mean and cold...so that people leave me alone...and I won't be betrayed...just like before_".

"But, the truth of the matter is, every little bit helps", Aleksi continued. Angel looked back to her. "No one person can do everything, it takes a team, a group of people striving for the same goal. And every little bit that that group does, as a team, leads them that much closer to that goal. That's what the PTA is all about Angel, teamwork. We're working together to achieve our goal, peace. And everything we do makes us that much closer. Even if it seems like we haven't done anything at all", Aleksi said. She looked at Angel and smiled. The tears had stopped, but the remains of the former ones were still there.

Angel couldn't help but smile at these words. A few times people have tried to cheer her up over her thoughts, but Aleksi seemed to be the only one who could ever really get to her. It reminded her of her mom. Her dad could certainly of done a lot to help her out in times like this, but it was her mom who really did the best work. She always seemed to know just what to do or what to say. She was an inspiration to her. Angel always wanted to grow up to be like her mom. And now, seeing Aleksi like this, it really reminded her of her mom.

Despite being an only child, she never really thought about what it would be like to have a sibling, but she imagined that it would be a lot like this. Angel leaned into Aleksi and wrapped her arms around her. Aleksi was quick to return the favor. They both just smiled and held onto each other.

"...Thank you Aleksi...thank you", Angel said. Aleksi smiled more.

"No problem", Aleksi responded. This made Angel laugh in her head. She could make up the greatest motivational speech of all time, but just ended it with a "no problem" and it would still be amazing. Angel looked up to Aleksi, but kept her arms around her.

"I guess it's a good thing then that I didn't need to detonate the explosives myself. Because if I did, who else would have to be the one to get you and Evan together?", Angel asked jokingly. Aleksi's face went straight from tan to bright red. She immediately released Angel and looked away, a sweatdrop on her face and her expression both comical and embarrassing.

"Uh, I don't know what you're talking about! I could _never_ date someone like Evan!", Aleksi said. Angel smiled cheekily.

"Why, cause he smokes? Cause of his ego? Seems to me that those things don't bother you as much as you say they do!", Angel said. Aleksi pressed her two index fingers together back and forth, still not keeping eye contact with her.

"And...what makes you think that?", Aleksi asked.

"Well, do you even _hear _yourself when you're with him?", Angel asked. That did it. She looked straight at Angel with her face the brightest shade of red Angel's ever seen in her life.

"AND WHAT'S THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN?", Aleksi asked yelling. This scared several people near them, who were surprised at the sudden outburst. Angel couldn't help but giggle.

"Oh, nothing! Gasp, would you look at the time? I really must get moving, toodles!", Angel said, looking at her imaginary wrist watch. She then stood up and ran away, leaving Aleksi by herself.

"Angel, wait!", Aleksi called out. Angel did not stop. She then huffed in anger. "This isn't over yet missy!". Just then, the sound of vehicles moving at a high speed echoed through the entire lobby. Everyone looked around, wondering where the noise was coming from. May, who was standing guard by the main doors, backed up and turned to the others.

"IT'S WALLACE AND THE OTHERS! SOMETHING'S WRONG!", May yelled. All of the rebels immediately picked up their things and prepared to leave. They knew something bad was going down, and they needed to move quickly. Brock, Aleksi, and Misty ran towards May just as the doors burst open. Wallace ran inside, along with two of the rebels that went with him to find vehicles. The two rebels had machine guns aimed towards the door.

"GUYS! WE FOUND ATVS FOR TRANSPORT, BUT WE CAME UNDER FIRE! THERE MUST OF BEEN ANOTHER BUILDING ON THE ISLAND HOLDING ROCKETS, THEY'RE ON THEIR WAY HERE! WE NEED TO MOVE NOW!", Wallace yelled. Brock nodded and turned to the other rebels.

"EVERYONE, LET'S GET MOVING! IF YOU DON'T NEED AN ITEM, DON'T TAKE IT, WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO FIGHT TO GET OFF THE ISLAND!", Brock instructed. The rebels all nodded. They picked up their belongings, making sure only to take what was needed, and got themselves ready.

"MEDICS, HELP THE WOUNDED ONTO THE ATV'S, THEY GO FIRST!", Misty commanded. Several medics began to carry or help the wounded walk to the ATV's outside. Brock turned and looked to May.

"May, you're in charge, make sure the wounded are taken cared of and brought to the boats safely", Brock said. May nodded.

"Right, understood", May said. She then walked outside with the other wounded. A couple rebels propped the doors open to allow the others to walk through easily. May stepped outside in the heat of the sun and covered her eyes. She looked ahead of her. There were several large ATVs waiting for the rebels. Each one was a dark black color with a large red "R" in the front of it. They had large wheels and big seats, these were meant for heavy off-road driving. Each one had the capacity to fit four to possibly even six people on them, depending on how they were positioned.

Sitting on one of the closest ATV's, his gun at the ready, was Darrel. He looked at May.

"May, hurry up and get on. I'm driving you to Dawn's boat. We need to get everyone there now!", Darrel explained. May nodded. She ran over and jumped onto the passenger seat of the ATV. Just as she sat herself down, Wallace approached the ATV. He helped Ashley towards the back seat.

"Wait, Ashley here needs a ride too", Wallace said. May turned around.

"No problem, come on Ashley", May said, getting out of her seat and helping Ashley into the back one. Ashley didn't like the feeling of being helpless, but she was not going to argue. She sat down and positioned herself so that she would hurt less. After doing so, she pulled out a pistol and kept it in her hands.

"I'll supply back up in case things get nasty", Ashley said. May nodded, although she hoped that they wouldn't need her to. The medics were helping the other wounded onto the ATVs while several other rebels positioned themselves around them, ready for the possibly approaching Rockets. May managed to get back in her seat just as her entire ATV heard a loud argument.

"I'M FINE GOD DAMN IT! I CAN DO THIS! LET GO!", someone yelled. May, Ashley, and Darrel turned to see Hunter being taken towards the ATV right next to theirs, on Darrel's side. He managed to pull free of the medic's grip, causing her to sigh in annoyance.

"Sir, please, you need to lay down and relax", the medic stated. Hunter turned to her.

"For ONE thing, I'm no _sir_, and for another, I'm telling you I'm fine!", Hunter replied. He walked over to the driver's seat and looked at the rebel who was at the wheel. "Buddy, I am relieving you of duty, so step aside!". The rebel did so to avoid any trouble and sat in the passenger seat. Hunter sat down and gripped the ATV's wheel tightly with a gleam in his eyes. Darrel sighed.

"Don't you think you should be resting dog?", Darrel asked. Hunter looked to him, almost confused.

"What? You think I was going to miss out on something this fun? You must be crazier than me!", Hunter said. He then hit the rebel next to him with his elbow, getting his attention. "Hey, hand me that weapon in the back seat will you?". The rebel reached back and pulled off of the back seat a machine gun, just like he had used inside during the fighting. Hunter smiled greatly as he held it and laughed. "OHHH BABY!". He readied the weapon and kept it at his side, and then returned to the wheel. May, Ashley, and Darrel sweat dropped, but ignored him soon after.

Soon enough, more rebels were being helped to the ATV's. Wallace helped Trent into the back seat of Hunter's ATV, making sure not to make his gun shot wound feel any worse. Although they had several ATVs, there were still more wounded people than can be seated at once. So only the severely wounded were placed in, while those who were capable remained behind. There would be no return trip for the ATV drivers. As soon as they placed the wounded on board, they would have to stay there to protect them.

Brock looked outside to see that the ATVs were filling up quickly. As they were nearly finished, he turned to Misty, who had just approached him.

"Alright, they're ready to leave soon. Are the other rebels ready?", Brock asked. Misty nodded.

"All set and ready to leave on the command", Misty replied. Brock nodded.

"Good. This may not go as easily as we hope. We're going to have to either find a lot of big, fast Pokemon to take us to the boats, or some more vehicles", Brock said. Misty nodded. Just then, Wallace walked up to them. He was helping one of the wounded rebels walk towards the ATVs. He had over heard Brock and Misty's conversation.

"Guys, there's a ride you can use in that building over there", Wallace said, pointing to a large garage style building to their right. Brock and Misty turned to look at the building. It looked like a semi-circle that had two large metal sliding doors. It was probably a thousand or more feet long. "We looked in there first for a ride. There's a large bus and a couple older Jeeps. We were going to use them, but they're too unstable on the terrain, we couldn't risk hurting the wounded more", Wallace explained.

Misty ran over to the building as fast as she could. When she reached the doors, the grabbed the handle to the right one and began to try and slide it. The handles were metal, so they were extremely hot from the constant sunlight beating down on it. And the fact that the doors were large and heavy didn't help. But soon enough, she managed to slide the right door over and then used the extra space to push the left one with ease. Once she had, she looked inside.

The bus was right there, ready to be pulled out. It was probably used by the Rockets to haul a great number of Rockets to the port to get picked up or dropped off. It was, like everything else, black with a letter "R" on it in red, going along the side. The bus was definitely a newer model, and could hold a great number of people if they all shared seats. Misty then looked behind the bus. Although the bus blocked most of the view and the darkness the rest, she could make out the appearance of two jeeps, parked one after the other behind the bus.

They looked older, probably in storage for repairs or parts. There was no cover for the tops of them, and no windows. But they looked like they were able to be driven. Misty turned to Brock and nodded with a smile. Brock nodded back.

"Good, we have our ride", Brock said. He then turned to Wallace. "Wallace, finish up here and leave as soon as we're ready. We'll be behind you, although I don't think we'll be able to help a whole lot on the bus. We'll have security on the jeeps ready to defend us. When we're all set, we leave at the same time. It's too risky to send us off too distant apart. But since you guys will be moving the fastest, don't worry about slowing down for us, keep on going!", Brock explained. Wallace nodded.

"Right, understood", Wallace said. He then helped the wounded rebel towards the ATVs. Brock meanwhile turned around and walked inside the base. After walking past the first set of doors, the lone table and chair, and then the second set of doors, he reached the other rebels. All of them stood idly by, ready for their orders. They all had back packs and items on them, and weapons in hand.

"Alright everyone, listen up. Wallace found us some transport, but it's going to be a bumpy ride. We're riding a large bus. We can fit everyone on, but expect a tight fit. There are also two jeeps we're taking. They will supply support from the possible approaching Rockets. Aleksi, I want you to head the jeep squad. Take Angel, and find some other to support you. Everyone else, get on the bus, let's go!", Brock commanded. Everyone nodded and ran outside with Brock. Aleksi turned to Angel, who was at her side.

"Ok, let's get ready then", Aleksi said. Angel nodded. Aleksi then turned to the other rebels. "Ok, Jeremy, you're with me", Aleksi said. Jeremy nodded and ran to her side. "Uhm, let's see. Brian, you're coming too! And, we'll need about two more people...". Aleksi knew nearly all of the rebels, but she also knew which ones would be of help, and which ones wouldn't. She believed that all of the PTA rebels were skilled and good at what they did, but most of them weren't trained for this type of situation, and could possibly get themselves killed. She couldn't risk it.

However, time was not on their side. She had to pick some others, and she had to do it now. She just decided on picking two random rebels from the crowd. She looked around and spotted who, who just so happened to be standing next to each other.

"YOU TWO!", Aleksi yelled. The two rebels, along with some others, turned to Aleksi. When she pointed to the two, the other rebels looked away, realizing she wasn't talking to them. "Come with us, you're going to be a part of the security group", Aleksi explained. The two rebels nodded and approached them. One of them dropped one of his bags and gave a salute to Aleksi.

"Mathinza, ready for command!", the rebel stated. He had dark brown hair that reached his shoulders and nearly Cerulean blue eyes. His face looked worn, as if he had done a lot of traveling in his time, but was ready for more. He was as tall as Jeremy in height, and slightly skinnier. He had scruffy hairs on his chin and no where else. He wore a long sleeve black shirt that was covered from the sleeves to the chest area in a intricate design. It reminded Angel of flames that danced in the air just before going out. He also had a black hat which covered his head. It had one thing white stripe going around it and it reminded her of something a old gangster would wear. He also had loose jeans, brown boots, and one fingerless glove on his right hand.

"Mathinza? What kind of name is that?", Brian asked. The rebel names Mathinza sighed.

"Well, my name is actually Matthew, but I really don't like it, so...yeah. Please call me Mathinza", Mathinza stated. He had some kind of accent, but Angel couldn't place her finger on it. The rebels found it to be an odd name, but shrugged. Who were they to judge?

"Alright Mathinza, what's your specialty?", Aleksi asked. Mathinza bent down and picked up the bag he had placed on the ground, holding it up to her briefly.

"Sniper, mostly medium range, but I can do long range too with some help from my Pokemon", Mathinza explained. Aleksi sighed.

"Figures, another sniper I run into", Aleksi said. Mathinza seemed confused by this statement. Angel on the other hand knew exactly what she meant by it and smiled.

"Another...sniper?", Mathinza asked. Aleksi shook her head.

"Never mind. We're not going to have much room for Pokemon in the jeeps, and we're going to be going over rough terrain, so don't worry about it. Stick to medium distance", Aleksi explained. Mathinza nodded, understanding. Aleksi then brought her attention to the other rebel, standing a couple feet away from Mathinza.

This rebel was shorter than Mathinza, but just barely. He had dark blue hair that stuck out from under his black and yellow cap. He was a bit bulkier than Mathinza, but it was hard to tell from his outfit. He wore a red jacket that was zipped up half way. A black shirt was revealed from under it. The jacket also had a white collar and black cuffs. He wore black jeans and red and white sneakers. Hanging around his neck and resting on his chest was a very beautifully made golden holy cross.

Angel found it sort of funny. Here were two completely different rebels, and yet both of them seemed to have similarities to Evan. She could only imagine how Aleksi felt right now. She probably missed him even more just by looking at these two.

"And your name is?", Aleksi asked. The rebel nodded and smiled, showing a innocent look.

"My name is John, John O'Riley. But my friends call me Riles", the rebel said.

"Ok Riles, and your specialty?", Aleksi asked. Riles sighed. It was as if he was going to regret answering her. He reached into the inside of his jacket and pulled out a book. It was black and had gold lettering, along with a ribbon bookmark.

"I'm just a son of god. I don't like guns at all, I don't like killing people. I know that times like this are tough, but I remain true to my self, and the word of god", Riles answered. Aleksi nodded, understanding. Angel knew that out of anyone, Aleksi would probably understand him the most, reflecting back on the bible she found in her room. Riles began to place the bible back where he found it. "That being said though, I am actually a pretty skilled Pokemon trainer. What I lack for in killing potential I make up for in protection, I can help you greatly", Riles continued.

"Alright, that's good. But like I said, we won't have a lot of room for Pokemon. So only use them if absolutely needed", Aleksi stated. Riles nodded, as did Mathinza. She then turned to everyone else. "Ok, we're all set, let's get to the jeeps and get moving, they're going to need out protection out there!".

"RIGHT!", the squad called out.

**And so begins their trip away from New Island and (hopefully) back to base. I apologize for the long awaited update, despite my girlfriend being gone all of last week, I still found myself distracted. I had a few jobs to do, (a solid job is impossible to find where I live, as I'm sure a lot of you can relate to. But I have found several temporary jobs that will help), and have also been plagued with more internet problems. On top of that, I was working on creating and introducing two more PTA rebels, (which were only barely introduced in this chapter). So my apologies. But I wanted to get this one out to you in time for the holiday, and would you look at that, right on time! Well, I hope you love this chapter! Be sure to F.A.R.! "Aleksi has made her squad, and are now ready to defend the others at all costs! But will the escape from New Island be deadlier than anticipated? Will Ash and the others reach them in time? Or will Team Rocket end it all right here and now? Find out next time on EVAN AAML's "R"!". Happy 4th of July everyone, have a good Independence Day!**

**sincerely,  
evan, a fan of aaml -EVAN AAML**


	31. Chapter 31

**Hello and welcome back! I was doing some research on my older stories and I discovered something. Despite this story being SOOOOOO much longer than both "Eternal Darkness" and "Power From Within", it still is not as popular as them! I have a few theories to why this is the case. 1. Those two stories are older, therefore more people read them over time. 2. This story is SO long that it deters people from reading it. 3. I have actually gotten worse in writing. 4. Being away for so long during my "break" has caused me to lose a lot of the fans I once had. 5. I am just paranoid and think they're more popular when they're not. Thoughts? Ah, oh well. I'm just ranting really. Anywho, let's get onto this chapter shall we? Let's see if their escape will be as easy as they hoped it would be! (hint, is ANYTHING they do as easy as they hope it will be?).**

**-EVAN AAML**

Aleksi and her newly formed squad began to get quickly acquainted with each other before leaving. Aleksi felt that this way, it would be easier to work with each other. But despite this method, she still had worries over her squad's capabilities. She had all the confidence in the world at what they did, but the majority of her squad might not be helpful for something like this.

Jeremy was mostly communications, which would come in handy but that would mean he wouldn't do a lot of fighting. Brian was definitely the second most skilled, but his abilities were limited, especially since they would be on the move while protecting the others. Mathinza was also an issue. A sniper would be little to no help for them since they were constantly moving, and a sniper can't shoot under those conditions. And Riles not liking guns was a big issue. Pokemon battling was limited, so he would probably be little help as well. So that left Angel, who Aleksi knew would be the most help to her on this mission.

However, they did not have much more time to themselves. Brock signaled everyone to get moving, for they had the bus ready now. Aleksi turned to her squad.

"Alright, let's get into the jeeps and get moving!", Aleksi stated. The others all nodded. They grabbed their gear and made their way outside in a hurry, along with the other rebels.

The bus was positioned so that it could immediately begin driving towards the other side of the island when they were ready. The ATVs were ahead of the bus and also ready to go. Two rebels were just beginning to drive the jeeps out of the garage for Aleksi and her squad to take. They were older jeeps, but they would still run just as well. Aleksi just hoped that they wouldn't run out of gas or die on them during the drive.

"Ok, I'll take the first car, Angel, you and Riles are with me. The rest of you, take the other jeep", Aleksi ordered.

"Right, I'm driving!", Brian said, heading off to the other jeep. Mathinza and Jeremy followed quickly. Aleksi hopped into the driver's seat just as the rebel who drove it to her left the car. Angel hopped into the back of the jeep while Riles took passenger. Brock, who was standing beside the bus, waved people over as they were running towards it.

"Hurry! We don't know how long it will be before Team Rocket arrives! We need to get moving. Anyone who is capable of protecting the others take a window seat and prepare to fire back if necessary!", Brock said. One by one, rebels ran onto the bus and took a seat. Those who were injured but not still capable were placed on the outside of the seats, for more protection. Those who were able to fight back still took window and readied their weapons. Misty was in the driver's seat, engine ready and her grip tightened on the steering wheel.

Sitting behind her, taking the window seat, was Drew; who looked at her with some concern. He could tell she was anxious.

"Don't worry Misty, we're going to get off this island in one piece", Drew said, trying to put some more confidence in her. Sitting across from Drew, closest to the door, was Ryoto. He had heard Drew's comment.

"It's not going to be that easy", Ryoto said. Both Misty and Drew looked over to him. "Team Rocket is notoriously stubborn. They're not going to give up this easily, not when they still have a fighting chance. And these Rockets won't be as easy as the ones we fought earlier".

"How so? What do you know about this Ryoto?", Drew asked, a hint of anger in his voice. It was as if Ryoto was hiding information from them. Ryoto looked around, noticed that no one was really paying attention to him, and leaned more over to Drew and Misty.

"I didn't want to say this in front of the others for fear of everyone panicking; but you're region leaders, you can handle it. Large Rocket bases that are vital to the Rocket control of a region all have secondary buildings separated from the main base. This is so that if the main base is ever attacked, the second building can come as a backup. But the Rockets placed in these secondary buildings are much more skilled. They're all higher leveled Rockets, most likely in the demolition, medical, and infantry legions of Team Rocket. There could very well even be some assassin legions that I trained personally. They all have more killing potential than an average grunt", Ryoto explained.

Both Misty and Drew became worried. They did not realize that they were dealing with much more deadly Rockets. This would prove to be even more dangerous than they anticipated; especially for the ATVs.

"So then, do you think we have a chance at all at reaching the boats?", Drew asked.

"The good thing on our side is numbers. They will not have as many people as we do, maybe thirty or so Rockets at the most. But there's no positive way of telling. On top of that, these Rockets see less action than a typical grunt because they remain stationed in their locations and don't go on missions. So even though they're more skilled, they may be out of practice", Ryoto explained.

"So there is a chance, alright. We'll be more careful then. Make sure that no Rockets get too close to the bus!", Misty said. Drew and Ryoto nodded. After saying this, the last of the rebels got onto the bus and Brock stepped in. Misty closed the door and Brock stood up, beside Drew and Ryoto. He overlooked the inside of the bus.

Every seat had at least two people in it, with a lot even having three. Everyone looked tired and worn out from the day's fighting, but he knew that they were all still willing to give it their all, and then some. Unfortunately, some of them may give even their lives soon. He could only hope that they would reach the boats sooner than expected. Many of the people he fought along side with during this day were with him as well, which gave him a sort of ease.

"Ok, everyone's set. We're ready to go", Brock said. He then turned to Misty. "Give the order, and then let's get moving". Misty nodded. She reached over and grabbed a walkie talkie that was attacked to a stretchy cord. She pressed a button and spoke into it. It was connected to a speaker system that could be heard both inside and outside of the bus.

"Ok, we're all set, let's move!", Misty said. The ATVs revved their engines and the jeeps began to rumble. Misty put the walkie back and put the bus in drive. The ATVs were the first to depart, taking the front of the line. Drew watched from the bus's front window as May began to be taken away, to Dawn's boat. For part of the trip, the group would travel together before having to split. This made Drew anxious, knowing that he won't be able to help her much from where he was.

Misty then began to drive, making sure to start off slow before speeding off. They couldn't risk tipping over the bus. The rebels would have to drive over a few hills and large grassy plains before reaching the boats. The ATVs would then leave the group and head towards the town on the shore. As they would do this, the bus and jeeps would continue forward, going over the plains before having to leave their vehicles to go through the woods and to the other boat. By this time, the wounded should be in their boat and already going around the island. Then, the two boats would meet and make their way towards Ash.

From the back of the bus, a few rebels watched as the two jeeps began to follow them, keeping pace well with the large vehicle. Everyone managed to take at least one glance back at the Rocket base behind them, a shell of its former self. The array was down, and made the base look much smaller than when they arrived. Fire and smoke still ravaged parts of the base, while a whole section of it was missing entirely from the destruction of the dish. Everyone thought back to the friends and allies they lost in the fighting that took place inside.

For some of them, it was a sense of peace, knowing that they were finally leaving that god forsaken building behind them, never to see it again. For others, it was a sense of pity, knowing that many of their fallen comrades would never have a proper burial, and may never rest in piece. It was almost symbolic really, to see the destruction of a base that caused so much misery for the world. As if when good dies, evil has to as well, and vice versa. The rebels knew that the image that was getting smaller and smaller to them as they left would not soon be forgotten for any of them.

All of the vehicles soon began to move much quicker, and were bumping along the grassy plain. It was obvious that vehicles rarely, if ever, traveled this way. The grass was tall and undisturbed, except for by the few grazing Pokemon that survived on the island from Team Rocket. The breeze caused the grass to sway, making waves of green bend back and forth in unison. The older rebels looked at this, thinking of days when they used to lay out on the grass and stare at the clouds, basking in the sun's rays. Some became a bit nostalgic, while others made a promise to do things like that again, once world peace was achieved.

On the ATVs, the rebels moved as quickly as they could. Their small size, large wheels, and sturdy build allowed them to move easier than the bus or jeeps. But the riders still had to hold on to their seats. May held her chest tightly, the pain causing her to cringe. She looked back and could see that Ashley was doing the same with her stomach. She did not know exactly what had happened to her since they were grouped up before the mission started, but felt bad to see her in pain. But she knew that Ashley was strong, and would take it.

"You alright?", someone asked. May turned to see Darrel, looking at her. He kept an eye on the field ahead of him, but had obviously taken notice to May's condition.

"I'll be fine as long as we reach the boats soon", May replied. Darrel nodded.

"Right. We're going as fast as we can. Hopefully we're well ahead of the Rockets and they won't be able to catch up in time", Darrel responded.

"I hope so too!", May said. Driving along side them to their left, in another ATV, was Hunter and Trent. Trent had a tough time getting used to Hunter's rough driving. His shoulder began to bleed again after the constant bumps, although it could not be helped. The rebel who was positioned in the passenger seat tried to help Trent's injury, but was limited. Hunter drove closer to Darrel, looking over to him.

"SO FAR SO GOOD, WHEN DO YOU THINK THE ROCKETS ARE GONNA SHOW?", Darrel asked in a yell. The ATVs were loud and it was hard to hear.

"HOPEFULLY NOT AT ALL. BUT I DON'T GET WHY THEY DISAPPEARED AFTER WE ESCAPED WITH THE ATVS!", Darrel responded.

"PROBABLY TO GET MORE FIRE POWER, OR FASTER VEHICLES. EITHER WAY WE NEED TO GET READY FOR A FIGHT!", Hunter responded. Darrel then looked over to his right, and saw another ATV on the move. Driving this ATV was Dawn, along with three other rebels with her. Darrel motioned to May. After doing so, May seemed to know exactly what he wanted, and turned towards Dawn.

"DAWN!", May yelled. Dawn looked over towards May's side. "THE ROCKETS COULD SHOW UP ANY MINUTE, GET READY!".

"GOT IT!", Dawn yelled back. She revved the engine more and the ATV moved faster along the plain. The others followed quickly. After doing this, Hunter glanced behind him to check out the surrounding area. There was nothing to his right with the exception of a bit of forest and the vast ocean, (which seemed to get further and further away as they progressed across the island). He then looked to his left. There was much more plain on that side, and then trees past that. But something seemed to catch his eye. He noticed that several bird type Pokemon were suddenly flying out from the trees and into the air, going any which way they can.

That wasn't a good sign.

Just then, several large black vehicles seemed to jump out from the trees and tear up the grass. Hunter looked to the others.

"HERE THEY COOOOOME!", Hunter yelled. Everyone on the ATVs turned around and saw the menacing vehicles move their way towards them. Dawn gasped and turned to her passenger.

"TELL THE OTHERS THAT THEY'RE HERE!", Dawn ordered. The rebel nodded, the fear evident in his expression. He positioned himself around so that he was facing the large bus and motioned to the direction of the vehicles. Misty immediately saw this, as did Brock.

"Something's coming from the far left", Misty said. Brock turned around and looked out the side windows towards the direction. He saw the vehicles. His heart sank deep into his chest. They were in for another fight.

"EVERYONE, THEY'RE ON THE WAY, GET READY!", Brock yelled. Everyone prepared themselves as quickly as they could. Some rebels seemed to panic a bit, feeling defenseless, while others grabbed what weapons they could. From the jeeps behind the bus, Angel looked over to the vehicles. Because they were in the back, they were able to see them much more clearly.

The vehicles that approached them all gleamed in the sunlight due to their shiny black color. They were all jeeps or ATVs, but they looked better than the ones they had. Their ATVs were smaller, and couldn't hold more than three people, but they were much faster than the ones the PTA stole. Their jeeps were another thing all together. They looked brand new, powerful, fast, tough, and menacing. They were most likely the newer models of the jeeps they had. The bright red "R" on the vehicles all looked like a blur of fire as they drove by.

"ALEKSI!", Angel yelled.

"I KNOW! HANG ON!", Aleksi yelled. She put the jeep into a different gear and then the jeep moved faster. Brian did the same and they kept pace. Angel could see that from the other Jeep, Mathinza was pulling out what appeared to be a large rifle. It must of been his sniping rifle. Jeremy turned around from the passenger seat and saw this as well.

"DO YOU EXPECT TO BE ABLE TO HIT ANYTHING WHILE MOVING?", Jeremy asked. It was a serious question, but there was a slight hint of sarcasm in it as well. Mathinza looked at Jeremy.

"I DON'T KNOW TO BE HONEST WITH YOU. I HAVE CONFIDENCE IN MY SHOOTING, BUT I'VE NEVER SHOT FROM A MOVING VEHICLE BEFORE! IT WOULD BE A LOT EASIER IF MY POKEMON COULD HELP!", Mathinza said.

"WELL YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE TO TRY YOUR BEST! IF NOT, THEN GRAB SOMETHING MORE SUITABLE!", Brian yelled. Mathinza nodded. He placed his rifle back down and looked around the back of the jeep. The front seats of the jeep were separated in the middle, but the back seats were all one long seat. He lifted the cushion to the seat and looked around. There were several items in the seats; a tire jack, some flares, a flash light, all items typical in a car, but not helpful right now.

Seeing that there was nothing there, he put the cushion back down and began to crawl into the trunk. Since there was no secure cover to the jeep and no windows, one could crawl from the back seat into the trunk. It wasn't as wide as the newer ones in the distance, but had more stuff in it. There, Mathinza found a large, silver, metal box. He lifted the latches on the front of the box and opened it. Inside, were several machine guns.

Mathinza was not much for killing people, he actually only did it if necessary, but right now, it was necessary. He grabbed one of the machine guns and tossed it to Jeremy. It was a smaller machine gun, like a MPK 5. Jeremy pulled back a lever in the end of the gun and a arm rest came out, allowing for easier fire and less recoil. He was then tossed a ammo cartridge and placed it into the gun. Mathinza meanwhile pulled out a larger machine gun, a M-16.

Seeing this from the other jeep, Angel began searching for weapons as well. She pulled out her Beretta, but she doubted it would be of much use in distant shooting. So she left it on her seat and crawled into the back as well. As she rummaged through the trunk, Riles turned and looked at her with a confused expression.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING BACK THERE?", Riles asked, holding down his hat from the rush of wind. Angel did not turn to face him, but instead kept looking.

"TRYING TO FIND SOMETHING OF USE BACK HERE!", Angel replied. Riles did not like the idea of her looking for weapons, but could not leave a little girl to do such a thing alone. So he crawled back, (making sure not to obstruct Aleksi's view while driving), and made it to the back seat. He leaned over and looked around as well. Angel managed to find a metal box similar to the one Mathinza had found and opened it. She looked around and pulled out several weapons. Riles looked upset.

"SOMEONE LIKE YOU SHOULD NEVER BE USING WEAPONS LIKE THESE!", Riles stated. Angel looked to Riles. "NO CHILD OF GOD SHOULD HAVE TO BE FORCED INTO FIGHTING LIKE THIS, ESPECIALLY SOMEONE LIKE YOU!".

"WHAT ABOUT THEM THEN?", Angel asked, referring to Team Rocket. Riles sighed and shook his head.

"They have long lost their way, they're satanic now. God help them", Riles said. It was hard to hear in the loud atmosphere, but Angel managed to make it out. She agreed to a point with what Riles was saying. But she simply could not leave herself to die, not when her parents needed to be saved and her friends were in danger. She turned back around and pulled out a large M-16. She had not had any experience with a weapon this big, but she figured it couldn't be that hard.

"I'M SORRY RILES, BUT I CANNOT LET MY FRIENDS DIE! I AM GOING TO PROTECT THEM ANYWAY I CAN, AND THEN I'M GOING TO SAVE MY PARENTS!", Angel replied. She began to try to place the ammo cartridge into the gun, but found it difficult due to the sheer size of the weapon. Riles sighed. He did not agree with her actions what so ever, but, in a way, was also proud of the girl.

She was doing what she could to protect the ones she loved. Even if it meant killing others. Even the bible said that you should always protect your loved one. he reached over and grabbed a weapon from the box. He set it up to be used, took the machine gun away from Angel, and gave her the one he grabbed. It was a Uzi, much like the ones the grunts carried, only full size and not mini.

"IF YOU'RE GOING TO USE A WEAPON, USE ONE BETTER SUITED FOR YOU. YOU WON'T BE ABLE TO HANDLE A WEAPON THIS POWERFUL, THAT ONE SHOULD BE EASIER!", Riles said. Angel looked at Riles for a moment, and then smiled.

"THANK YOU!", Angel said. Riles nodded back. He then pulled himself out of the trunk and back to the passenger seat, bringing with him the M-16. He would not use it himself, but it was best to have it by his side anyway, just in case.

"OK, GET READY TO PROTECT THE ATVS AND BUS WITH OUR LIVES!", Aleksi yelled. She then steered the jeep off of her current path and made it so that it was slightly behind and to the side of the bus. Brian positioned his jeep in the same way, behind Aleksi's.

The Rocket vehicles began to get closer now. Angel could see that the Rockets inside looked more fierce than the ones she had seen/fought before. They also looked blood thirsty, like ravaged Houndour that had been starved for weeks and then just thrown into a pit with a defenseless Pokemon. Riles was right, they did look satanic. She pulled her Uzi up and held it tightly in her hands. The burns were still hurting, but she ignored the pain. She couldn't let a minor injury cause her aim to slip up, not now.

Suddenly, one of the Rockets in one of the jeeps furthest ahead stood up in the passenger seat. He was a very large Rocket with his sleeves cut off, revealing very bulky arms. He reached something around his belt and then threw it high in the air. It was a Pokeball. The ball burst open and out came a white light. As the Rocket caught the ball, the large Pokemon revealed itself. It was a Skarmory. It soared in the air until the Rocket pointed ahead, towards the PTA. The Skarmory screeched and then immediately took off, at great speed.

The attack had begun.

Riles noticed the quickly approaching Pokemon and had to act fact. He stood up in his seat and pulled out a Pokeball.

"Now HERE is where I can help!", Riles said. He threw the Pokeball in the air and out burst a Flygon. After catching the Pokeball, he pointed to the Skarmory. "FLYGON, HELP PROTECT US FROM TEAM ROCKET'S POKEMON, GO!". Flygon screeched in response and flew out at the Skarmory. Both Pokemon moved at great speed towards each other, neither one giving way. After a second or so, the two collided in the air, batting each other back and forth. They moved so quickly that it was nearly impossible to even keep track of the fighting.

The Rockets however, did not even pay attention. They kept moving forward, not slowing down for anything. Their engines roared in the air, sounding like monsters on the prawl. The ATVs moved further forward, heading more towards the other ATVs and bus; while the jeeps remained at their own pace. They would take on Angel and the jeeps first before moving forward.

"DAMN, THEY'RE SMART. THEY'RE SPREADING OUT AND MAKING IT HARDER TO DEFEND, ANGEL, GET READY!", Aleksi yelled. Angel nodded.

"RIGHT!", Angel responded, her gun aimed at the Rockets. As the Rockets drew near, her heart began to beat faster and faster. Once again, she found herself looking death in the face. She was lucky so far, but her luck could run out at any second. Two jeeps pulled themselves closer to Angel's jeep while the rest remained in their place. They then opened fire.

At least two to three Rockets in each jeep began to fire at Angel. Most of the bullets seemed to merely buzz by, but others were close calls. Angel ducked quickly, covering her head with her arms. The sound of bullets clanging on the metal side of the jeep echoed in her ears. It didn't help that she was right beside it. They were ringing out loud, but she dared not move. Once she noticed that the banging stopped, she immediately sat up and open fired herself.

She had a tough time focusing the Uzi onto the jeep, it felt like it wanted to go its own path. Riles was right, if she was having this much difficulty with this gun, a M-16 would be useless to her. Despite the trouble though, she managed to keep it relatively on sight. The Rockets in the jeep furthest ahead ducked, taking cover as best they could. Angel shot out the side view mirror on the right side of the jeep, along with putting many dents onto the side of the doors and taking out one of the headlights.

Angel then quickly ducked down, knowing that they would fire upon her again soon. She didn't think she hit anyone that time, but at least now they would be more cautious, this helped a little bit. A few bullets zoomed past, nearly striking Aleksi. She covered herself as best she could, but it was difficult for her to do this and drive at the same time.

The second jeep also began to fire on Angel's car. They must of had events like these planned out. They were highly trained. The front car was the one they wanted to get rid of first, since it was closest to the bus. Now bullets were coming from directly across and slightly behind Angel. It was getting harder to avoid these bullets. Angel sat up once again and fired. This time, spreading the bullets back and forth between the two cars. Once again, the people in the front jeep ducked for cover, and little more damage was done. The people in the second jeep also ducked, but due to their position, more of the jeep was open for damage.

The windshield shattered completely from the bullets; as did the headlights. The Rocket in the passenger seat ducked entirely, making himself completely covered. The driver could not do the same, but slumped in his seat as best he could. However, it was not enough. One of the bullets struck him in the forehead, causing fragments of blood, brain, and skull to come out the other end. He fell forward, causing the jeep to steer well off course. The Rocket in the passenger seat had to lunge forward to grab the steering wheel. Seeing this, Brian turned and looked to the rebels in his car.

"NOW'S A CHANCE, FIRE!", Brian yelled. Jeremy and Mathinza nodded. Jeremy stood up in his seat so as to avoid hitting Brian while Mathinza merely raised his gun and aimed. The two then opened fire on the second jeep. Because both guns were more powerful than Angel's Uzi, they did much more damage. The jeep was completely sprayed with bullets. Stuffing from the seats and pieces of the support beams for the not present canvas were torn and thrown about. The jeep veered left and right until it eventually took one hard turn to the left and flipped over.

The jeep rolled several times, still keeping up with the speed of the jeeps, before eventually falling behind and away from the rebels. That was one down, one to go.

"GOOD JOB! BUT WE STILL HAVE MORE TO DEAL WITH!", Brian said. The two boys nodded. The jeep that was up front took notice of the attack on the second jeep. They pulled up closer to Brian's jeep and opened fire. Jeremy immediately dove down for the bottom of his seat while Brian and Mathinza ducked. Their windshield took several hits and caused the glass to fracture, but not shatter. This was not typical glass like the newer jeeps were. The seats also took some severe damage and were nearly torn completely.

They realized they were in a tough situation, but could not find an easy way out. Angel witnessed this and turned to Aleksi and Riles.

"THEY NEED OUR HELP!", Angel yelled. Aleksi looked in her rearview mirror and noticed as well.

"SHE'S RIGHT, OK, HOLD ON!", Aleksi yelled. She then turned the jeep hard to the left, hitting the front of the Rocket jeep lightly. This was enough to cause the driver of the jeep to lose control slightly and stopped the shooting. Aleksi then positioned her vehicle so that it was directly in front of the Rocket jeep. Now, they were pinned in at the front and right side. "ALRIGHT, ANGEL, DUCK, RILES, TAKE THE WHEEL!", Aleksi yelled. Riles grabbed the wheel while Aleksi tightened the gloves on her hands.

After doing so, she grabbed the bar above her that held the jeep's canvas and pulled herself up out of her seat. She flipped up and then spun around, making a acrobatic move to get into position. Once she was sitting on top of the bars and facing the Rocket jeep, she pulled out a pistol and leaned to the side of the jeep. Once she did, she fired a couple of shots, taking out the front left tire of the Rocket jeep.

Doing so caused the jeep to slow down and begin to turn slightly to the left. As soon as this happened, Aleksi pulled something out of her jacket. It was a grenade. She pulled the pin out with her teeth and tossed it up and over to the Rocket jeep. It landed in the back seat, on the ground. Aleksi turned to Riles.

"DRIVE!", Aleksi yelled. Riles immediately put the jeep into another gear and hit the gas. The jeep moved faster, going away from the Rocket vehicle. Brian's vehicle turned hard to the right and tried to catch up to Aleksi's. Just then, the Rocket jeep blew up. The explosion caused the gas tank in the jeep to also catch, making for a bigger fireball. The jeep was blasted in the air temporarily before landing back down hard on the ground, no longer moving.

Riles moved back over to his seat just as Aleksi swooped back down into the driver's seat and re-took the wheel.

"THAT WAS AWESOME ALEKSI!", Angel yelled happily. Aleksi smiled.

"THANKS! BUT NOW WE NEED TO MOVE UP, THE ROCKETS ARE ADVANCING!", Aleksi yelled, avoiding a bump on the field. Just then, the sound of something flying overhead caught their attention. They all looked up to see Riles' Flygon. It looked pleased, most likely defeating the enemy Skarmory relatively easily. Riles smiled.

"GOOD JOB FLYGON! NOW, GO AND SEE WHO ELSE NEEDS HELP, BUT BE CAREFUL!", Riles said. Flygon nodded and within a second was gone, flying over the battlefield to help wherever it could. Just as Flygon left, Brian's jeep pulled up right beside Aleksi's. Jeremy leaned over to get closer to her.

"SO WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO NOW?", Jeremy asked. Aleksi focused more on her driving, but did hear him.

"WE HAVE TO HELP THE OTHERS, REMAIN CLOSE TO THE BUS THOUGH, THAT'S OUR PRIME OBJECTIVE", Aleksi stated. Jeremy nodded and leaned back in his seat. Their jeep then sped off, moving ahead. "I just hope the wounded can make it out soon", Aleksi thought to herself.

During this thought, the ATVs were speeding across the fields, trying to avoid the attacking Rockets. Because of their speed and small size, they were hard to hit from a distance, so the Rockets needed to move up closer to strike. This went to the rebel's favor, because they were prepared for it. Hunter drove his ATV as quickly as he could, enjoying the chase, but making sure to keep him and the others alive.

He had avoided getting shot a couple of times, but had yet to fight any Rocket near him. He was anxious.

"HEY, WHAT'S YOUR NAME AGAIN? SWORD DUDE?", Hunter asked. Trent, who was sitting in the back seat holding on tight and looking for Rockets, glanced over to him.

"IT'S TRENT! NOT "SWORD DUDE"! TRENT!", Trent yelled.

"YEAH, WHATEVER! LISTEN, A SWORD AIN'T GONNA DO YOU A LOT OF GOOD HERE, SO I THINK YOU SHOULD GRAB A GUN!", Hunter explained. Trent did in fact have a gun on him, a typical standard pistol given to PTA rebels. Although he knew very well how to use it, he was still worried. He looked back over to Hunter.

"BUT I'M A TERRIBLE SHOT!", Trent commented.

"WELL I GUESS THEN YOU BETTER HOPE YOU SURVIVE LONG ENOUGH FOR THEM TO GET IN YOUR FACE BEFORE YOU SHOOT!", Hunter yelled. Just then, Hunter looked to his left and saw two Rocket ATVs quickly approaching. One ATV had three Rockets on it while the other only had two. The ATV with the three Rockets came in close, and the two Rockets not driving pulled out guns. Hunter smirked. "SO, YOU WANNA TANGO? ALRIGHT, LET'S TANGO!".

Hunter swung his right arm over towards the Rockets, holding in his hands his M-16. He then fired the gun at the Rockets all while still driving. Because he only used the one hand, his aim was a bit off, but it was still well enough to completely butcher the three Rockets. Bullets were sprayed into their bodies as they soon began to fall off; the ATV stopped moving entirely. Hunter watched as the now vacant ATV fell behind them. However, keeping his attention on the now distant ATV proved to be a mistake. The second ATV moved in at great speed and rammed Hunter's. The Rocket on the back began to fight with Hunter while the driver kept driving.

The sudden hit caused both Trent and the passenger rebel to nearly fall off the ATV. Trent leaned over to help the passenger back into his seat before pulling himself up. Once he did, he looked around the back seat for his pistol, which he had dropped. He couldn't find the pistol on his seat, and he needed to act quickly. Suddenly, he spotted it, on the far end of the ATV. This was a flat section on the ATV instead of a seat, meant for hauling small items back and forth. He dove to it and grabbed the gun, then quickly spun around and aimed it.

Trent fired three shots at the attacking Rocket. The first two missed entirely, (although Trent figured they were close shots), but the third one struck the Rocket in the side. It was enough to cause the Rocket to stop fighting and release Hunter, now in pain. Hunter smiled and punched the same Rocket in the face, causing him to lean to far to the side and fall off the ATV while they were driving.

This left only the driver. Trent aimed his pistol once more and prepared to fire, when suddenly the ATV they were on hit a bump. Both Hunter's and the Rocket's ATV struck a bump on the hill, causing Trent to once again lose his pistol. The Rocket driver quickly regained control, but it took Hunter a little bit longer to do so. But once he did, he looked back over to the Rocket and grinned, pulling his machine gun back out.

"SAY HELLO TO SATAN FOR ME!", Hunter yelled. He then pulled the trigger, but the gun only clicked. It had run out of ammo. Hunter sweat dropped and looked back to the Rocket, grinning sheepishly. The Rocket smirked evilly and slowly pulled out an Uzi from his side. He aimed it at Hunter. Hunter however, was prepared for this. He smiled. "TIME TO SAY GOODBYE!", Hunter yelled. He then suddenly leaned nearly completely off the ATV. The Rocket looked at him, but then looked back to the ATV.

The passenger, sitting next to Hunter, had a shot gun aimed at him. He pumped it and the Rocket gasped, his eyes wide open in fear. The passenger fired, blasting several slugs into the Rocket. He completely fell off the ATV, causing it to flip a bit before stopping. Hunter managed to pull himself back up and begin driving once again. He laughed out loud and looked back to the Rocket.

"BET YOU WEREN'T EXPECTING THAT WERE YA?", Hunter yelled. He then looked over to the passenger and Trent. "NICE JOB, THE BOTH OF YOU! NOW LET'S GET MOVING!". Hunter revved the engine and made it go faster, moving along the plain as quickly as he could.

**And there's the end of the chapter for you. Sorry for the delay, I made great progress on this chapter and tried to get it out about a day or so after the last one, but then some "personal issues" came up. I can't talk about them, but they're pretty serious and involve a loved one. So it has been a bit distracting for me to write. I don't know when, or even if, these problems will be resolved, so please be patient with me. Also, please be sure to F.A.R.! I enjoy getting messages telling me that people do! "With their escape now on the way, will the PTA be able to get off the island with their lives? Will they be able to meet up with Ash? Or will the Rockets overwhelm them? Find out next time on EVAN AAML's "R"!". And that should do it, once again, I apologize for the wait, and any spelling/grammar mistakes in the chapter. Like I said, it's been hard to concentrate. Hopefully by the next update everything will be better. Until then, this is EVAN AAML, goodbye!**

**sincerely,  
evan, a fan of aaml -EVAN AAML**


	32. Chapter 32

**Well here I am again folks, sorry for the delay. For those of you who are still wondering, yes, I am still going through the same personal problems that occurred since before my last update. Although it has gotten better, it's still going to be some time before it is completely taken cared of, possibly even months. But fear not, I still intend to update the story when I can! So, here it is, and I hope you enjoy it!**

**-EVAN AAML**

The rebel's progress had slowed down considerably since they left the base. Not for lack of speed, but for the constant fighting on the way. Every rebel was under attack and had to, in one way or another, fight back. Though these Rockets were more trained than the typical grunt, they were out of practice, which went to their advantage. This of course did not go by May, who was still riding along on the ATV. Since the Rockets arrived, all she has done was shoot at them, not doing much in terms of damage. But she has also been keeping her eyes open, and noticed the weakness the Rockets were showing. She turned to Darrel, who was still driving at top speed.

"Darrel, I noticed something about these Rockets!", May said. Darrel looked to her side, but kept on driving.

"What is it?", Darrel asked.

"These Rockets, they're not as tough as we thought they would be, I think they're out of shape from lack of fighting", May realized. Ashley, who was looking behind them for any approaching Rockets, turned to the two in front.

"Yeah! I noticed that too!", Ashley said.

"So if that's the case, then that means that we can beat them with a more coordinated attack", May said. Darrel nodded.

"That's good and all, but how do you intend to do it?", Darrel asked. May looked away from Darrel and towards the back, seeing the many Rockets still coming.

"I'm not sure yet", May said, still thinking of a plan. It was too dangerous to have the Rockets following them to the boats. Once they stopped they would be sitting ducks. As May tried to think of a way out, bullets began to fly all around. She snapped out of her train of thought and ducked down as quickly as she could. Darrel leaned forward, making sure not to lose control of the ATV. Ashley ducked down as well, laying down along the back seat.

"They're getting closer!", Ashley said to May and Darrel.

"If you're gonna do something, you best do it now!", Darrel told May. Ashley leaned up just enough to get a good view of the Rockets. She then pulled out her pistol and began to fire. She missed the first time, but managed to strike one passenger Rocket in the head, causing him to fall off the ATV and fall behind. Ashley continued to fire until suddenly, her gun clicked. She looked at the gun and then threw it onto the floor of the ATV in frustration.

"Damn it! I'm out!", Ashley said. The Rockets continued to fire bullets at the many rebel ATVs before them. All of the rebels ducked and dodged as best they could, trying to avoid the bullets. Hunter drove his ATV closer to May's and looked over to them.

"WHAT THE FUCK ARE WE GONNA DO?", Hunter asked both worried and angry. The pressure was on. May was normally very good at coming up with plans and executing them, but they were heavily limited due to their lack of weapons and constant movement. While May continued to think, Ashley peeked over her seat to see the Rockets. They were all coming in closer, and would soon have more accurate shots.

A bullet zoomed past, causing her to duck quickly.

"That's it! I've had enough of this!", Ashley said. She then reached for her side and pulled out a Pokeball. She aimed it at the end of her seat and it burst open in her hands. The white light took form at the end of her seat and soon a large electric type lion Pokemon appeared, a Luxray. It looked at Ashley, ready for its commands. Despite the bullets flying by, Luxray kept its cool.

"Luxray, I want you to help get these Rockets off our backs, but be careful!", Ashley said. Luxray nodded. "OK, LUXRAY, THUNDERBOLT ATTACK!". Luxray jumped up onto the back of the ATV, right in the line of fire. It began to spark, causing everyone in the ATV to cover themselves. Luxray soon built up enough energy and fired its attack. The Thunderbolt launched in the air and struck the ATV directly behind them. The Rockets all yelled in pain as electricity flowed through their bodies. Suddenly, their ATV began to spark, and suddenly it exploded. The Rockets were sent flying in all directions.

Ashley smiled and looked over to her Luxray.

"Great job Luxray!", Ashley said. Luxray jumped down onto the seat next to its trainer and merely nodded in response. Seeing the explosion, May's head began to run ideas into play. Suddenly, something hit her.

"Of course! I know what we can do!", May said. Ashley, Darrel, and even Hunter's ATV looked over to her. "Their ATVs are newer than ours, they must have some computers built into their rides. When Luxray fired its Thunderbolt, it must of fried the computers. That caused the gas to spark and cause an explosion! We need electric Pokemon to get rid of these guys!".

May looked over to Hunter's ATV. "Do any of you have electric Pokemon?", May asked.

"I have an Electrode, but it's still recovering from using Self Destruct earlier", Hunter explained. May then looked over to the rebel passenger. He shook his head, no electric Pokemon. Trent leaned forward in his seat so that he was in May's view and looked at her.

"I have one we can use!", Trent stated. May smiled.

"Great!", May said.

"But that only leaves us with two, how many do we need?", Darrel asked.

"Not that many, if we can channel the electricity together into one attack...but I know someone else who can help", May said. She then turned around and looked to her right. On her right side, still avoiding bullets from attacking Rockets was Dawn, driving as quickly as she could. One of the rebels in her back seat got shot and was being given medical care from the rebel sitting beside him. May turned back over to Darrel. "Darrel, get us closer to Dawn!".

Darrel did as she said and drove closer to Dawn's ATV. Hunter drove closer as well, but made sure there was still distance between them. May leaned over so that she was as close to Dawn as she could be.

"DAWN!", May yelled. Dawn looked over to her side. Seeing her, she drove her ATV in closer so that they could communicate better.

"What is it?", Dawn asked, sensing that May had thought of something.

"I know how we can get rid of these Rockets, but we need electric Pokemon, release Pachirisu!", May explained. Dawn immediately understood what May was trying to do and nodded with a smile, she knew she could trust May with her life. While keeping one hand on the steering wheel, she reached down and grabbed a Pokeball from her belt. After doing so, she opened it and a small bouncy squirrel popped out, ready to fight.

"Pachirisu, ready to fight off Team Rocket?", Dawn asked her little Pokemon. Pachirisu held up its paws in a fist and nodded, excited. Dawn then looked over to May. "Ok, we're ready on my side!". May nodded and looked over to Hunter's ATV. Trent had already released his electric Pokemon, a Magnemite. Although both Pachirisu and Magnemite were small, May didn't have any worries. She knew how strong Dawn's little Pokemon was, and electric-steel type Pokemon were known for storing more electricity than normal electric types.

Them, along with Ashley's Luxray, should be enough to go forth with her plan.

"OK, READY?", May asked yelling out loud.

"READY!", all three trainers responded. The three Pokemon moved into their positions and prepared themselves. "PACHIRISU/LUXRAY/MAGNEMITE, THUNDER!", the trainers yelled. All three Pokemon began to spark tremendously. Up above the rebel ATVs, a storm cloud began to form. It started off as merely a dark colored cloud, but soon multiplied and became darker; more unstable. The Rockets also noticed this and panicked. A couple ATVs were far enough back where they were able to pull away, closer to the Rocket jeeps at the end.

Suddenly, all three Pokemon yelled and released their stored electricity into the thunder clouds The clouds rumbled, creating a loud bang before lightning suddenly came down and struck the ATVs. The rebels watched as the Rockets yelled in agony. Some weren't struck by the bolts themselves, but their ATVs were. Within a matter of seconds, nearly all of the ATVs suddenly sparked and blew up. Bodies were tossed about everywhere, some in pieces. tires rolled across the plains, as if they were escaping the fire.

The rebels all ducked and avoided what they could from the explosion. One ATV was too close to the attack and shrapnel struck the entire group. The ATV fell over and the rebels all fell out, metal sticking through their bodies. Luckily since the rebels were all still driving, they quickly escaped the explosion and watched as it fell behind them. May could not believe her eyes, the plan nearly worked entirely. Well more than half of the Rockets were killed in one attack.

The few remaining ATVs and all of the jeeps veered off course, away from the ATVs. Most of the rebels cheered out loud, feeling victorious.

"HOORAH! TAKE THAT YOU STUPID BASTARDS!", Hunter yelled proudly. Darrel chuckled.

"HOT DAMN! I can't believe that shit worked, nice job dog!", Darrel said. He then turned and looked to May, whom he was referring to. However, he noticed that she was not as excited as the other rebels were. As Ashley cheered and hugged a very tired Luxray for a job well done, Darrel continued to look at May, wondering what was going on in her head. He glanced over towards the ATV on May's side and noticed that despite driving, Dawn was in fact looking the same way as May. "Yo, commander...what's going on?", Darrel asked, realizing that possibly not all was as well as it appeared.

"...the Rockets are moving away", May said. She glanced over to Dawn's side. Dawn was looking towards where the Rockets were, and then managed to turn and catch eye contact with May. She nodded, which resulted in a nod back. "Something's not right here".

"What do you mean?", Darrel asked.

"Team Rocket never surrenders, not when they still have a fighting chance...so why would they leave now when their numbers are still strong?", May asked. Darrel was beginning to understand what she was getting at. He glanced behind him to look at the Rockets. They had pulled back and were a bit off to the side, but still following them. As Ashley returned Luxray, the two other rebels looked on, wondering when, or if, they would make another move.

Suddenly, their engines roared up once again. As if they were reinvigorated, they began their charge. But this time, they kept to the side of the ATVs. May began to panic.

"Oh no...", May said. Ashley turned around and looked to May.

"What is it?", Ashley asked. May could only watch in horror.

"...they're going after the bus", May replied. Ashley and Darrel gasped. The Rockets decided that the ATVs were too heavily protected, but they knew that the slower moving bus would be an easier target; despite the two jeeps protecting it. They intended to swarm the bus and stop it by sheer force.

"Oh fuck!", Darrel said. May quickly stood up in the ATV, making sure to grip the bottom with her feet as tightly as she could.

"THEY'RE GOING AFTER THE BUS! YOU ALL, GO OVER FOR SUPPORT! THE REST OF YOU, KEEP ON TO THE BOAT, AND QUICKLY!", May commanded. A few ATVs, including Dawn's, Hunter's, and her own, began to move closer in on the bus. The remaining ATVs kept onto their path, but remained at the ready for whenever they were needed.

On the bus, the rebels all bounced up and down from the rough terrain. The bus was not meant to drive fast, especially not on a plain like this. The explosion caused by the Thunder attack caused some of the windows to shatter. Some rebels were injured, but none were killed. Brock held on tightly to the standing bar at the front of the bus, trying not to fall and injure himself more. Misty did what she could to make the ride more stable, but she was limited. As they progressed along, Jacob, (who was sitting at the back of the bus with machine gun in hand), kept an eye out for the Rockets.

They had all witnesses the majority of the Rockets get killed, but they were not out of the woods just yet, and they knew it. Jacob kept on his toes, ready to fight off any Rockets that appeared. He then looked out the window to the back door of the bus and noticed the Rocket's sudden change of pace and direction. His heart stopped beating in fear and his eyes widened in shock. The whole remaining group was coming, and within a matter of seconds they would be completely surrounded on all side.

"Shit, shit, shit, shit, SHIT!", Jacob yelled as he quickly stood up and ran towards the front of the bus. "WE GOT ROCKETS COMING!". Brock, Drew, Ryoto, and Tracy all looked at Jacob in shock.

"How many?", Tracy asked.

"ALL OF THEM!", Jacob yelled back.

"Damn it, they're trying to flank us with everything they've got left, EVERYONE, DUCK DOWN OR GET READY TO FIGHT, THEY'RE COMING IN FAST! Misty, be careful and try to avoid as many as you can!", Brock said, looking to everyone and then to Misty. Misty nodded.

"Right, I know", Misty said, revving the engine and making the bus move more. The ride became bumpier, but the rebels seemed to forget entirely about their rough ride. Jacob ran to the back of the bus again, his machine gun at the ready. Michael, who was also sitting at the back of the bus, stood up and looked out the windows as well.

"This isn't going to be good", Michael said.

"Is it ever good when it comes to Team Rocket?", Jacob asked. Michael couldn't help but chuckle a bit at that remark. There was a short pause and then Michael spoke again.

"You ready for a fight?", Michael asked. Jacob pulled his machine gun closer to himself and then glanced over at Michael, sharing eye contact with him.

"Always", Jacob responded. Jacob then immediately ran over towards the farthest back window on the driver's side of the bus while Michael ran to the opposite side of Jacob. They both noticed Aleksi's and Brian's jeeps move into position, they saw the Rockets coming.

"Aleksi and the others won't be able to defend us from all of them", Michael commented.

"Luckily we're not that defenseless", Jacob said. They watched as the Rocket vehicles quickly moved in. The defending PTA jeeps moved and remained in a fixed position. Aleksi slightly off to the driver's side of the bus, Brian the exact opposite. None of the jeeps were directly behind the bus. All along the bus, those who were ready to fight were pulling out guns and preparing while the injured ducked and covered themselves.

Misty tried to keep the bus at a steady pace, but found it difficult. One hard turn and the entire bus could flip over. She looked out her left side window to see the ATVs all moving along. The plains here seemed to be endless despite them being on an island, she wasn't sure when they would reach the boats. She also noticed a few ATVs coming closer to them. They were coming to help.

"Looks like were going to have more back up", Misty said. Saying this got Brock and Drew to look out the windows as well to see what she meant. They quickly noticed the ATVs coming in as well.

"Who is it?", Drew asked, not being able to make them out as well. Brock got a closer look to see. He was able to make out Dawn's figure pretty quickly, but it took another second or so to notice May in the passenger seat of another ATV. He also recognized some of the other PTA members that were with them.

"It's Dawn and May", Brock replied. Drew immediately stood up and looked out the window more to see. He quickly noticed May on one of the ATVs.

"Damn it May, what does she think she's doing? She's going to get herself killed!", Drew said. Brock shook his head.

"She's trying to help us. And I'm sure she'll be fine. Despite her injuries, she can still fight back...besides, when have you known May to ever listen to you when it comes to something like this?", Brock asked. Drew knew that what he said was true, but it didn't make him feel any less worried for her. He turned back to the windows and kept his eyes on May.

"Please May...be careful", Drew thought to himself. Unfortunately, Drew did not have a lot of time to dwell on this thought, the Rockets were getting closer.

Outside of the bus, preparing for the possible onslaught, were Aleksi and her squad. She made sure that the jeep remained in position and kept her eyes on the approaching Rockets. Riles still sat in the passenger seat, now praying. He was well aware that this would not end well. Angel watched the Rockets coming with mixed feelings. She was terrified, thinking that this was the time where she would finally run out of luck and die. But that the same time, she was determined to not let that happen. She held onto the Uzi tightly, ready to fight.

You ready Angel? Things are about to get nasty!", Aleksi asked. Angel turned to Aleksi, who was looking at her, and nodded.

"Yeah...I'm ready. I'm not going to give up that easily. There's too much riding on this!", Angel said. Aleksi nodded.

"That's the spirit! Alright, we need to remain on this side of the bus, we CANNOT let them attack it. The bus is nearly defenseless and it has most of the rebels on it. Is that understood?", Aleksi asked. Angel nodded.

"Right!", Angel replied.

"Understood", Riles stated. His words were not filled with the same determination as Angel's. Not because he didn't believe they would win, but because he knew that, regardless, people were going to die. Suddenly, from up above, Flygon appeared. It soared relatively close to the jeep, and it looked tired. Riles understood that Flygon would not be able to do much more in terms of fighting. He pulled out his Pokeball and aimed it at Flygon.

"Thank you Flygon, god bless. Now return!", Riles said. Within a matter of seconds Flygon was gone and Riles returned his Pokeball. After returning his Pokeball, he managed to catch a glimpse of something and pointed in the direction of the thing he saw. "Look!", Riles said. Aleksi and Angel looked over to see the few ATVs move in. Aleksi immediately recognized the people on board and smiled.

"Looks like we've got some more help!", Aleksi said. One of the ATVs backed up and made itself closer to Aleksi's. This was May's ATV. She turned around from her seat and looked at Aleksi.

"WE CAME TO HELP YOU GUYS OUT!", May yelled. Aleksi nodded.

"THANKS, WE NEED IT! WHAT ABOUT THE OTHERS THOUGH?", Aleksi asked.

"THEY'LL BE FINE, TEAM ROCKET IS LEAVING THEM ALONE NOW!", May replied. Aleksi nodded.

"ALRIGHT, GOOD! WE'LL NEED SOME OF YOU TO GO ONTO THE OTHER SIDE OF THE BUS WITH BRIAN AND HIS JEEP!", Aleksi stated. May nodded. She turned to her side and pointed to a few of the ATVs, including Dawn's. Dawn nodded and commanded the other ATVs to follow her to the other side of the bus. They sped ahead, making sure to be a good distance ahead of the bus, before going to the side and keeping pace with them.

Hunter drove his ATV closer to May's and looked to her.

"I'M GOING OVER TOO! STAY SAFE!", Hunter yelled to May. May nodded. Just as Hunter began to speed ahead, the sound of an object being fired pierced their ears. Angel turned around towards the source of the noise. The Rockets were much closer. One Rocket standing in the passenger side of a jeep was standing up and held in his arms a long tube like weapon. It was an RPG, with the explosive rocket flying forward.

The grunt had fired a rocket towards the rebels. Angel panicked and quickly turned towards her friends.

"LOOK OUT!", Angel yelled. Just then, the rocket flew by, striking the back of an ATV positioned right behind Hunter's The ATV blew up, killing the rebels on board. Everyone covered as pieces of debris flew in all different directions. Hunter ducked as a metal rod nearly struck him in the head.

"WHAT THE FUCK?", Hunter yelled. May turned around and looked towards the Rockets. They were just driving past the wreckage of the ATV and were preparing to fire another explosive towards them.

"RPG! EVERYONE, GET READY, MOVE INTO POSITION!", May yelled. Hunter revved the ATV and quickly moved his ATV onto the other side of the bus as quickly as he could. Everyone moved around, making themselves harder targets to get hit by. Aleksi did the same, but knew there was no point. The Rocket wouldn't be aiming for them, he would aim for the bus, which was too big to swerve around like them. She needed to think of something. She then remembered Brian's jeep.

"Wait, Mathinza's a sniper isn't he? That's it!", Aleksi said. She looked over to Brian's jeep to see the three rebels. Brian was also swerving the jeep to prevent himself from getting shot, Jeremy and Mathinza were holding on tight. Aleksi couldn't take the chance of driving towards them, and she doubted that they could hear her from their distance. She grabbed a walkie that was connected to the dashboard of the jeep and pressed a button. She could only hope that they were on the same broadcast.

"Brian? Brian, are you there?", Aleksi asked. Aleksi said this while looking over towards Brian's side. It took a moment, but Aleksi finally sighed when she saw Brian reach for the walkie and pick it up.

"Aleksi? What the hell are we gonna do!", Brian asked worried.

"Listen, get Mathinza to snipe the Rocket with the RPG, do you think he can do that?", Aleksi asked.

"Uh, let me check!", Brian said. Aleksi watched as she saw Brian glance over to Mathinza and talk to him. She couldn't read their lips due to the swerving and she wasn't able to hear them, but she knew what they were saying regardless. Brian then picked up the walkie again. "He said he could do that! Let's hope for the best!", Brian replied. Mathinza reached down and unzipped one of the bags by his feet.

He opened it up and inside were two large pieces to a gun. The top half of the gun, including the barrel and scope, and the bottom half, which held the trigger and cartridges. He clicked the two pieces together and pulled back a small bolt, putting a bullet into the chamber of the rifle. Jeremy and Brian looked at the gun. It seemed different from a typical sniper rifle, but they weren't sure why it was.

Mathinza placed the gun onto the back end of the ATV and took aim, making sure to keep himself as steady as possible. Brian, once seeing that he was ready, stopped swerving.

"You get one shot! Make it count!", Brian said. Mathinza nodded.

"Roger that!", Mathinza replied. He positioned the barrel so that it was right onto the Rocket grunt. He could see from his scope that he had just placed another explosive rocket into the RPG and was ready to fire again. Mathinza had to fire now. As the Rocket raised the RPG, Mathinza pulled the trigger.

Brian and Jeremy noticed that the sniper rifle, despite not having a silencer, barely made a noise. However, they did notice something fly out of the rifle and head towards the armed jeep. The bullet struck the Rocket right in the chest, causing him to bend down in shock. At that very moment, he fired the trigger. The RPG fired right into the floor of the jeep and exploded instantly.

The Rocket was thrown what seemed like a mile away, while the jeep and the people inside of it were blown to bits. Team Rocket swerved out of the way of the vehicle, making sure not to get pulled into the explosion. Hunter, who witnessed the entire thing, couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"HA! THEY'LL HAVE TO GLUE YOU BACK TOGETHER, IN HELL!", Hunter yelled. Trent and the passenger rebel both sweat dropped. Aleksi picked up the walkie and talked into it.

"Good job Mathinza, I don't think we'll need to worry about RPGs again", Aleksi commented. From the other jeep, Mathinza smiled.

"That's good", Mathinza said. He then turned to Jeremy and Brian. "I guess now all we have to do is", before he could finish, he was immediately cut off. Several of the vehicles that veered away from the explosion were now firing at Brian's jeep. Mathinza immediately grabbed his gun and ducked down below the seats, as did Jeremy. Brian lowered himself, but kept his head up at least to see.

"HOLY SHIT! THEY'RE ALL OVER US!", Jeremy yelled.

"They split apart, they're gonna attack both sides at the same time!", Brian realized. He quickly grabbed the walkie and pressed the button. "Aleksi, they're going to attack both sides at the same time, get ready!".

"Roger that!", Aleksi replied. She then dropped the walkie, letting it dangle from its cord. She looked to her side and could see the Rockets getting ready to move. Some vehicles began to drive faster, to reach the bus; while others remained behind to fire upon the rebels defending it. The Rockets were smart, they knew how to attack. Aleksi saw one Rocket ATV begin to drive right by her. She twisted the wheel hard to the left, causing the jeep to quickly slide over and strike the ATV as hard as it could.

The ATV immediately flipped over from the hit and rolled along the ground, slowing it down and soon falling behind them. Aleksi did not know what happened to the Rockets on it, and she didn't have time to think about it. Several Rocket vehicles behind them immediately began to fire upon them. Angel ducked and screamed as bullets zoomed just overhead. An inch higher and she would of had a nice sized hole in her skull. Riles ducked down, covering his hat. It was clear that he was terrified. He was not used to fighting like this.

Aleksi was not sure of what to do. She would be a lot more effective if she wasn't driving. She would have to rely on her passengers and the ATVs to fight back. She had to protect the bus at all costs. Another ATV began to drive by her. She rammed this one as well, however it did not immediately flip over. The three Rockets on board nearly fell off, but held on tight and re-positioned themselves. The Rocket grunt sitting in the passenger seat was holding a shotgun in his hands. He pumped it and aimed it towards Aleksi. She gasped and ducked just in time to avoid the multiple metal balls.

Aleksi could hear the Rocket laughing as he pumped it again and fired. They caused a dent to appear in the door, right by Aleksi's head. Her heart raced uncontrollably, a mere metal wall protected her from death. She couldn't drive efficiently if she was covering the entire time, but sitting up would get herself killed, and endanger the lives of Angel and Riles. What could she do?

Angel watched this unfold the entire time and couldn't allow Aleksi to get killed. She was her sister, in more ways than one. Angel quickly picked up her Uzi and peeked out from cover. The Rockets behind them had either been distracted by something else or could simply not see her; for they weren't firing. The ATV that was shooting at Aleksi was too distracted to notice her as well. Angel saw her opportunity.

She sat up, Uzi in hand, and immediately fired upon the ATV. Most of her shots however were merely flying about, the jeep was moving much faster and out of control now with Aleksi ducking for cover. The Rocket in the back seat of the ATV was hit a couple of times however and fell over onto the back seat, presumably dead. The passenger with the shot gun and the driver ducked for cover, managing to avoid the bullets better than their unfortunate ally.

However, after a few seconds, Angel's Uzi ran out of ammo. She looked at her gun and panicked. Seeing their opportunity, the Rockets took charge. The driver sat back up as the passenger aimed his shot gun at Angel. She ducked immediately just as the bullets went flying.

"ANGEL!", Aleksi yelled. She was not sure if Angel had dodged the blast or not. The shot gun Rocket kept firing, switching to Aleksi and then back to Angel and then back to Aleksi. Laughing the entire time. Riles kept down in his seat, unsure of what to do. From his position, he was able to see the Rocket without the Rocket being able to reach him with the shot gun. He looked into the eyes of the Rocket, and saw nothing but pure evil.

Riles could not believe what he was seeing, it was as if the devil had taken human form in this Rocket. Riles could not allow his fellow PTA rebels to get killed by such evil. Acting on his nerves now, Riles grabbed the machine gun he had placed by his side when he took it from Angel. When the Rocket turned to fire at Angel, Riles stood up. He aimed the gun at the Rockets, and he fired. The gun shook in his hands hard. He knew it would recoil, but he had never used a gun before, so it came as a surprise to him.

Bullets sprayed out of the gun, striking down the shot gun Rocket and the driver. The two Rockets fell down, dead. The ATV swerved away from them, out of the cluster of Rockets and PTA and out into the field, alone. Aleksi, seeing that the firing had stopped, looked up. She saw the ATV and the dead Rockets roll away. She then immediately turned around to look for Angel. She was just getting up, also realizing the Rockets had died.

"Are you alright Angel?", Aleksi asked worried. Angel looked to her and nodded, obviously shaken up but alright otherwise.

"Yeah, I'm fine", Angel replied. Aleksi nodded. The two girls then turned to look at Riles. His eyes were wide in shock and he was still holding the machine gun towards where the Rockets were formally positioned. He looked at the gun in his hands, and dropped it onto the floor of the jeep, as if it was a snake in his hands. He sat back down and then looked at the girls, who both looked at him in shock and awe.

"Are you girls both alright?", Riles asked. They both nodded.

"...what about you?", Aleksi asked, knowing what kind of strain he must of been under to use a gun. He looked at his hands, as if uncertain.

"I...I don't know...", Riles said. Angel looked at Riles with sympathy in her eyes.

"It's alright Riles, you saved us both from those Rockets, you saved our lives...god will forgive you", Angel said. Riles looked at Angel for a moment, before smiling.

"Thank you Angel...a fitting name for someone like yourself", Riles stated. Angel smiled back in return. Aleksi looked around and gasped.

"NO!", Aleksi yelled. Riles and Angel looked at Aleksi and then out to where she was looking. They both gasped. The Rockets, taking advantage of the two jeeps under fire, moved up as quickly as they could. Some were already attacking the ATVs, some managed to squeeze by them even and were now free to go to the bus. "This isn't good! They've moved up! We need to get there and protect the others!", Aleksi said. She looked over to Brian's jeep, and noticed that they were already aware of the situation and were now moving up. Aleksi did the same.

As she was trying to move in closer, she could see that some of the ATVs and even a jeep or two were close enough to the bus. They pulled out metal spikes and stuck them into the bus, and then used them to try to climb up the sides. Others threw grappling hooks onto the roof of the bus, hoping they would stick. They were going to attack from on top and possibly try to break in.

She hoped that the rebels on the bus were ready to defend, because the Rockets were going for the kill.

**There! Done! Finally! I apologize for the long wait, I'm sure a lot of you were anticipating this earlier, well, so was I. I've been pretty distracted as of late, and have been working hard on trying to get things done. I hope you all enjoyed the update though, it was a lot of work for me to put together. I imagine that within, (just estimating here), 3 or so chapters they'll either all be dead, or off the island...morbid, I know. Anyway, I hope you're all on the edge of your seats, for the pressure is on the PTA! Instead of my usual narrating and etc. I'm going to dedicate this chapter to those who lost their lives in Norway in the recent terrorist bombings. For those who don't know the details, a Norwegian man, trying to create an anti-Muslim "crusade" blew up heavily populated spots in Norway, killing countless civilians. Please pray for them all. **

**sincerely,  
evan, a fan of aaml -EVAN AAML**


	33. Chapter 33

**Hello and welcome back ladies and gentleman! I hope you're all prepared for yet another installment to "R"! You know, I was thinking about what to do for the next few chapters of the story, you know, filler and such. And then I began to day dream for some reason, and thought to myself, "Man...wouldn't this make an awesome movie!". Just goes to show that I get distracted very easiOH MY GOD A SQUIRREL!...yeah. But yes, I ran through the chapters and future events of the story in my head and realized that this would in fact make a good Pokemon movie. Not sure if you all feel the same or not, but I'm just putting it out there. I wish I would be able to see like, drawings of this. If I had any talent as an artist trust me, I would of drawn out my stories forever ago. But alas, my talents are not well in the art department. Oh well, hopefully my words "paint a picture" for you all. I guess I should get started on this chapter then, before I find myself under more distracFOOTBALL IS GONNA START SOON! WOOHOO!**

**-EVAN AAML**

"THEY'RE TRYING TO BREACH!"

Those were the last words said before suddenly, windows were beginning to shatter throughout the bus. The screams of PTA rebels seemed to echo in the minds of the people around them, although in reality they were barely as loud as the gunfire and shattering of glass. People ducked where they could and tried to protect those around them who couldn't do so themselves.

The Rockets were attacking.

Although they could see the Rockets coming, there was little they could do other than shoot from the small windows and limited space. Once it was obvious that they were surrounded, all they could do was prepare. They could hear the sound of something being stabbed into the side of the bus, something the Rockets were using for grips to climb. As soon as the first window was broken, all hell broke loose.

Jacob immediately turned around, facing the left side of the bus and held his gun out.

"EVERYONE DUCK!", Jacob yelled. The rebels did just that in the nick of time. Jacob unleashed a barrage of bullets through the windows, shattering a few around him. A couple Rockets were pelted with bullets and fell to their deaths while the rest either climbed to the roof of the bus or lowered themselves out of view. A couple other rebels began to put their weapons into use as well, firing out of their windows and keeping the Rockets at bay.

When Jacob stopped, Michael approached him as he began to pull out the empty cartridge and place in a full one.

"How long do you think we can hold them back?", Michael asked the older teen.

"Not long at all", Jacob replied. Just then, another window shattered. The female rebel who was sitting in the seat right by it screamed out loud. The Rocket quickly slid in through the window and grabbed the girl, wrapping her in his arms. He drew a knife and was about to slit the young girl's throat when Michael reacted. As quick as lightning, he drew a knife of his own from his belt and threw it at the Rocket. It stuck in his back and he yelled in pain before releasing his grip on the girl and falling to the floor, dead. Michael ran over to the girl who was looking at the dead Rocket in a state of shock.

"Are you alright?", Michael asked the girl. The girl kept her eyes on the Rocket for a little while longer but then turned and faced Michael. She nodded.

"Yes...thank you", the girl said. Michael nodded.

"Good, keep away from the windows and prepare to fight back", Michael said. The girl nodded, more brave than before now. She got out of her seat and prepared to fight as Michael bent down and pulled the knife out of the dead Rocket's back. Just as he stood up and flicked the knife to remove the blood, a body lunged at him. The sudden attack took him by surprise.

Another Rocket had slid in through the window and tackled him when he wasn't looking. Michael struggled to break free of the Rocket's grip. The Rocket had his arms wrapped around Michael's neck, trying to choke him out. Jacob turned around and saw what was happening.

"MICHAEL!", Jacob yelled, his gun at the ready. Just then, a window from Jacob's side, opposite the side where he fired previously, broke and a Rocket swung in. He kicked the gun out of Jacob's hands and began to try and fight the blonde teen. A couple more Rockets began to break in through the windows of the bus. At the front of the bus, Brock, Drew, and Ryoto looked at the attacking Rockets.

"MISTY, STAY AT THE WHEEL, DREW, COME WITH ME AND HELP, RYOTO, STAY HERE AND PROTECT THE FRONT!", Brock commanded. Ryoto and Misty nodded while Drew immediately ran out from his seat and charged at a Rocket who had just broken in and was trying to attack a couple PTA rebels. Drew grabbed the Rocket from the back and was beginning to wrestle with him, pulling him away from the other rebels.

Ryoto turned around and noticed a Rocket trying to climb up to the roof from his window. He quickly pulled out his Katana and struck it through the window. It pierced through the window and then through the Rocket's chest. After holding it in place for a few seconds, Ryoto pulled the Katana out of the Rocket. The window was mostly broken with only a few bits of glass around the frame still in tact. The Rocket fell back and landed on the ATV below.

Ryoto looked out the window and looked at the Rocket's body with a grin, glad help rid the planet of one more enemy. Two other Rockets from the same ATV did not find it as ammusing as he dd though and immediately pulled out Uzis. They opened fire at Ryoto and he ducked as low as he could to avoid the bullets. The windows around him and the door broke and scattered, cutting people in their path. Some glass flew to Misty and scratched her up along her legs and arms.

When the bullets stopped, Misty turned to Ryoto, somewhat angrily but mostly worried.

"DON'T TAUNT THE ROCKETS!", Misty yelled. Ryoto stood up, making sure to keep below their range of fire. He shook glass off of his attire and looked at Misty.

"Duly noted", Ryoto responded, agreeing with her. Just then, another Rocket jumped up to the swinging doors of the bus and climbed through the broken glass, trying to get to Misty. The Rocket grinned evily at Misty, seeing her as a defenseless woman, and lunged. She quickly pulled a pistol from her belt, aimed it at the Rocket, and fired multiple shots without hesitation. The Rocket was struck a couple of times in the chest and stomach before falling backwards out of the broken door and onto the ground before being driven over by the Rocket vehicles.

Ryoto looked at where the Rocket once stood and then to Misty. Her eyes were wide in shock, knowing that it was a close call. But she soon shook it off and focused once more on driving them to safety; placing her gun back onto her belt. Ryoto decided that his attitude would have to be put aside for now, the mission had to come first. He and Misty then heard the sound of bodies up on the roof of the bus. They both looked up, but then heard the familiar sound of guns being prepared to fire. Ryoto immediately dove for Misty and covered her as bullets soon rained down inside the bus.

Most shots were directed towards the middle of the bus, so many people were missed. A couple rebels were struck down with bullets and fell dead, along with one Rocket who found himself at the wrong place at the wrong time. Ryoto uncovered Misty when the damage was done and looked back to see the damage. Misty however looked at him.

"Thanks...", Misty said. Ryoto merely nodded.

"We can't lose the driver now can we?", Ryoto remarked. Misty nodded with a grin. She knew this was his own way of saying you're welcome.

"We need to get rid of the Rockets on the roof, they're gonna strike us all down if we don't hurry!", Misty stated.

"On it!", Ryoto commented. He began to climb out of the door and reach the front of the bus to climb up onto the roof. However, a Rocket ATV was driving right beside the door and saw him. Although it was only one Rocket on the ATV, it was more than enough to prevent Ryoto from climbing out. The Rocket pulled out a Uzi and began to fire at the former Rocket. He ducked back into the bus, trying to cover himself from the bullets.

As the Rocket continued to fire madly at the bus's door, he felt something on his shoulder. It was like a light tap. The Rocket, knowing he was the only one on the ATV since the death of his two comrades, turned around to see what had poked him.

"PEEK A BOO!", someone yelled. Before the Rocket realized what had happened, a fist had struck him dead in the face, knocking him off of the ATV. His body rolled over a bit until his head was driven over by the back right tire of the bus. Ryoto, realizing that the fire had stopped, looked out the door. He saw the Rocket's ATV fall behind and, to the side of where it once was, another Rocket ATV with PTA rebels on board. Hunter was driving this ATV and hollered at Ryoto.

"YOU'RE FREE TO MOVE ABOUT! GET UP THERE!", Hunter yelled with a large grin on his face. He must of known what Ryoto was attempting to do. Ryoto nodded at the rebel and immediately began his climb to the top. He hopped onto the front of the bus, where the engine was located and peeked over the top to see the roof. There were several Rockets standing up there. None were firing down through the roof, to prevent them from shooting fellow grunts. Ryoto had confidence in being able to take out a few of them, but there was no way he'd be able to get them all before being spotted.

He noticed that the Rockets on the roof were mostly keeping an eye on the ATVs and jeeps in control of the PTA. These rebels were too busy with the Rocket vehicles to pay much attention to the Rockets on the roof. Ryoto knew that he would need their help to dispatch of these grunts. He looked over to them and waited for someone to spot him. As it turned out, the first one to see him was Dawn.

Two of the people in her ATV were killed, and the third one had been injured previously. She was trying her best to keep herself and her partner alive, while also helping the others. She happen to spot Ryoto on the engine by pure coincidence. Ryoto pointed to the Rockets on the roof and Dawn nodded immediately, knowing what he wanted her to do. She turned around and gave instructions to her wounded ally, although Ryoto could not make out what they were.

She then yelled over to Hunter, who was riding in front of her. This, Ryoto could hear.

"HUNTER, TAKE OUT THOSE ROCKETS!", Dawn commanded. Hunter turned to see her, and then turned to the Rockets on the roof. He nodded and immediately grabbed his machine gun at his side. As soon as he was ready, Hunter, his front side passenger, and the back seat passenger on Dawn's ATV began to fire at the Rockets. Immediately, they were sprayed with bullets and soon found themselves falling off of the bus. Within a few seconds, there were only a couple of Rockets left.

Knowing that they were in a bad spot and had no where else to hide, they bent down and fired back onto the ATVs. Dawn's ATV was under fire first, and she quickly pulled away from the bus for protection.

"Damn! We're easy targets for them, we need to get them off. Listen, you", Dawn began to say to her back passenger. She stopped speaking when she turned around to look at him. There were several bullet holes in him, one in his head and the rest in his chest. Dawn remained speechless. But she couldn't stop now. She pulled a pistol off from the dead passenger next to her and aimed it at the Rockets.

She was not the best shot, but being a region leader, she had a lot more experience. She fired one shot, Rocket down, another shot, another Rocket gone. Ryoto saw his chance. He climbed up onto the roof of the bus and immediately charged towards the first Rocket in his way, only a few feet away from the front. He swung his Katana at the Rocket before he could even turn around, decapitating the grunt. He then charged for a second grunt who was positioned only a couple feet away, piercing his sword into his chest.

There was only one more Rocket left on the bus at this point. This however was not an ordinary Rocket. This Rocket was much bigger. He noticed Ryoto as soon as he had killed his second grunt and stood up, facing the former Rocket assassin. He was extremely tall and heavily built, looking like a professional wrestler. He had a long brown moustache and a nearly bald head. His Rocket jacket must of been small on him, for the sleeves were torn off and the jacket open, revealing his large chest.

The Rocket smiled wickedly at Ryoto, ready to fight to the death. Ryoto grinned, knowing he still had the advantage with speed. Ryoto ran forward, his sword high in the air, and brought it down as hard as he could. The large Rocket however merely grinned. Before Ryoto could even see it, the grunt held his large machine gun out in front of the blade, blocking the attack. The sheer force of the strike caused Ryoto's hands to ache, he was surprised his sword didn't break on contact. Ryoto tried to over power the grunt, but it was all in vein.

The grunt, with his free hand, lunged and grabbed both of Ryoto's hands, which were still clenched around his sword. The Rocket then lifted Ryoto up with this one hand and brought him to his eye level. Ryoto dangled in the air, completely helpless. The grunt laughed heavily and aimed his machine gun into Ryoto's gut. Ryoto had to act fast, he swung his leg up, kicking the machine gun just as the grunt pulled the trigger.

One bullet struck Ryoto's blade, causing the two men to flinch while the rest merely flew in the air. The gun flew out of the Rocket's free hand and fell off the bus. The Rocket, now angry, growled at Ryoto. He swung his head back and then brought it forward with extreme force, head butting Ryoto. Ryoto's head turned red from the strike, but he was still caught in the Rocket's grasp.

From down below, the rebels on the ATV were growing worried for Ryoto. Hunter aimed his machine gun at the large grunt, but Trent leaned forward and put his hand on it, pushing it down.

"No, don't! You could hit Ryoto!", Trent exclaimed. Hunter sighed, knowing he was right, and put his gun down. All he could do from here was watch. The grunt gave Ryoto another head butt, this time causing Ryoto's forehead to bleed. Ryoto's vision was impaired by now and all he could see were blurs. The Rocket then swung his head one more time, striking down on Ryoto as hard as ever. This time however, the grunt released him just after he struck down. Ryoto fell to the bus, his head now bleeding everywhere. He looked up, his vision even worse than before. The sun of course didn't help him at all.

All he could make out was the Rocket's large figure, and something the Rocket held in his hands. Ryoto gasped, he had his Katana. Just in time, Ryoto slid back a foot, seeing up close the Katana strike down and stick through the roof of the bus. The grunt growled and yelled as he stepped forward and tried again, but Ryoto slid back again. Each time the grunt went in for the stab, Ryoto would just barely dodge. Finally, after just pulling the blade out from the bus roof yet again, Ryoto saw his oppertunity.

He swung his legs across, causing the giant to trip and fall onto the roof of the bus. Ryoto then lunged on top of the Rocket, trying to attack. He swung punch after punch on the grunt, but they seemed pointless, as if he was merely punching a wall. The Rocket with quick speed grabbed Ryoto by the neck, nearly having a grip around the whole thing. Ryoto tried to pry him lose, but knew he wouldn't be able to. The Rocket threw Ryoto forward, hoping he would fall off the bus and then immediately get driven over.

But Ryoto managed to latch onto the grill of the bus just in time, narrowly avoiding certain death. The Rocket sensed that he was not dead yet and stood up to finish the job. As he did however, he found himself under fire. Hunter and his passenger, along with Dawn, began to shoot at him. He was struck in the side of his chest, along with his arm left arm and right leg. Seeing that he could die any moment now, he ran forward and hoped down onto the engine part of the bus, out of the rebel's line of sight.

Ryoto had just managed to climb up onto the engine when the giant landed down hard on the metal plating, causing a loud echo. Ryoto looked up at him, seeing his teeth and menacing glare. In his right hand he still held Ryoto's Katana. However, he also noticed that he was now wounded, blood coming out of his new injuries. Ryoto took advantage of this. He spun around and immediately kicked the injured leg, causing the Rocket to fall to his knee.

When he was down, Ryoto spun around again, kicking the grunt in the head. This however did little to injure the grunt. Seeing that speed was his greatest ally, Ryoto kept up the punches and kicks, striking down mostly on where the grunt was shot. The grunt yelled out in agony, but kept his ground until finally, he grabbed Ryoto's leg just as he was about to kick his injured side. However, he did this with his right hand, which held Ryoto's Katana.

Seeing this, Ryoto spun in the air and used his other leg to kick the Rocket's hand. This caused him to release both him and the sword; but due to his position, Ryoto fell down hard on his back. As he laid there, trying to gather his sense, he turned his head to the left, seeing the sword, stuck in the small space where the windshield wipers were placed. He grabbed the sword by the hilt, but then suddelny felt a sudden force on his chest. It felt like his rib cage just shattered from one blow and was now grinded into dust. He gasped for breath and then looked up, seeing the Rocket's foot on his chest.

The Rocket stood over him, blood now coming out of his injuries more and more. Despite the bullet wounds and constant beatings, the Rocket was still rearing to fight. Ryoto knew that with the Rocket's foot on his chest, he would not be able to properly swing his sword and kill the grunt. The grunt smirked, knowing this fact, thinking he won. Ryoto merely lightly tapped the windshield of the bus. The Rocket noticed this, looking confused. He then looked through the windshield and saw Misty, sitting in the driver's seat, a pistol in her hands and aimed at the grunt's head. She pulled back the pin and the Rocket gasped. In one shot, Misty fired a bullet through the windshield and into the large grunt's head.

The bullet did not come out the other end, but it didn't need to. The Rocket stumbled backwards, and fell off the left side of the bus. Ryoto coughed heavily, finally free to breath. Blood poured out of his mouth. After a few seconds, he had so much red on his face that he couldn't even see. He picked up his sword, placed it back into its sheath, and then fell back down on the engine.

"Ryoto! Are you alright? RYOTO!", Misty yelled, worried. Ryoto was moving, but just barely. Misty knew he needed help, but she couldn't leave from her spot. However, it didn't matter. Dawn drove up to the side of the bus and looked to Ryoto.

"RYOTO! YOU NEED TO SLIDE DOWN! SLIDE INTO THE ATV!", Dawn yelled. With her passengers dead, Ryoto would have to do the work of getting onto the ATV himself. He looked up, able to hear Dawn's voice. Slowly, he brought one arm forward and dragged himself closer to the right side of the bus. He then brought his other one forward. Slowly but surely, he managed to pull himself to the edge of the bus. Dawn drove the ATV as close as she could get it to the side of the bus, there was very little space between the two vehicles.

With one final push, Ryoto slid himself off the bus and landed in the ATV with a thud. He pulled himself in as much as he could, the dead bodies of Dawn's passengers being used as grips. When he was completely in, he turned his body around so that he was facing the sky. Blood poured out of his head by this point, along with some from his mouth. He spat out as much as he could and then looked at Dawn, who was in turn looking at him.

"Thanks...for that", Ryoto said through gritted teeth. Dawn nodded back.

"No problem", Dawn said. She then pulled away from the bus and backed away, closer to Hunter's ATV. When she was by his side she looked over to him.

"Ryoto's hurt real bad, he can't fight anymore!", Dawn said. Hunter nodded.

"You better lead him towards the medical boat with the others then, it'll be safer that way", Hunter proclaimed.

"What about you guys?", Dawn asked.

"We'll head your way as soon as the bus is safe", Trent stated. Dawn did not like leaving her friends to fight, but she knew that it was for the best. She nodded.

"Stay safe!", Dawn told the boys. They all smiled.

"Please, don't we always?", Hunter asked. Dawn then drove off ahead, making sure to be faster than the bus, and then took a turn towards the other ATVs heading to her boat. In the back of her mind however, she was thinking about their last comment. "_Please, don't we always?_".

From inside the bus, Misty watched as Dawn took Ryoto over to the other ATVs, thankful that he was ok. However, she couldn't distract herself from the present, she needed to get the bus to the other boat as quickly as she could. She sped the bus up even more, causing people who were standing in the bus to lose their balance.

With the sudden loss of balance, Drew, who was still fighting off a Rocket grunt, managed to ram said grunt into a seat. Drew had the Rocket in a Full Nelson, making sure that he could not get himself injured as the Rocket fought back. The Rocket was slightly bigger than Drew however and tried to shake him off. The grunt stood up and spun around as fast as he could, trying to toss Drew off of his back. Although Drew was getting dizzy, he did not let go.

Suddenly, the Rocket was spun around himself. He turned a hundred and eighty degrees before finding himself facing a much bigger and stronger Brock. Brock smirked, pulled his fist back, and punched the Rocket dead in the face. The grunt slumped in Drew's arms, unconscious. Drew dropped him, looked at the Rocket, and then sighed heavily.

"Thanks for that", Drew said. Brock nodded.

"No problem. Come on, we need to help the others", Brock said. Just as he said this, he heard the sound of someone yelling. He looked behind Drew to see who it was that was yelling. Drew looked at Brock's face and could see the color leave his expression, leaving nothing but shock and worry. Drew turned around to see what had him so scared, knowing it wouldn't be good.

It was a Rocket grunt, holding in his arms a large machine gun, bigger even than the M-16s.

"THAT'S IT, ALL OF YOU FUCKERS ARE DEAD!", the Rocket yelled. He held the gun out to the side and pulled the trigger. Immediately, large bullets began to spray out of the gun. Everyone screamed and ducked, trying to avoid the fire. Brock grabbed Drew and threw himself and the green haired teen into a seat to avoid the fire. One rebel was struck in the head; the bullets were so large and fired at such a high rate that there was nothing left of the head when the bullet came out. The body fell to the ground, blood pouring out from what was left of the neck.

Another rebel was shot in the shoulder, tearing off his entire left arm. People screamed in fear as this Rocket spun around in a circle, firing rounds wherever he could. Several rebels found themselves struck by the bullets, they were lucky if they were killed instantly. Michael, who was fighting off a Rocket from earlier, had to stop him. Although he was impossible to get close to, he knew that he could hit him from a distance.

He kicked the attacking Rocket away and then immediately turned around, knowing he only had a second open to attack. He reached for his belt, pulling off a very large knife, one so big that you wouldn't think it was meant to be thrown. Time seemed to slow down for Michael, as he pulled the blade back and prepared to throw it. With as much force as he could muster, he threw his arm forward and released the blade. It spun forward through the air, making its way towards its target. The Rocket who was firing had just turned around to fire more rounds when the blade pierced through his chest, sticking out the other end.

Time seemed to speed back up as Michael looked at the damage he caused. The Rocket dropped his large machine gun and looked at the blade through his chest. Immediately, he fell to the floor, dead. Michael did not have time to celebrate however, as he was grabbed from behind by the grunt he was fighting earlier and thrown into a seat. His head was banged against the metal siding underneath the windows and he fell to the floor.

He felt all of the blood that had pooled on the floor from the multiple bodies soak into his shirt, giving him both a warm and cold sensation. He looked up just in time to see the Rocket grunt aim a pistol at him. Michael did not move an inch, staring down the barrel of the pistol. The grunt did not smile in the least.

"Adios, rebel shit", the Rocket proclaimed. Michael expected his death to come now, and closed his eyes tight. He heard a gunshot, but felt no pain. He had heard that often, people would not feel the bullet go through their bodies due to the speed of the shot or the adrenaline kicking in. Although for some reason, he doubted that this was the case. He opened his eyes and saw that the Rocket grunt was falling to the ground, his eyes wide open and blood coming out of his head from Michael's left side. As the ROcket fell to the floor, Michael glanced over to see Nick, a pistol in his hand.

Nick put the pistol away and quickly bent down to help up Michael.

"You alright?", Nick asked, holding his hand out. Michael smiled and grabbed it with his own, allowing Michael to pull him up to his feet.

"Yeah, I'll be fine, took you long enough", Michael joked. Nick couldn't help but laugh.

"Sorry, I was covering Sawyer, making sure that maniac with the machine gun didn't get her. She can't fight back with her injuries", Nick explained. Michael nodded.

"So then, that leaves one more Rocket on the bus", Michael stated. Both him and Nick turned to see the last remaining Rocket, fighting Jacob at the end of the bus. Jacob had dropped his machine gun awhile ago when this Rocket first attacked him, and so was relying on his fighting. He was giving the grunt his all, punching and kicking left and right. Nick, Michael, and a few other rebels made sure they were away from the fight, they knew Jacob would want to finish this himself.

His blonde hair seemed to stick out from his entire black PTA uniform, especially when he was moving about fighting. He was sweating and panting heavily, tired to the point where he could fall over at any second. He pulled off his jacket, revealing the black t-shirt he was wearing. It looked damp, although no one could tell whether it was sweat or blood. He held his fists up, ready to go again. The Rocket he was fighting was just pushing himself off of the ground and used the seats for support. It was clear that he was even worse off than Jacob.

The Rocket turned just in time to catch a punch to the jaw. Jacob then raised his leg and kicked him in the ribcage, causing him to fly into the side of one of the seats. Jacob lunged forward for another punch, but the Rocket spun out of the way, dodging the punch. The grunt then threw a punch of his own, catching Jacob in the cheek. Jacob fell back a foot or so from the blow, but kept his eyes on the Rocket.

He did not however, see what was coming next.

The Rocket ran forward and grabbed Jacob in a bear hug. But instead of stopping and trying to choke him out, the Rocket kept running. He yelled as he picked up pace and rammed Jacob into the back door of the bus. Due to the force of the tackle, the door swung open and both Jacob and the Rocket fell out. Nick and Michael gasped in shock and ran to the door to try and help Jacob.

When they reached the door, they were shocked at what they saw. Jacob had landed on the hood of a Rocket jeep, with the grunt on top of him. They weren't sure if the Rocket knew that the jeep was there, probably. But it didn't matter. Now, Jacob found himself surrounded.

"We need to help him!", Michael yelled. Just as he yelled this however, the Rocket who was sitting in the passenger seat of the jeep stood up, a Uzi in hand. Nick and Michael gasped and ducked to the sides of the door as the Rocket fired at them. Nearly all of the bullets struck the sides of the door, with only a few going through it. No one was hit. Nick aimed his pistol and fired back, but could not get a decent shot in.

The Rocket grunt kept punching Jacob in the face, causing him to bleed from the lip and nose. Jacob knew that he was at a disadvantage, he had to get back on the bus. Just after getting punched again, Jacob grabbed the Rocket's jacket with both hands. The Rocket looked at him, confused as to what he was going to do. Jacob then placed his legs underneath the Rocket and propelled him backwards, landing in the jeep.

Seeing that this was the oppertunity he needed, he stood up carefully and tried to jump to the bus, where Nick and Michael had their hands out ready to catch him. The passenger Rocket pulled out his Uzi once again and pulled the trigger, but nothing happend. The gun was out of ammo. Frustraited, the Rocket got out of his seat and climbed carefully onto the hood of the jeep. Just as Jacob was about to jump, the Rocket grabbed him by the shirt and pulled him back.

"HEY! LET HIM GO!", Michael yelled. Nick pulled out his pistol and took aim. He had to be careful not to hit Jacob, who was very close to his target. With a deep breath, Nick pulled the trigger. The bullet struck the Rocket in the side of the chest, but it was not a fatal blow. However, the force of the hit did cause the Rocket to lean back. Since he was holding onto Jacob, the weight of the two caused them to fall back into the jeep. A loose leg kicked the driver, making him veer to the side. Nick and Michael watched as the jeep went from side to side, no longer in control.

Jacob looked up just in time to get punched in the face by a Rocket. He could no longer tell if it was the passenger Rocket, the one he was fighting before, or another one entirely. But it did not matter. All he knew was that he was seconds from being beaten to death. As he was being punched, he looked up and saw something dangle from the jacket of the Rocket attacking him. It was a small black ball, with a pin. Jacob, knowing what it was, grabbed it and pulled.

The familiar sound of a pin being pulled from a grenade echoed in the jeep.

Michael and Nick did not hear this however, and continued to reach out.

"COME ON JACOB, YOU NEED TO GET OVER HERE AND JUMP!", Michael yelled. The Rocket who's grenade was pulled panicked, trying to pull the grenade off of him, but found himself fumbling with it instead. Jacob pulled himself up and looked to Michael and Nick.

"SORRY GUYS...THIS IS WHERE WE PART WAYS. STAY SAFE, AND NEVER STOP FIGHTING!...GO PTA!", Jacob yelled. Just after yelling this, the grenade exploded. Michael and Nick dove back behind cover, dodging any possible flames or shrapnel. The explosion rocked the bus and caused what remained of the windows to shatter. As soon as it seemed clear, Michael and Nick looked back out to the jeep.

The speed of the bus caused the explosion to be put behind them rather quickly. What was left of the jeep was now engulfed in a large fireball. Michael and Nick were speechless, unsure of how to react to something like this. All they could think to do, was close the door to the bus. Nick grabbed the door handle and pulled it close, then looked solemnly onto the ground.

Several rebels immediately began applying medical aid to those who were injured, seeing that the Rockets were now gone. Misty took back control of the bus from the explosion and made sure it stayed on course. Michael turned around and looked solemnly to the other rebels. Several of them, including Brock and Drew, watched what had happened.

Jacob died a hero.

**Well, there you have it ladies and gentleman. I'm sorry for the delay, as usual. As you know, I have been suffering with some personal issues as of late, which is why the last five or so chapters have not been updated as frequently. Well, unfortunately, these problems of mine went from bad to worse, and has caused me to nearly lose it. Please don't ask what these problems are, or offer help, although I appreciate the concern. This will however cause the updates, (which are already slow), to be even slower, so my apologies ahead of time. Instead of a typical naration, I am going to end this chapter with two notes. For one, I would like you all to please give donations to the shark conservation groups for Shark Week on Discovery Channel. I am not sure if any of you knew this, but I am a extreme environmentalist and in particular, a shark enthusiast. It seems odd sure, but I am going to college to become a shark biologist. Who knows, maybe you'll see me on Shark Week in the future? To donate to the cause, please go to Discovery Channel . com and look for the conservation section. I would give you the link, but fan-fic . net deletes it. Please help in protecting a species in danger of becoming extinct. The second note is me asking you for your prayers once again. Some of you may already know this, but a 11 year old girl went missing July 25th in her hometown of Stewartstown, New Hampshire. Unfortunately, her body was dicovered in a river not far from where she lived. The death is considered suspicious and the police are looking for possible kidnappers. Please have her and her family in your prayers. R.I.P. **

**sincerely,  
evan, a fan of aaml -EVAN AAML**


	34. Chapter 34

**Welcome back one and all! First off, I would like to thank you who donated to the shark conservation cause and prayed for the poor young girl who's life was taken away much too soon. Although not as sentimental to you all, I would like to give a little "In Memory Of" for my younger brother's pet hamster, Chester. He was a good little rodent, who we only had for about a month or two. None the less, I felt sorry and felt that this was a good way to show my appreciation for the little creature. The tree hugger/animal lover that I am, I felt like it needed to be done. My brother, (who by the way has been an OC in several of my stories and even originally thought up "Gone Fishing" for your entertainment), would appreciate your condolences. Now that that is out of the way, let's begin.**

**-EVAN AAML**

Everyone remained silent. It was the quietest it had been since they first left the base. The only noise that occurred was from the bus and the moaning of the injured. Michael was still trying to piece together what had happened just now. One second, Jacob was kicking the ever loving shit out of a Rocket, and the next...gone. Nick, who was slightly more experienced with this kind of thing, stood up from the floor of the bus and placed his pistol back onto his belt.

"Come on Michael, he wouldn't want us to mourn over him at a time like this", Nick stated. Although it seemed a bit heartless to move on immediately after something like that, Michael knew he was right, Jacob would want them to continue on. He nodded and, with Nick's help, stood up. Nick looked out the window of the door he had just closed while Michael walked down the walkway towards the front of the bus. As he passed by a few rows of seats, he stopped and looked to his right. Sitting together in a seat were a boy and girl rebel.

These were two of the survivors from Misty and Brock's attack on the com room back at the base. Although Michael was unaware of this. Both of them had a mix of sympathy and fear in their eyes. Michael kept his eyes on them, understanding how they felt. They were no older than he was, probably even younger. It's hard to believe that children as young as them were involved in a war like this. He couldn't even begin to imagine how Angel was reacting to all of this. Michael knew from looking at these young teens that he had to be strong. He needed to set a example for those around his age, who most likely don't even know what they're doing in this battle.

Michael turned to them and bent down slightly to be more at level with them.

"Are you both alright?", Michael asked. The girl, who was sitting closest to Michael, merely nodded. The guy responded for her.

"Yes, we're both fine...thank you", the boy rebel said. Michael nodded.

"No problem, stay safe, and...be prepared to fight your way off this island and back home", Michael said, knowing that they would have to eventually do that. The two rebels both nodded and Michael nodded back in response.

Back at the front of the bus, Brock sighed heavily. He witnessed the entire battle, and knew what kind of toll it put on the team. Drew, who was on the same team as Jacob and worked alongside him, felt downcast over the whole thing, but knew that he couldn't mope about while they were still trying to escape. He looked up to the back end of the bus.

"So...what do we do from here?", Drew asked to Brock, not taking his eyes off of the back end. Brock wiped away sweat from his brow and thought for a moment.

"Same plan as before...only now with more caution", Brock said. Brock turned around and looked to Misty, who was still driving. "Where's Ryoto?".

"Dawn managed to get him from the hood of the bus. He's hurt real bad, but alive. She took him to the other ATVs, to be treated on the med boat", Misty explained. Brock nodded. He was worried about losing another rebel, but knew he was at least in good hands.

"Got it. Alright, let's see who needs our help", Brock said, looking back to Drew. Drew nodded and the two boys walked over towards the wounded. As they walked by, they passed Emily, who was kneeling on the ground. She was holding the hand of an injured male rebel, who was laying down on the seat in front of her. The rebel's left arm was completely torn off from the large machine gun, and the rebel was losing blood fast. Emily did what she could, but there was nothing more they could do for him.

"You're going to be alright, listen, stay with me! You're going to be alright!", Emily said to the male rebel. She refused to think that he was going to die and tried to reassure the injured rebel that he would live. The rebel looked scared and rocked in his seat, knowing that he could very well die any second now. Tears were coming down his face, mixing quickly with the blood that was all over his body.

"I feel cold...Emily, I feel cold. And sick, I don't think I'm going to make it", the rebel said. Emily shook her head, fighting back tears. She did not know this rebel, but seeing anyone in this kind of pain would make anyone cry.

"Don't say that! You're going to be fine! You're going to be fine!", Emily repeated to the rebel. The rebel looked up to the ceiling slowly, still rocking. He then gave a slight smile, which remained on his face even when his eyes closed and he stopped moving entirely. Emily kept the now limp hand in her own, still fighting back the tears. She soon released the hand and stood up, looking at the blood that was now on her hands.

It seemed to glow in the light of the sun coming from the shattered windows. The warmth of the blood creeped her out, and she quickly had to wipe it off the back seat to prevent herself from having a panic attack. She had gone through hell and back it seemed, and yet she still could not manage to find sanity in the world around her. She stepped backwards, towards the front of the bus.

Suddenly, she felt a pair of hands grip her ankles and pull hard. She fell to the ground hard and was soon being dragged away. She screamed out loud, unsure of what was happening to her. She looked up to see Sawyer turn around from the scream and look just behind her. She gasped and, with lightning speed, dove out of her seat and towards Emily. Emily grabbed the metal legs of two seats, which were welded to the floor; thus stopping her from moving more. Sawyer jumped over the girl and landed on something. Emily heard a yelp and turned around to see Sawyer stepping on the neck of a Rocket grunt.

This was the Rocket that Brock had knocked unconscious not long before. He had woken up and tried to take Emily as a hostage to get off the bus. He laid there, the pressure on his neck causing him to panic. He tried to pull the girl off, but could not do so lying on his stomach. Emily stood up and walked over to Sawyer, just as Brock, Drew, and Nick quickly ran over from hearing the scream.

"Thank you for that", Emily said. Sawyer looked to her and smiled.

"No problem sweetie", Sawyer said. Emily smiled, yet one more person who saved her life today. Sawyer then looked down to the Rocket, who was gasping for breath. "Now then, what are we gonna do about you?". Sawyer eased off his neck so that he could breath and speak. He coughed a bit and took in big breaths before finally managing to say anything.

"You bitch! I'm gonna gut you!", the Rocket proclaimed. Brock, Drew, and Nick could not help but smirk at this remark, knowing that he was not in the position to be making threats. Sawyer completely stepped off of the Rocket and grabbed him by his jacket, pulling him to his feet. Brock approached from behind, making sure that he didn't try something he'd soon regret.

"I think we should get rid of dead weight for our escape, don't you?", Sawyer asked Brock. Brock nodded with a smile.

"I couldn't agree more", Brock said. The Rocket looked at them both, worried over what they were going to do to him. Next thing he knew, he was being tossed from the bus door at the front. Brock watched as he bounced off the grass from the high speed. He was probably alive, but definitely in a lot of pain. Brock then looked over to see Hunter drive up to him. He kept some distance, but got close enough to talk.

"The other Rockets fled, that last explosion scared them off, took out more than one jeep. You're in the clear! For now at least!", Hunter told Brock. Brock nodded back.

"Best news I've heard all day!", Brock replied. Suddenly, a static noise erupted from the dashboard of the bus. Brock turned around just in time to see Misty grab the walkie that was dangling from its cord.

"What's going on?", Misty asked into the walkie. She was not sure who it was on the other end, but from the sounds of it, it wasn't good.

"MISTY! WE'RE UNDER ATTACK HERE! MOST OF THE ROCKETS FLED, BUT SOME DECIDED TO GO AFTER THE ATVS AGAIN! (GET DOWN!) WE NEED BACK UP ASAP!", someone yelled from the other line. It sounded like Wallace. Misty looked to Brock gravely and then clicked the button on the walkie.

"Help is on the way now, hold on!", Misty replied. Brock immediately looked back out to Hunter, who was waiting for Brock to give a command.

"The ATVs are under attack again, send the others over there now! We'll be fine with the jeeps following us! Stay with them and get to the town, it's coming up soon!", Brock commanded. Hunter gave Brock a salute.

"You got it sir!", Hunter replied. He then turned to his passenger and Trent, who were both listening in. "Alright boys, we're going on a little Rocket hunting trip! Bring your guns and a kick but attitude! We're getting off this rock one way or another!". The way he said this concerned the other boys, but they were ready to fight off Rockets regardless. Hunter sped off, heading in front of the bus and then turning towards the other ATVs. Drew approached the closest window and looked to May, who was just seeing Hunter drive off. She turned and noticed him.

"GO HELP THE OTHERS! STAY SAFE!", Drew yelled from the window, pointing towards Hunter and the ATVs. May nodded and turned to Darrel. She pointed to the distance and Darrel began to head in that direction. She turned around and gave one final wave goodbye to Drew before her and the last remaining ATVs left the bus, heading out to the others. This left the few survivors on the bus, along with Aleksi and her squad, all alone.

Darrel and Hunter drove as fast as they could towards the others, knowing that every second gone is a second that could lead to disaster. Darrel quickly caught up to Hunter and May turned to face them.

"DO YOU KNOW HOW MANY ROCKETS ARE THERE?", May asked yelling towards them.

"NO CLUE, I'D IMAGINE THAT THEY'RE NUMBERS ARE FAR FEWER THAN BEFORE BY NOW", Trent replied. May grew concerned. She was not only unsure of how many Rockets were there, but how protected the rebel ATVs were to the Rocket attacks. She turned to Darrel.

"Darrel, speed it up, go as fast as you can!", May said. Darrel nodded and revved the engine to the ATV. In a matter of seconds, the ATV was going as fast as it could, moving ahead of the pack and making its way to the other rebels. Within a minute or so, May could finally make them out from across the field. It was hard to distinguish between the rebel and Rocket ATVs, but she presumed that the ATVs in the back were the Rockets.

She could make out the sound and lights from gunfire and knew that they were under attack. By distinguishing where the bullets were coming from, she was able to pinpoint the Rocket vehicles. There were actually only a few of them in total, the majority of the surviving Rockets had fled. May sighed slightly. This made their work easier, but they were still in danger. These Rockets could not be taken lightly.

"Do we have anything we can use to attack?", May asked. Ashley turned to her and shook her head.

"I'm out!", Ashley responded, holding her silver pistol.

"I don't have anything either dog", Darrel responded. May grew frustrated.

"We don't have anything here to help us protect them?", May asked annoyed. Hunter drove closer to them and smiled.

"No worries, we've got this one! We have enough fire power here to take care of the few numbers no problem!", Hunter exclaimed, holding up his machine gun. May nodded.

"Alright then, go on ahead and see what you can do. Take the others with you. We'll head to the ATVs and try to draw their fire. Hopefully the town is nearby", May said. Hunter nodded.

"Roger that! Alright men, we're moving out!", Hunter told his fellow riders. He revved his engine and quickly sped off, taking with him the majority of the group. May stayed behind with only a couple ATVs and watched them.

"Stay safe you guys", May thought to herself. Darrel then drove the ATV towards the others. Hunter continued to drive as quickly as he could towards the Rockets. His goal was to hit them from the side, thereby leaving them wide open and drawing their fire away from the others. He glanced over to his passenger.

"How much ammo is in that shot gun there?", Hunter asked.

"Enough to take down the majority of the Rockets here, so long as I don't miss", the passenger replied.

"Hope you don't miss then. What about you Trent?", Hunter asked. Trent pulled out his pistol and looked into the ammo cartridge.

"Not a lot", Trent replied. Hunter sighed.

"Damn. Oh well, you're a lousy shot anyway, leave it to us. You're injured anyway, you should be ducking and staying alive", Hunter explained. Trent did not much appreciate being left out of the fighting, especially since he was literally being dragged into it; but he merely lowered himself down so as to avoid fire and prepared for a rough ride. When they were closer to their targets, Hunter pulled out his machine gun and looked at the others around him. "EVERYONE...FIRE!", Hunter yelled. He fired his machine gun at the attacking Rockets, which caused the others to follow in his steps.

Bullets zoomed across the field and began to strike the Rockets. One by one they fell down, either dead on contact or dead from hitting the ground at such speed. The Rockets immediately stopped attacking the other ATVs and began focusing on Hunter and the others. Hunter smiled, knowing that their plan was working.

"Yeah, that's right, ignore the others, focus on us you stupid bastards!", Hunter thought to himself. Suddenly, just as he said this, he noticed something strange about the Rockets. They had stopped attacking the other rebels; but they were being careless with their shots towards their new targets. It was as if they were conserving their ammo. Hunter grew suspicious of this. It was unlikely that they were running out of ammo, these units would purposely have more conserved. Unless...

They had another weapon lying in wait

It happened so fast that Hunter barely had time to react. Unfortunately, there was no way to avoid this attack, so he had to go through it. Flames, sprayed everywhere around them. Hunter drove through a line of fire and quickly looked around. Trent was patting fire off of himself while the other rebel had covered himself and was safe. Hunter then looked up and saw what had attacked them.

Rocket Pokemon. A Charizard and Salamence, (standard Pokemon for Rockets), both flying just above them and firing flames at the rebels. Several ATVs were immediately attacked, burning in seconds. The screams of the rebels was too much to bare. Those who were fortunate enough to avoid the flames head on had to drive through them like Hunter. Those who did not drive fast enough through them would be unfortunate enough to have their tires burned off and be sitting targets.

"SOMEONE TAKE OUT THOSE DAMN POKEMON!", Hunter yelled, just narrowly avoiding a fireball. The rebel in the passenger seat raised his shot gun and aimed it at Charizard. Just seeing this in time, Hunter grabbed the barrel of the gun and brought it down. "NO! DON'T SHOOT THEM! USE A POKEMON!", Hunter explained.

"I DON'T HAVE ONE THAT CAN DO THAT!", the rebel replied. Hunter immediately turned around and looked to Trent, who was listening in on their conversation. Trent pulled a Pokeball off from his belt and nodded. Hunter nodded back. He himself also pulled out a Pokeball.

"TIME TO KICK SOME ASS! GO POKEBALL!", Hunter yelled, throwing his Pokeball high into the air. It burst open and the white light began to take form. As Hunter caught the empty Pokeball, a large metal Pokemon took form. It was a Metagross. It levitated in the air, ready to battle. Trent threw his Pokeball in the air as well.

"GO POKEBALL!", Trent yelled. His burst open and a more elegant flying dragon Pokemon came out. A Dragonite. Trent caught the Pokeball and looked at his Dragonite, who flapped its wings and roared. "Dragonite! Help protect us from those Rocket Pokemon!", Trent said. Dragonite nodded.

"Metagross! You too! Beat 'em to a pulp! Go!", Hunter said. Metagross nodded and the two Pokemon sped off to fight. Dragonite, with its quick speed, charged and tackled Charizard. The Rocket Salamence saw the tackle and then turned just in time to be face to face with Metagross. "METAGROSS, HAMMER ARM!", Hunter commanded. Metagross raised one of its four arms and swung it down hard onto the head of Salamence. The large dragon was sent flying into the ground, causing a crater to form. Before Salamence had a chance to recover, Metagross pulled its legs into its body and fell to the ground with tremendous force.

It landed right on top of Salamence, using its weight for a powerful Body Slam attack. Salamence roared in pain, its body being crushed. Meanwhile, Charizard and Dragonite continued to butt heads in the air and wrestle. After several charges, the two dragon Pokemon eventually linked hands and began to struggle with each other. The two growled angrily, trying to over power the other. Just then, Charizard opened its mouth and flames began to form. Stuck in his claws, Dragonite was unable to pull away from the attack. Just before Charizard unleashed the Flamethrower, Dragonite bent its head back.

This caused not only for the Flamethrower to miss, but caused Charizard to move along with Dragonite. Using the momentum from the dodge, Dragonite managed to grab hold of Charizard's arms and throw it down hard towards the ground, a Seismic Toss. As the Charizard spun in the air at great velocity, Trent saw an opportunity.

"DRAGONITE! ZAP CANNON!", Trent commanded. Dragonite opened its mouth and fired a large ball of electricity, which flew towards Charizard and struck down hard. Charizard was electrocuted and then blasted down onto the ground. "Yeah! That's how you do it!", Trent exclaimed. However, his cheer was short lived.

Seeing that they were distracted by the Pokemon battle, the Rocket ATVs took advantage. They opened fire upon the remaining rebels. One rebel driver was shot and killed, causing the entire ATV to veer off coarse. The passenger rebel tried to take over, but could not in time. The ATV crashed into a tree and exploded. Hunter, Trent, and the others all ducked and tried to avoid the bullets.

Suddenly, Metagross appeared and prepared to defend its trainer. It extended its legs out and levitated vertically. When it was in position, it spun around fast in the air, creating a large, spinning shield that deflected the bullets. Many of the bullets bounced back and nearly hit the Rockets, causing them to stop firing. Hunter cheered.

"Yeah! Way to go Metagross! You show those Rocket pussies who's in charge!", Hunter told his Pokemon. As Metagross spun around however, he was wide open for a attack. Salamence, recovering from the attacks, flew just above Metagross and fired a Flamethrower attack. Metagross was engulfed in flames and roared in agony. Hunter gasped. "NO! METAGROSS! YOU LEAVE METAGROSS ALONE YOU FUCKING LIZARD!", Hunter yelled. Salamence roared and then surrounded itself in bright blue and red flames. It was a Giga Impact attack. Metagross was still engulfed in flames and could not defend itself.

Just as Salamence was about to strike, a large stream of water blasted it. It put the flames out and injured Salamence at the same time. The rebels looked to see Dragonite, who had launched a Hydro Pump attack. They all smiled, glad that Dragonite was able to protect Metagross, but soon, Trent's expression changed from joy to that of horror.

"DRAGONITE, LOOK OUT!", Trent yelled. Dragonite turned around just in time to see the fangs of Charizard. The fire dragon Pokemon bit down hard onto Dragonite's neck, making sure that it was tight and painful. Dragonite roared in agony. Since Dragonite was also stuck in its clutches, Charizard was free to attack. It raised its claws on its right arm and they became shrouded in darkness. Shadow Claw. It slashed at Dragonite's chest and caused it to fall to the ground in pain. "DRAGONITE!", Trent yelled.

"LOOK, OVER THERE!", someone yelled. Hunter and Trent, who were distracted with the battle, turned to look at the passenger rebel. He was pointing ahead of them. They both looked and saw that the abandoned city was coming into view. "THERE IT IS!", the rebel yelled.

"Shit! We're too close to it, if we don't get rid of Team Rocket here they'll attack us when we reach the boat!", Hunter explained. He then turned to Trent. "We need to finish this battle yesterday!". Trent nodded. The two looked behind them to see Dragonite and Metagross just getting off of the ground slowly. Charizard and Salamence had flown off and were flying towards the rebels, ready to attack yet again. The two Pokemon got up as quickly as they could and took off after them.

The Pokemon knew that they had to quickly dispatch of these Pokemon before they reached the city, in order to protect their trainers and the other rebels. Dragonite, being the fastest Pokemon in the air, flew ahead as quickly as it could and intercepted the other dragon Pokemon. It flew in front of them and then stopped, causing them to in turn stop as well. They both looked at Dragonite angrily, ready to go for the kill. They both roared and were prepared to fire attacks...only to find out that they couldn't even move.

Dragonite had stopped them long enough to allow Metagross to use a Psychic attack on them, stopping them in their tracks. Dragonite smirked and then spun around in the air, so that it was now behind the two Pokemon and next to Metagross. Hunter and Trent both smiled and laughed.

"That's what I call teamwork!", Trent exclaimed.

"ALRIGHT, DRAGONITE/METAGROSS! HYPER BEAM ATTACK!", both Trent and Hunter yelled. The two Pokemon opened their mouths and fired a large white beam at their opponents. The Hyper Beams struck the dragon Pokemon, blasting them at extremely high velocity and force. They soared through the air, the beams still hitting them, and crash landed into the bunched up Rocket ATVs. They all screamed in fear just as the Pokemon collided with them. The attack and crash created an explosion that rocked the entire area. The trees next to them were destroyed and/or burned and the ground was cracked. Hunter and Trent quickly returned their Pokemon, afraid that the explosion would hurt them. The Pokeball beams just reached the Pokemon.

All of the rebels, including May, Dawn, and Wallace all turned around to see the explosion. Hunter could not help but smile.

"That my friends, is a thing of beauty. God, I love a good explosion", Hunter said through a smile. Trent and the rebel sweatdropped.

"You worry me Hunter", Trent stated. Hunter sped off towards the others, reaching them relatively quickly. Darrel managed to drive close to them and May turned to them.

"Thank you guys, you really saved us back there!", May said. The three boys all smiled.

"No problem!", Trent said. May then brought her attention ahead of them, towards the city.

"We finally made it to the city. We're going to get off this island!", May said, as if she couldn't believe it herself. She then turned towards the other side of the field, to the far off right. From a distance, she could see the bus and two jeeps, still progressing to their destination. "Stay safe guys, you're almost there!", May thought to herself. She kept thinking about the safety of both the rebels she was leading and the others heading towards the other boat just as they began to follow the paved road that led into the city.

Seeing that they were now safe from the others, the ATVs all slowed down considerably as they drove on the pavement. The rebels were actually given a chance to take a breather, although they all remained on their toes for anything. One by one, the ATVs entered the city, driving past old buildings that had not been in use since the Rocket take over. Many of the rebels had not yet seen the city and looked on with mixed feelings.

Although all of the buildings remained structurally sound, they were far from pristine condition. Many windows were broken from storms or wild Pokemon. Some doors were hanging my hinges or not even up at all. Some of the smaller buildings and homes had holes in the walls and roofs. The larger buildings were in better condition, but still looked horrible. As they found their way along the concrete boardwalk, which was just along the ocean, they also saw multiple boats, still sitting in the water. Most were covered in moss and bird droppings, not having been used in years. Occasionally they would come across one that was under the water, still roped to the docks that were falling under disrepair.

May turned to see the expressions of the other rebels. Some of them, who could of possibly grown up in the Orange Islands, looked on in horror. Although cities and towns in the bigger regions weren't in the best conditions under Rocket control, they were at least still alive. The Orange Islands on the other hand were practically forgotten, the near majority of the cities and towns completely abandoned. It came to more a surprise to the rebels that New Island's one and only city was abandoned. This was where all people entering the Orange Islands had to come in order to ride on the famous cruise ships or enter the Orange League. Now, it was all a ghost town. May turned to Dawn, who was driving even more carefully than the others due to the injured Ryoto.

"Dawn, how far is the boat from here?", May asked. Dawn looked to her and then pointed ahead.

"It's just head of us, over in that building down there", Dawn said, pointing to a large building at the end of the boardwalk. May looked ahead and saw the large boat dock building. She nodded.

"Ok, good. Let's move it guys, the faster we get there, the faster we can board and get out of here!", May said. The other rebels nodded and they picked up the pace, moving quickly on the hard, flat concrete to the boat. When they arrived, they all stopped their vehicles and began to get off. Many of them had to stretch, having been riding for so long on rough terrain. Dawn quickly ran over to the building and opened the sliding doors even more than they already were. She looked inside and sighed heavily in relief. The boat was still there, just as they had left it. She was afraid that the Rockets would of found it.

As she stepped to the side, the healthy rebels began to aid the wounded to the boat. Some needed to be carried to the boat, while others merely support. Dawn then ran over to her ATV and tried to help Ryoto up. Darrel quickly ran over and took him himself.

"Don't worry, I got him", Darrel said, picking up Ryoto. Dawn nodded, knowing he would do a better job at it than her. She watched as Darrel brought Ryoto inside. She then turned to May, who was helping up Ashley. She coughed and a little bit of blood came out. She was still bleeding internally, but it had stopped considerably since the injury occurred. Wallace, who had walked over to give Trent support, walked past them.

"Bring her in and I'll take care of her. These boats all have extensive medical supplies I can use", Wallace explained. May nodded. May then turned to Dawn.

"Dawn, I can bring Ashley in, can you stay out here and guard us? I don't know if any more Rockets are going to come, we can't afford to get attacked now", May said. Dawn nodded.

"You got it", Dawn said. May nodded back and then helped Ashley into the building, just behind Wallace and Trent. Dawn turned around and saw Hunter and the male rebel who rode alongside him. The two smiled, holding their weapons tightly.

"We'll help protect the others with you", Hunter said. Dawn smiled and nodded.

"Ok, thanks!", Dawn said. As the others prepared the boat and treated the wounded, the three teens remained on guard, ready to fight off any unwanted attention. They looked around cautiously, making sure that no one was watching them. After a while, Hunter turned to Dawn.

"Dawn, I think you should contact the others, let them know that we're about to leave", Hunter suggested. Dawn nodded.

"Right, good idea", Dawn said. She pulled out her Pokenav and began to work with it. After a minute or so she finally got the settings right and tried to contact them. "Hello? This is Dawn, is anyone there?". After a few seconds, there was a response.

"Dawn? This is Emily! Are you all alright?", Emily asked.

"Yes, we're fine. We managed to defeat the Rockets, we're at the boat now and about ready to leave, where are you?", Dawn asked.

"We're nearing the end of the field, after that we just have to go through the woods to get to the boat. We should arrive there in a few minutes or so", Emily explained.

"Ok good, we'll meet up with you on your side soon. Over and out", Dawn said. She then placed the Pokenav back onto her belt and looked at the others. "That's good, they're almost there". The boys nodded. Hunter then looked behind Dawn and could see that nearly everyone was already on board.

"Looks like we're about ready to leave, let's get going", Hunter said. Dawn turned around and looked at the others. Seeing that they were all either on board or just about to be, she nodded in agreement.

"Right", Dawn said. Just as she was moving forward, a loud noise came from the city. The three teens turned around immediately to see what this noise was. They could see nothing from their location, but the noise was getting louder. It sounded like...an engine. They did not know if this was Team Rocket or not, but they kept their eyes open. Unfortunately, they could not see anyone. Suddenly, an ATV appeared from behind some buildings and charged towards them. The teens turned around just in time to see the ATV coming up on them.

Unfortunately, they were too close to be able to dodge.

They all watched in horror as the ATV struck the rebel who had ridden with Hunter, causing him to go flying backwards and crash into the boat house and land in a pile of wood. The ATV kept moving forward until it suddenly hit the brakes and spun around. On board were two Rocket grunts. These however were normal grunts, not like the ones they had fought after escaping the island.

"FUCK! THEY MUST OF BEEN HIDING IN THE CITY!", Hunter yelled. The two Rockets then immediately pulled out Uzis and aimed them at the two remaining teens.

"GET DOWN!", Dawn yelled, grabbing Hunter by the shirt and pulling him away. The Rockets then opened fire. Dawn and Hunter kept running away from the shots, trying to avoid getting hit. They then found a large pile of wood used in boat construction and hid behind it. The wood was thick and long, a good cover from the bullets.

"HOW DID THEY FIND US?", Dawn yelled.

"THEY MUST OF BEEN SPYING ON US SINCE WE ENTERED THE CITY!", Hunter explained. Dawn peeked from the side of the wood to see the Rockets. They were still both firing upon them. One of the Rockets looked to the other and pointed to the boat house. The Rocket nodded and immediately ran to the doors. Dawn's heart dropped.

"NO!", Dawn yelled. The Rocket jumped in front of the entrance to the building, his gun aimed. However, as soon as he did this, he was shot multiple times and fell backwards before falling to the ground. Blood came out of his chest and he moaned before slowly dying. The other Rocket looked on in shock. Seeing this opportunity, Hunter jumped out, his machine gun at the ready. Just as the Rocket noticed this, Hunter opened fire. The Rocket was shot a couple times in the chest and then fell backwards, off of the concrete boardwalk and into the water several feet below.

Hunter sighed, thankful that they were able to stop them quickly. Dawn immediately ran out and checked the body of the fallen Rocket, making sure he was actually dead. Once she was satisfied, she stood up. Several rebels looked out from the doors of the building, including Darrel, who had a machine gun in hand. He was the one who shot the Rocket.

"We heard the gunfire and ATV, you all ok?", Darrel asked. Dawn looked to him, and then immediately to where the rebel crashed. She then stood up and ran as fast as she could to the location, Hunter right on her tail. When she reached it, she began to move some of the wood and debris to get the rebel out. After moving several things out of the way, they found him.

His body nearly looked caved in from the hit and the back of his head was bleeding severely from hitting the building. It didn't look good. Hunter bent down and looked for a pulse on his neck...nothing. He sighed heavily, gave the rebel a salute, and then reached down to pull off the rebel's Pokeball belt and pick up his shot gun. Dawn sighed as well.

"He was so close...to leaving here alive", Dawn said sadly. Hunter nodded.

"Yeah, damn Rockets took us by surprise...", Hunter said. They stood there for a moment, completely silent, giving the rebel a proper moment of respect. A couple other rebels approached them, and seeing the dead rebel, remained silent. Hunter eventually sighed, turned around, and handed one of the rebels the belt and gun. He then walked over and tried to pull the body out of the garbage. Two other rebels helped him and the teens picked up the body and carried it towards the boat.

They were going to give him a proper burial, back home.

Dawn remained standing there for a moment, watching as the other rebels all disappeared. She reflected back to the entire mission, the fighting, the fear, the death. Many of these rebels had been on missions before, but none of them were like this. She could only pray for those rebels who never got a chance to return home. Their sacrifice would not be in vein.

**Well, I hope you all liked this chapter! Now I know what you're thinking, "Are they _really _getting off the island? FINALLY?", Well, YES! THEY ARE! WOOHOO! I know I dragged it on for quite a bit, and I apologize for that. But at least it was a fun ride...a fun, REALLY LONG ride. Now I was extremely distracted in writing this chapter, from a multitude of things, so my apologies if there are plot jumps or grammar mistakes. But regardless, I hope you all liked it, be sure to F.A.R., and I will see you all next time, this is EVAN AAML, signing off!**

**sincerely,  
evan, a fan of aaml -EVAN AAML**


	35. Chapter 35

**Hello everyone, and welcome back to "R"! I hope you're all excited over the rebels finally getting off the island, (so long as I don't delay it any longer). Now before I begin the chapter, I would like everyone's attention. I have a favor to ask for the readers/authors who read this story. As most of you may recall, I mentioned in a previous chapter's A.N. about how I wished I could draw out the story or put it in a movie. Now whereas this is entirely out of my power, someone else decided to take this note to heart. A fellow author and fan-fiction friend of mine prettygirl17, (who happened to create Aleksi for this story) has been kind enough to decide to draw out characters from "R"! :D Now I am eternally grateful for her to do these, but she needs your help! If you can, please send prettygirl17 a private message, explaining in your own words how you would describe the characters of this story. You can describe any of the characters, as many of them as you wish. Just know that not all of them will be used. I put together the physical looks for the OCs, but you all need to describe how they are personality wise, how you feel they should be drawn. If you wish for more details to this, please feel free to ask either of us. I am uncertain how many characters she will draw or if she will draw more than characters themselves, but I think we're all in agreement that this is a special treat for us, please be sure to thank her! Now then, onto the chapter!**

**-EVAN AAML**

The other rebels looked on with mixed feelings. They knew what had happened. They knew of the sudden attack, the unfortunate loss. But at this point in time, they were used to it. It was not as if they didn't care for the deceased, they were all family. It was only that, after seeing what they have seen, and going through one hell after another, this seemed, mellow.

It, however, did show them that going home is never as easy as it sounds.

The male rebels brought the body of the deceased rebel on board, making sure to place him with the other bodies that had been there since they arrived to New Island. As they did this, the others prepared for their departure. Dawn was the last one inside the boat house. She looked down onto the ground solemnly. She was downcast over the whole ordeal, and it was beginning to get to her. It was in this very building, only hours ago, (though it felt like years), where she decided that she had to do everything in her power to keep the others safe.

After all this time...had she kept her word?

Many people died under her watch, and she felt guilty over it. She knew that the Rockets were truly to blame for all of this, but could she have saved them if she tried harder? She didn't know. She suddenly felt something on her shoulder and turned around. There, standing with her hand on her was May. She looked just as downcast as she did, but also looked like she wanted to help.

"You alright?", May asked. Even though Dawn was a region leader and much more experience than nearly all of the PTA rebels, she was still in fact a young teenager. It was no surprise that something like this would get to her. Dawn looked at her and then nodded.

"Yeah, I'll be fine", Dawn said. May nodded back to her, understanding.

"This stuff, it's never easy, on anyone. No one here blames you for what happened", May said. Dawn nodded. She had heard this type of conversation many times before, she could nearly repeat it word for word. But she knew that May was only trying to help, and it did in fact help her feel better.

"I just...I feel like I could of done more, tried harder...to save everyone", Dawn said. May understood what she meant. She knew what had happened to Dawn's squad as they tried to blow the array. May herself felt the same way, nearly losing her entire squad in the fight in the basement. But she knew that, as a leader, it was your job to not let things like this distract you. You should always feel emotions for your team; but you can't let it bother you, otherwise more lives can be lost.

"...I feel that way too Dawn. I think all the leaders do. I can't imagine how Ash is going to react when he sees just how many lives we lost here. I'm actually afraid to tell him. But you're a region leader, you have a lot of responsibility. It's understandable that you have these feelings, but if they get to you too much, you could very well be endangering the lives of your squad, and yourself", May explained.

Dawn took what May said to heart. Although it seemed a bit cold and it wasn't as supportive as she had expected, it was true. Dawn nodded with a smile, she knew that she would have to be strong then, for her sake and the rest of the survivors.

"Ok, thank you", Dawn said. May nodded back with a smile.

"Good, now then, let's get off this island", May said. The two girls then made their way towards the boat. By this time, most of the rebels were already on board or were just about to be. Wallace helped walk Trent onto the boat. He carried him across the deck, passing by other rebels who had already taken their seats on the wooden floor or on top of other parts of the boat. He then brought him down below decks, where the severely injured were placed. This was in hopes that, should they run into more trouble on the open sea, they would be safer.

"Ok Trent, I'm going to put you right here, be careful, and try not to move around too much", Wallace instructed. Trent nodded, although he knew that if real trouble began, he would be on deck helping out anyone he could. Wallace then walked away, leaving Trent alone with the other injured. He looked around, seeing the boys and girls who were hurt. Burns, gashes, broken bones, they were all there. Trent had little, if any, medical experience, so there was nothing he could do to help them. He then looked across his seat and saw someone familiar, laying out on a couch.

Ryoto.

He looked like a bloody mess, blood came out from his forehead and even from his mouth. Although it was far less from when he first saw him, it still was not a pretty sight. His clothes were cut, scrapped, and soaked in blood, although Trent wasn't sure if that was only his own blood or the countless Rockets he slaughtered. Suddenly, Ryoto coughed, causing some more blood to come out of his mouth. Trent prepared to get up and help him, but stopped when Ryoto looked at him.

They shared eyed contact for awhile, not talking or anything. This however was short lived, as Ryoto gave a sly smirk.

"Trent...you look like hell", Ryoto said. Trent could not help but smile back at that response. He was not Ryoto's biggest fan, but now that they were leaving, Ryoto was at least approachable. His personality changed like the weather.

"Pft, you're one to talk. What are you, a Rocket magnet?", Trent asked. Ryoto seemed to want to chuckle at the remark, but probably couldn't due to his injuries.

"You got me there", Ryoto said. "Listen, how bad are your injuries?". Trent was slightly taken back by this, but answered.

"Well, I have a possible concussion, bruised ribs, and my shoulder is still injured from the gun shot wound. At least, that's what Wallace could tell from a real quick study. Why?", Trent asked. Ryoto sighed.

"Because...as much as I would hat to admit it, my fighting here is over. It's going to be a bit before I'm back to full health, and I can't risk it. I have to be at the Rocket base in Viridian City when we attack it, I'm important. So then that means you're going to have to protect everyone down here", Ryoto explained. Trent looked around, seeing the injured people around him. Some of them did look to Trent, showing that they trusted him. Others were either sleeping, unconscious, or in too much pain to pay attention.

"But...how? How can I help? I'm a terrible shot, I'm too injured to fight, and I don't even have a real sword", Trent said. Ryoto coughed some more, and then held his hand out, pointing at something. Trent looked down, seeing what he was pointing at. Just under his seat, right behind his legs, was a compartment. The seat he was sitting on was also a cabinet. Trent got off of his seat and kneeled on the floor to open the door. Once he did, he saw several bags. Most of them were duffle bags, but some were smaller than that.

"The red one", Ryoto said. Trent looked and saw a large red duffle bag in front of him. He unzipped the bag and looked inside. There were several things in it, food, papers, some minor medical supplies, and another Katana. "Take the Katana", Ryoto said. Trent pulled the sword out and looked at it. It looked almost like Trent's toy one, but this was the real deal. He pulled the blade from the sheath and looked at it. It glimmered from the ceiling lights. "I own several of them, you can keep that one. It's better than that damn toy you used earlier", Ryoto explained. Trent laughed. He placed the blade back into the sheath, closed the bag, and then shut the compartment door.

"Thanks Ryoto", Trent said. Ryoto did not say you're welcome, but merely turned his head back up to the ceiling and closed his eyes. He was going to try to sleep. Trent sat back down onto the couch and placed the sword next to him. He doubted that he would need to fight on the way back, but if he did, he would give it his all; to protect the injured.

Meanwhile, above deck, everyone was getting themselves prepared for the departure. Those who were physically able were standing around with weapons, ready for anything they may run into. Their number one priority was to reach Ash and the others at the half way point without any lost lives. Dawn took her spot at the wheel of the boat and looked around.

Although the boat was not destroyed by Rockets while they were gone, it was still possible that they had rigged the boat to explode. She had asked a couple rebels to look thoroughly around the boat for anything suspicious. She did the same around the wheel. She doubted that anything was rigged, but she was not going to risk it. Once the rebels told her that they had found nothing out of the ordinary, she nodded and took the wheel.

"Ok, is everyone ready?", Dawn asked. The rebels all around all nodded their heads.

"YES!", the rebels replied in a determined way. Dawn nodded back with a smile.

"Good, now let's get moving!", Dawn said. She turned the boat on and it grumbled in the water. As she slowly backed the boat out of the boat house, everyone stood guard, keeping an eye out for anything suspicious. Before they knew it, the sun's rays stretched over onto the boat's deck, blinding several of the rebels. The light breeze cooled them as they made it out onto open waters. They could smell the salt water and feel the dew stick onto their hairs. Dawn turned the boat around and then pushed up on the engine lever. The boat began making its way through the water at higher speed and they were off.

"Please everyone, make it to the boat safely", Dawn thought to herself, thinking of the others.

Little did she know that they were closer to their destination than she anticipated.

The bus drove across the plains, making its way to the quickly approaching forest. The terrain was getting a bit harder for the bus, but since they were no longer being chased by Rockets, they could afford to slow down. Misty slowed the bus down, allowing others on board to not be nearly as tense and relax more. Brock, knowing that they would soon be stopping, looked to the others.

He knew that they had all been put through a lot on the way here, and he wanted to make sure that they were ok and ready to leave. There were several bodies of deceased rebels, either laying on the ground of the bus or still sitting in seats. There were also a couple dead Rockets still on board. Other rebels were wounded, even more wounded now in fact than when they first got onto the bus.

"Alright everyone, we're getting closer to the boat. As you know, we're going to have to leave the bus to get there. If you don't think you can make the walk, ask for assistance. Grab your belongings and prepare", Brock said. Everyone then began to get themselves ready to leave. Brock then turned to Emily, who was sitting in a seat next to him. She had recovered from the Rocket attack, and was now grabbing her gear. Brock tapped her on the shoulder and she turned to look up to him. He looked down solemnly to her. "Emily, can I ask you to do something?", Brock asked.

"Yeah, sure", Emily said.

"Could you go along the bus and...grab the belts?", Brock asked. Emily's expression changed to that of seriousness. She understood what he meant. She nodded and then stood up. Sawyer and Nick, who were sitting next to each other in the seat behind Emily, stood up as well.

"We'll help", Sawyer said. Brock nodded to them.

"Thank you", Brock said. Nick nodded back, his way of saying no problem. The three teens then made their way around, checking the bodies and taking the belts off the deceased. Those who were only unconscious were helped to seats and then watched over by another rebel. Brock then turned around and went to the front of the bus, where Drew sat. He looked out the windshield, watching Misty drive.

"We're almost there", Drew said, knowing that Brock was right by him. Brock nodded.

"That's good. You ready?", Brock asked. Drew nodded.

"Yep, all set", Drew said. There was then a moment's silence, Brock broke the silence.

"She's alright Drew. You know better than I do how determined she is; of course she made it to the boat", Brock said. Drew sighed.

"I know, but that doesn't stop me from worrying. I almost lost her earlier, I don't want to ever have to go through those feelings again", Drew said.

"I understand, quite a few people here know especially well what you're going through", Brock said. This of course was said purposely, and the hint was not missed. Misty, driving the boat, blushed immensely, but it did not go noticed by the boys.

"I don't know what you're talking about Brock", Misty said. Brock scoffed.

"Sure you don't. I think it's important that you both have someone to think about during these times. You need loved ones worth fighting for. Just be sure to keep your hormones in check", Brock said, joking on the last bit. Both Drew and Misty turned to him.

"HEY!", Drew and Misty yelled. Brock laughed out loud. He knew that saying that would get to them. He was honest in what he said however, so he was glad to see their responses. Misty, shaking her head at the immaturity of their "leader", turned back to driving. She then smiled.

"Oh thank god...we made it", Misty said. Brock and Drew looked and could see the forest in front of them. Drew looked at it carefully.

"I don't know if this is exactly where I searched when we reached the island, but it should be close to here anyway", Drew said. Brock

"Hopefully it's close enough, we can't afford to play hide and seek with the boat", Misty said. She then began to slow down the bus considerably. Brock turned around and faced the other rebels, who all noticed the sudden change of speed.

"Alright everyone, we're here! Gather your things and get ready. Misty, get on the mike and alert Aleksi in the jeeps", Brock said. The rebels all began to stand up and grab their bags while Misty grabbed the walkie talkie from the dashboard.

"Aleksi, we've reached the forest, we're getting off", Misty said. From the jeeps behind the bus, Aleksi nodded, hearing the voice over the sound system. She then turned to Riles and Angel.

"You all ready?", Aleksi asked. Riles nodded, while Angel responded.

"All set", Angel said. Aleksi nodded. She then looked over to Brian's jeep. Brian looked over to her and gave a thumb's up; they were ready as well. When the bus finally reached a complete stop, so did the two jeeps. Aleksi sighed, she was finally there. Her nerves were at a all time high, they were so close to the end that she was afraid something would go wrong. She released the steering wheel and finally took a breather.

Her heart rate was a lot higher than she originally thought. She actually found it hard to breath. She relaxed herself, like she was trained to, and breathed easier. Angel looked at her with a hint of worry.

"Are you alright Aleksi?", Angel asked. Aleksi turned around and looked into Angel's bright blue eyes. She smiled, the eyes looking so innocent and pure. Angel's face was covered in dust, charcoal, and possibly even blood; but it didn't change the way her gaze treated Aleksi.

"I'm fine Angel, thank you", Aleksi responded. Angel smiled, relieved. Riled then opened up his passenger door.

"Well then, shall we get going ladies?", Riles asked. Aleksi nodded. She opened her door and stepped out, even before Riles did. Angel hopped over the side of the jeep and landed on the ground. The girls both raised their arms and stretched themselves as hard as they could, getting the "kinks" out of their system. They moaned from the feeling and sighed when they stopped. Riles, on the other side of the jeep, said a little prayer, thankful that they had made it safely to the forest. He then looked up and saw Brian, Jeremy, and Mathinza approaching them.

Mathinza carried with him his gear, while Brian and Jeremy had their back packs on their backs. Brian stretched just like the girls did.

"Thank god we finally made it!", Brian said as he stretched. Riles nodded.

"Agreed. Glad we'll all be home safe soon", Riles said.

"Hopefully", Jeremy said, somewhat under his breath. Mathinza and Brian both turned their heads towards him. He looked at them both and held his hands out. "What? Just saying". Aleksi and Angel approached them.

"We'll be fine, we're finally going back. The others are getting off now, we should go help the wounded", Aleksi said. The others all nodded. They made their way around the bus and to the door. Misty had already opened it and the rebels were making their way off. Brock and Misty stood by the doors, watching the others get off and helping them where they could. Aleksi and the others approached them.

"Anything we can do?", Aleksi asked. Misty looked up to Aleksi.

"No, I think we're good here. You guys already did so much for us, thank you", Misty said. Brian looked around, seeing the others get off.

"Where's Drew?", Brian asked.

"He, Michael, and a few others went to look for the boat, they don't want the injured going around the forest when we don't have a lot of time", Brock explained.

"Good thinking. I was part of that squad, I'll go help", Brian said. He ran off into the forest, making sure he moved quickly. The others stayed where they were. Just then, Nick and Sawyer stepped off of the bus, both helping an injured rebel. Nick carried a injured female rebel while Sawyer helped a younger male rebel with a gash on his forehead. Behind them, the young male and female rebel from Misty and Brock's com room squad stepped off, carrying with them their gear, along with the gear of Nick, Sawyer, and the injured rebels.

"That's the last of them", Sawyer said, holding a cloth to the head of the injured male.

"Ok, that's good. Then we can get moving. We should probably move the bus and jeeps, make it look like we're somewhere else. It might not do a lot but every little bit helps at this moment", Brock explained. The others nodded.

"Alright then, I can do that much", Aleksi said.

"I'll take one of the jeeps, I can drive stick", Mathinza stated.

"I got the other one", Jeremy stated. Just as the three of them were going to get to their vehicles, a sudden feeling seemed to hit all of the rebels all at once. They were not sure of what made this feeling, but they could tell that they all felt it. It was like a cold chill filled their bodies, like their blood froze instantly in their veins.

Angel slowly turned around, looking across the field. In the distance, she could see it, exactly what caused her and the others to feel this way.

A large vehicle, a very large vehicle, that was all black...and had a large letter "R".

"...Oh no...", Angel said. The others all looked up, saw Angel, and then looked to what she was looking at. Instantly, their hearts stopped.

"No, no, NO!", Brock yelled.

"SHIT, WHAT DO WE DO?", Jeremy asked.

"RUN!", Misty yelled. All of the rebels then immediately ran into the forest. They sprinted past the bushes and trees and moved as quickly as they could. Within seconds, they began to see the other rebels, who were all taking their time moving through the woods.

"EVERYONE, MOVE IT! TEAM ROCKET IS COMING! RUN TO THE OCEAN!", Brock commanded. All of the other rebels immediately panicked and ran as fast as they could through the forest. Many had difficulty doing this in the thick terrain, but did not stop. The rebels jumped, dodged, and sprinted around the long grass, leaves, trees, bushes, and sticks.

As the rebels ran, Angel looked backwards, to see if the Rockets were any closer. She could not see any of them physically, but she did hear a loud noise. Something large was coming, and fast. Suddenly, she began to have flashbacks. She recalled only two days ago, running through the forest, trying to avoid the Rocket grunts and their Pokemon. She remembered Ash coming to her rescue. But this was different. These were far more powerful Rockets, with a much bigger number. And Ash wouldn't be coming out of the blue to save her this time.

Just then, she saw it. Through the thick tropical plants, she could see the large black vehicle. It was driving straight through the forest! It drove right through trees and trampled everything in its path. This vehicle was designed to go through the toughest terrain. This is why the Rockets disappeared, they were getting a more powerful weapon!

"THEY'RE DRIVING STRAIGHT THROUGH THE WOODS!", Angel yelled. The rebels all looked behind them as they continued to run, seeing the monster vehicle.

"WHAT IS THAT THING?", Aleksi yelled, horrified.

"I DON'T WANT TO FIND OUT! KEEP MOVING!", Brock yelled. Just then, he looked ahead of him and, in the distance, he could see Brian, running towards them. It was clear that he was unaware of what was going on. He saw the group running towards him, stopped running himself, and waved them over towards him.

"GUYS! WE FOUND THE BOAT!", Brian yelled. He then got a better look at their expressions and became confused. "Wait...why are they running like that...unless".

"BRIAN, MOVE IT! LEAD US TO THE BOAT!", Misty yelled. Brian panicked, knowing that they were now in danger of being attacked. He turned around and waved his hands.

"THIS WAY!", Brian yelled. He bolted through the jungle, being followed by the other rebels. They could all hear the vehicle get closer now, if anyone tripped or ran out of breath at this point, they would be goners. Before they knew it, they could make out water through the trees and smell the ocean. They were close.

"There it is! Come on, we need to move it!", Brock said. The rebels all picked up their pace and ran as fast as they could. Before they knew it, they were out of the forest. In front of them stood a very small cliff that overlooked a small sandy beach front before entering the water. They stopped momentarily, just to look for the boat. Brian pointed to their left.

"It's over there!", Brian said. Everyone looked over and saw the boat. It was still anchored in the shallow water, and they could see Drew, Michael, and a few other rebels getting ready to make way. Drew looked over towards them from the boat, instantly knowing that something was wrong.

"WHAT'S GOING ON?", Drew asked, projecting his voice from the boat.

"ROCKETS! WE NEED TO MOVE, NOW!", Brock yelled.

"Ahhh shit!", Drew yelled. He immediately turned around, getting the boat ready. Michael and the other few rebels dropped what they were doing and prepared themselves. The rebels began to run towards the boat, but the sound of the Rocket vehicle was getting louder. They knew that soon, it would be through the forest, and the rebels would be sitting ducks. Aleksi knew this well, for she stopped running and turned around. The other rebels all stopped as well and looked at her.

"Aleksi! What are you doing?", Misty asked. Aleksi kept her eyes on the area where the Rockets were coming from, not bothering to look behind her.

"You guys go on ahead, I'll catch up with you later", Aleksi said. The other rebels looked at her in shock.

"What are you talking about!", Brock said.

"I'm going to slow down the Rockets. We all know that if we don't they're going to attack the boat before we can even get away. This way, at least you'll be able to get out of here...like I said...I'll catch up", Aleksi explained. Everyone just stood there, uncertain of what to do or say. They did know however, that they were wasting valuable time. If they stayed there any longer, trying to get her to come with them, then the Rockets would catch up. She was not going to move, so they knew it was a pointless argument.

However, it did not mean that she had to do it alone.

Angel immediately ran up and stood by her side, looking towards the forest as well. Aleksi looked down at her, both shocked and confused.

"Angel, what are you doing? Go with them!", Aleksi said. Angel smiled and shook her head.

"No Aleksi, I can't let you do this alone. You _need _me here for this!", Angel said.

"But Angel, you could get hurt, and you need to see your parents again! They're your family!", Aleksi stated. Angel looked up to her.

"And so are you", Angel said. The girls shared eye contact for a few seconds, although it felt like an hour. Soon however, Aleksi smiled and nodded.

"Alright, let's do it then!", Aleksi said. Watching this, Brian laughed and swung his arms around, as if he was stretching them.

"Well, we're all one big family here, I don't see why they need to go about this alone! I'm staying too!", Brian said. Jeremy chuckled nervously.

"Uh, well, you have fun with that, I'm going to go on the boat with them and", just as Jeremy began turning around to go to the boat, Brian grabbed him by his shirt.

"Oh NO you're not! You're coming with me!", Brian said. He then dragged Jeremy with him towards the girls. Brock nodded.

"Alright, you know where to find us when you're ready", Brock said.

"Stay safe!", Misty told them sternly, like a mother would. The two teens then turned around and ran. Mathinza turned, looked at the two teens running, and then back to the others.

"I'll give you as much cover as I can from the boat!", Mathinza said, holding up his gear. He then ran off with them. Riles nodded.

"May god help you all, be careful!", Riles said. He then followed Mathinza, leaving the four teens alone. Jeremy watched as they left in disbelief.

"How come they got to leave and I had to stay?", Jeremy asked, somewhat annoyed.

"Because, we need someone with communications in case we take longer than expected. Besides, it'll be good for you", Brian said. Just then, the sound of the vehicle grew much more intense. The rebels all grabbed a Pokeball and prepared themselves. They knew that it was up to them to protect the others while they escaped. Suddenly, it arrived.

The vehicle crashed through the brush, turning abruptly and stopping. It was a long black vehicle that was as tall as a tank but moved on wheels. The front of it had a large metal plow that went through the jungle with ease. The sides were completely covered in thick metal plating that protected it from bullets and possibly even Pokemon attacks. A large red "R" was painted on the front and sides of the vehicle. The rebels stood there, waiting for something to happen. It was clear that in order for the Rockets to attack, they would have to come out of the vehicle; that was its only noticeable weakness.

Suddenly, the back end of the vehicle dropped down onto the ground and several Rockets came rushing out, all of them armed to the teeth. The rebels knew it was now or never.

"OK EVERYONE, NOW!", Aleksi yelled. She threw her Pokeball in the air. "UMBREON, GIVE US COVER!". The ball burst open and Aleksi's Umbreon came out. It's eyes glowed and instantly, the rebels and the surrounding area was covered in darkness. The Rockets were not expecting this, and immediately opened fire. They shot round after round into the darkness, hoping to take down the rebels. However, they did not know exactly where they were.

One Rocket, who climbed up on top of the vehicle, managed to get a brief look through the top of the darkness and saw the other rebels, just getting the boat moving out to sea. He gasped and grabbed a walkie talkie he had in his hands.

"We were right! Rebels have a boat, I repeat, rebels have a boat! Coordinates are twenty nine degrees south, thirty seven degrees west!", the Rocket said. Suddenly, from the darkness, an object was thrown at great velocity at the vehicle. It landed just inside from the open back door and stuck onto the side. The Rockets all looked at it, confused as to what it was. It was a square package with two lights on it. One was red and was currently on, the other was green and off.

The Rockets immediately recognized the item and panicked. Suddenly, the red light disappeared and the green light turned on. As soon as it did, the package detonated. The vehicle was blasted forward, severely damaged on the inside from the blast and crashed onto the sandy beach and water, on fire. The Rockets were all blown into the jungle, most in pieces. The darkness began to disappear and the rebels stood there, low to the ground. Ledyba was flying just above them, using Barrier to protect them from the explosion.

Angel was the first to look up, and saw the damage it had done. She sighed and looked up to Ledyba.

"Thank you Ledyba for protecting us from the C4!", Angel said. Ledyba removed the Barrier and buzzed happily. The others began to slowly get up.

"And thank you Umbreon!", Aleksi said. Umbreon nodded, its own way of thanking her. The girls then returned their respective Pokemon. Jeremy looked at Brian.

"That was a nice throw!", Jeremy said. Brian nodded.

"I don't even know how I was able to see through the darkness. Aleksi, how was that possible?", Brian asked. Aleksi shrugged.

"I don't even know myself. I've used it on a lot of missions before. It's something dark Pokemon can do, but I can't explain it", Aleksi said. She then looked at the devastation. As she did, she spotted something. "Look!". The rebels all looked and could see a Rocket, crawling on the ground, trying to grab something. Brian immediately began to walk towards him.

It was the same Rocket who was on top of the vehicle. The blast blew him into a tree and he was badly injured. He was trying to reach his walkie talkie; which was speaking.

"Coordinates received, Rocket patrols are now off. Repeat, Rocket patrols are now off!", the walkie said. Just as the Rocket was about to grab the walkie, Brian stepped in. He immediately picked up the walkie and looked at it. He heard what it had said and became angry. he tossed the walkie to Jeremy.

"Jeremy, can you trace the call?", Brian asked. Jeremy looked at the walkie.

"From a walkie? Not likely, but I'll see what I can do", Jeremy said. He then stepped away and got to work. Brian meanwhile grabbed the shirt from the injured Rocket and pulled him up. He looked into his eyes in anger and shook him just enough to get his attention.

"Where is that patrol coming from? How are they getting here!", Brian asked the Rocket angrily. The injured Rocket looked at Brian with hatred in his eyes. Blood oozed out of cuts from his body. His face was covered in dirt from the explosion.

"I'm not telling you shit PTA fucks!", the Rocket growled. Brian grew angry at the Rocket and shook him harder.

"You listen to me you son of a bitch, I want answers!", Brian said. The Rocket merely smirked.

"And you won't get them from me. Hell is coming right as we speak, you all don't stand a chance! Your rebel force is going to be extinguished, and we'll rein supreme over the entire world!", the Rocket said. Suddenly, he grabbed something from his glove. Before Brian could react, he popped it in his mouth and bit down hard on it. He smiled as suddenly, his eyes started to glaze over and his mouth foamed. "Long live Team Rocket!". Those were his last words before he suddenly began to shake violently and then just as quickly became limp in Brian's hands.

**I decided to end it right there, leave you all to wonder what's going to happen. Now I'm sure a lot of you hoped that this chapter would go further than it did, but there's more to come! Now lately I have been very busy with different things, both involving me, loved ones, and work. So I apologize for the long wait. But I hope that you did like the chapter, and that you're on the edge of your seats for another one! Please be sure to help out prettygirl17 with the artwork, we both appreciate it very much! Oh, and as a final little note, I saw "One Day" with my girlfriend...terrible movie, we both hated it, don't see it! Anyway, until next time, this is EVAN AAML, saying be sure to F.A.R. and help prettygirl17! Goodbye!**

**sincerely,  
evan, a fan of aaml **

**P.S. The stuff I used for spell check on my computer is not functioning at the moment, so I apologize if there are spelling or grammar mistakes in this chapter!**

**-EVAN AAML **


	36. Chapter 36

**Welcome back ladies and gentleman! Now then, before I begin, I hope that many of you saw the message I wrote in my last chapter about prettygirl17's request for you all. I can only hope that at least some of you wrote to her about the characters. For those of who you did NOT read it, please look back to the previous chapter and read the Author's Note I wrote in it. There you will find the details. For those of you who DID read it and DIDN'T write to her...jerks. And for those of you who DID read it and DID write to her, we both thank you! Now then, since I will probably not be distracted much by means of sports teams on T.V., (I love baseball and the Yankees, but it gets old after awhile, at least until playoffs. And don't even get me STARTED on the New York Giants for football...I don't predict a good year. -_-), I figured I would begin the next chapter! Hope you enjoy it!**

**-EVAN AAML**

The rebels looked on in both shock and horror. Jeremy looked like he would throw up at any moment, while Aleksi slightly moved Angel aside, so as she would not get a good glimpse at the site. Brian was more frustrated than anything and lightly pushed the suicidal grunt away, letting the body fall to the ground. The foam came out of his mouth and spilled onto the ground.

"God Dammit, cyanide. We have to get moving and warn the others that Rockets are incoming", Brian said. Angel turned her head to look out to sea. The boat was already on its way out.

"They're already leaving", Angel said. A part of her sort of hoped that they would turn around for them now, since they were safe, but she knew that they wouldn't. And she was glad that they didn't. Brian turned and looked to them as well.

"Yeah, they're on their way to rendezvous with Dawn and May's crew. Jeremy, did you find out where that signal came from?", Brian asked. He turned to look at Jeremy, who was still creeped out by the dead Rocket. "JEREMY!", Brian yelled. It was not meant to be angry, but they were in a hurry and it was important that they got moving. Jeremy snapped out of his trance and looked at Brian.

"Uh...oh!", Jeremy said. He then looked at the walkie and began to fumble with it. After a few seconds, he got a signal. It was just static, but he seemed to be able to make something of it. "Well, I can't pin point it exactly, but it seems like it's coming from close by. Not this island...but on one not far from here". Brian nodded.

"I figured as much. Probably from Cinnabar, or Shamouti. That means that they'll be coming soon. I just hope that they'll come from boats and not air", Brian said. The others nodded. Although boats would prove to be dangerous to them, they had little to no defense against an air attack. One mere attack chopper could mean their deaths.

"So then, do we call them back over?", Brian asked. Aleksi thought for a moment.

"I don't know. We're safe now, so I don't see why not", Aleksi said. No sooner did she say this than all of a sudden, the sound of bullets being fired echoed around them. The rebels all instinctively ducked and turned around, seeing where the bullets came from.

Although still stuck through the forest, many Rocket grunts were making their way through to the rebels. They fired round after round at them, trying their best to mow them down.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE THEY DOING HERE?", Jeremy asked yelling, covering his head.

"THEY MUST OF BEEN A BACK UP FORCE FOR THE VEHICLE, FOR EXTRA TROOPS! WE NEED TO GET TO THE WATER NOW!", Aleksi yelled. Angel grabbed her Pokeball.

"LEAVE IT TO ME!", Angel yelled. Before they knew it, Angel had released Ledyba once more, and thus created another Barrier to protect them. Ledyba held strong, making sure that the others were safe. Angel stood up, looked at Ledyba, and then back to the others. "Get moving, as fast as you can! I'll stay here and hold them off for as long as I can and then meet up with you!".

Although not a fan of the idea, Jeremy and Brian both nodded and made their way to the water. Aleksi on the other hand was not so willing to let her go that easily.

"Angel! We can't just leave you here! You wouldn't leave me alone and I won't leave you alone!", Aleksi explained. Angel turned to her.

"Aleksi, Ledyba can't hold out much longer! We only have a limited time! I'm not going to leave Ledyba, and the more that go off towards the others the better! I'll be fine, trust me! Just get going!", Angel said. Aleksi didn't know what to say. Here was this twelve year old girl, a little child who has barely experienced life, willing to risk everything and stand up to a barrage of Rockets and their wave of bullets.

In a way, it reminded Aleksi of herself, when she was younger. Even when she was alone, traveling around and avoiding Team Rocket, she was not afraid to stand up for herself or others. She would avoid a fight if she had to, in order to prevent violence. But when it came down to it, she would fight until her last breath. She still recalled when she first met Ash and the others, and how they noticed her bravery and heart.

She was a much younger child, younger than Angel now in fact. But she was more experienced than Angel. She was traveling through Kanto, trying to find a good spot to hide for awhile. Her mother had just died, and her father...gone. She would just ride her sailboat and stay out on the open sea; but she did not have a lot of experience at that time, and she couldn't risk losing the boat, not to the Rockets. It was more than a vessel, it was almost a part of her. So she hid it, somewheres where Team Rocket would never find it.

So now, she was stuck on land, trying to get her bearings of the surroundings, making a living hunting and gathering. Hardly the life she thought she would live, but it was better than being dead or taken prisoner. She was not a tom boy, but she wasn't a prissy girl either. One thing she did know well was geography. She knew Kanto, Johto, and all of the other regions rather well, looking at maps and listening to stories about them often. She always wanted to see them all, participate in their Pokemon Leagues, her and her parents.

But now that those days were long gone, she had to manage with what she could.

She had thought about hiding out in different cities in different regions. She knew enough about them to know which places would be perfect to hide in forever; but lack of money, resources, and skills left her stuck in the lower half of Kanto. She managed to avoid Rockets rather well, but it was still too risky for her. So she kept on the move, never staying in one place for longer than two days.

It was on one of these days...when she witnessed the birth of the PTA.

She had just made her way around Mt. Moon, trying to see if there was a cave she could hide in...there wasn't. She knew better than to go through Mt. Moon's main cave, knowing that Team Rocket dug for fossils there. She didn't know why, most people figured for fossil fuel or research. Others suspected that they had their own fossil resurrection equipment, but none of those rumors were ever proven. After making her way down from the mountain, she spotted something that would eventually lead her to her new life.

Pokemon around Mt. Moon weren't known for being very powerful, but they _were _rare, and could become useful. Team Rocket of course, had no problems with catching them, no matter the costs. After hearing the sounds of screams and pain, Aleksi ran behind a tree, lowered herself, and looked through a bush to see what was causing the noise. Further down the mountain, in a small opening, were about half a dozen Rocket grunts, all looking over a rather large group of Pokemon. The Rockets all chuckled at their work, proud of what they had done.

There were several common bird Pokemon like Pidgey and Spearow, along with a Rattata or two. There were also a couple pairs of both types of Nidoran, a Jigglypuff, a Clefairy, a Pikachu, and some Zubat; more uncommon Pokemon. All of them were battered and bruised, and stuck in small cages that barely allowed them to fit inside. They all looked scared, trembling and looking up at their captors.

Aleksi watched in horror as these low level Rocket grunts kicked the cages, laughing all the while, talking about how, if they survive, they'll become powerful Rocket Pokemon for them to use. Usually, Rockets who were on Pokemon catching missions didn't keep the ones they caught, but it wasn't unheard of that they would request to keep several of them; especially when they have big loads. Aleksi had heard of what Rockets did to Pokemon, but had never seen it personally, until now.

Her fists shook with rage, and she had to restrain herself from going down there and doing something. But she knew that she wouldn't stand a chance against six grunts. She was lucky to be able to handle one. The only Pokemon she owned was her Umbreon, which had only recently evolved and was not very experienced. On top of that, she had no weapons on her she could use, with the exception of a sling shot she made for hunting. She had learned to be a pretty good shot, but that wouldn't do her much good with a weapon that was rarely fatal and only had one shot.

Luckily, she didn't have to fight, or wait for that matter. A couple of the Rockets stated that they had to take a piss, and so the entire gang decided to leave; going through the trees and disappearing from sight. Aleksi couldn't believe it! They must of been newbies, even low level grunts would know enough to at least leave a guard around a catch like that. She waited a few more seconds, making sure that the Rockets were farther out of view before making her move. She quietly yet quickly scurried from her hiding spot and down the remainder of the mountain, making sure she didn't trip along the way.

As soon as she came into view of the Pokemon, they began to worry and make noise. They knew that she wasn't with the Rockets, but they were obviously scared of humans after this experience. Aleksi quickly put a finger to her lips and shushed them, panicking. She looked around, making sure that the Rockets didn't hear them. The Pokemon stopped making noise and all was quiet. Aleksi sighed and approached them.

The Pokemon were uncertain of what she was going to do, but they felt that she could be trusted. She examined the cages, seeing how they would open. The metal was built strong, meant to resist basic Pokemon attacks. Not that it mattered, these Pokemon barely had the room to turn their heads let alone attack the cages. They had on them simple padlocks however. She was sure that the keys were with the Rockets, but she could probably pick the locks if she tried hard enough.

She pulled out from her pocket a hair pin, worked with it, and made it into a shape suitable for picking the lock. She then began to get to work.

"I'm going to get you guys out of here alright? Just stay calm and you'll be safe soon enough", Aleksi said. She began to pick the lock to the wild Pikachu's cage when the Pikachu looked at her, and began to talk.

"Pika, Pikachu. Chu, Pika", the wild Pikachu said. Aleksi looked at the little yellow rodent with confusion. She could tell that the Pikachu was trying to help, but could not understand the little Pokemon. Pikachu seemed to understand this as well, and soon stopped, but looked around cautiously. Aleksi wondered what Pikachu was trying to say to her as she picked at the lock. Suddenly, she could see through the cage that the Pikachu was tensing up. She immediately knew what this meant, but it was too late.

"HEY! WHAT ARE YOU DOING YOU LITTLE BRAT?", someone yelled. Aleksi looked up to see the Rocket grunts. One of them immediately ran towards Aleksi. She stood up and turned around, ready to run. But the Rocket was too fast, and grabbed her by the shirt collar before she could get away. She struggled as the Rocket pulled her in closer and got a better grip of her. The rest of the Rocket grunts walked towards her. One picked up the hair pin she tried to use to pick the locks.

"So, trying to free the Pokemon we worked so hard in catching? Didn't your parents ever tell you it's rude to ruin other people's work?", the grunt said. He was probably the head grunt, although they all appeared to be the same ranking. All six grunts looked roughly the same, young features, smooth skin, and menacing eyes. Aleksi tried to struggle free, but it was no use.

"You all should be ashamed of yourselves, doing this to innocent Pokemon!", Aleksi told them angrily. All of the Rockets burst out laughing.

"Little girl, do you even realize who we are? Feeling ashamed isn't in our job description!", the Rocket with the lock pick said. He smiled evily as he walked forward and placed the hair pin into Aleksi's hair, making sure that it looked appropriate. "Listen, you almost cost us dearly, but since you failed, I'm willing to forgive you...if you tell us what you're doing here".

The grunts must of felt that she was a part of a group, or told to do this by an adult. Although Aleksi could of been freed if she just said that she was alone, this still would of left the Pokemon here to suffer at their hands. So Instead of merely answering, she struggled once again to get free.

"YOU'RE NOT GOING TO GET AWAY WITH THIS, YOU'RE ALL MONSTERS!", Aleksi yelled. The grunts once again laughed. The ones behind their leader seemed to be getting a good joke out of all of this. None of them took her seriously.

"Now that's not very nice. I'd like to think that we're all model citizens of the higher class society", the grunt said. This of course only made the grunts laugh more. Aleksi scowled at the grunt. Just looking at him made her angry. The Rocket got closer to her face. "Now then, why are you being so difficult? So what if we're abusing a few weak pathetic Pokemon? It's good for them, makes them tougher".

"They'll die!", Aleksi said.

"Well then they weren't good enough", the Rocket immediately responded with. This put her over the edge. She spat in the Rocket's face. He backed up and wiped the spit off as the grunt holding Aleksi tightened his grip and pulled her back.

"I'M GOING TO STOP YOU ALL! JUST YOU WAIT! I WON'T LET YOU HURT THE INNOCENT!", Aleksi yelled at the top of her lungs. The Rocket grunt looked angrily at her and got closer to her.

"You shut your mouth you little BRAT!", the Rocket growled, giving Aleksi a back handed slap across the face on the word brat. Aleksi's face turned red from the smack, but she didn't cry. She looked at the Rocket, still as angry as ever. The grunt looked up to the Rocket holding her. "Tie her to that tree over there, I think we need to teach this little child some manners", the Rocket said. The Pokemon all seemed to worry upon hearing this and tried to escape, to no avail. As the grunt dragged Aleksi away the lead Rocket turned to the cages and kicked them hard, causing them all to rock and the Pokemon inside to get injured. "ALL OF YOU SHUT UP!", the Rocket yelled. Aleksi, seeing this, yelled out loud.

"NO! STOP! SOMEONE, PLEASE, HELP!", Aleksi yelled. She was not yelling so much for herself, but for the Pokemon. Just she was about to be tied to the tree, she heard something.

"LEAVE THAT GIRL ALONE!", someone yelled. Aleksi, the Pokemon, and all of the grunts looked around them, trying to figure out where the voice came from. It seemed to be coming from atop one of the trees, but the mountain terrain caused an echo, making it impossible to pin point where exactly.

"WHO SAID THAT?", the lead grunt asked, looking around.

"People who are going to stop you!", another voice called out. There were more than one. The lead grunt turned to the others.

"Keep an eye out for anything! If you see someone, shoot them!", the grunt said. The grunts all nodded and pulled out pistols. Just then, from up above, smoke began to pour down onto the surrounding area. Smokescreen. Everyone began to cough, trying to make sure that the smoke didn't get into their lungs. Aleksi had a harder time doing this since she was still being held by the grunt. However, next thing she knew, she was released.

She fell to the ground, weak from being restrained and coughing heavily. She looked around, not able to see anything in the thick smoke. However, she soon saw a shadow appear to her side. She became worried, thinking it was another grunt; but she was too weak to move. But then, she saw that the figure bent down and was holding out something for her. It was hard for her to see it in the smoke, but she slowly took the item from the figure and looked at it. It was a pink handkerchief with a red outlining and yellow colored slashes going across it.

"Put this over your mouth, it will keep the smoke out of your throat", the figure said. Aleksi recognized it as the voice that had said to leave her alone. Aleksi nodded, now knowing that this person would help her, and put the handkerchief over her mouth. It helped her breath and made her feel better. The figure then bent down and helped Aleksi to her feet.

When the smoke cleared, the Rockets looked around, seeing that they were now surrounded by several teens. Aleksi got a better look around as well. The grunt that was holding her was laying on the ground, unconscious. She looked up to see the teenager that had helped her.

Ash.

Aleksi looked to the other teens, Brock, Misty, Tracy, Gary, May, Max, Drew, and Dawn. They were all there. Of course, at the time she did not know them in the least. They stood by, encircling the Rocket grunts, ready to fight. The grunts looked around, seeing that they were in a bad situation.

"Who the hell are you?", the lead Rocket asked. Ash stepped forward, covering Aleksi.

"We're just Pokemon trainers, who have had enough of you Rockets; and are going to fight for peace", Ash said. Aleksi looked up to Ash. She couldn't believe that something like this was happening. It was nearly unheard of for people to rise against Team Rocket since the wars that were fought at their initial take over. And even if they were, they would be by full grown adults with weapons. These were just teenagers.

The Rocket grunts looked at them in disbelief and anger. They also could not believe this. Typical rebel uprisings were destroyed quickly and harshly. Although they were certain that this little group would be no different, they were still in a tough situation.

"So, an alliance of Pokemon trainers huh? What, like a...PTA?", the Rocket lead asked sarcastically. Ash smirked.

"Nice name, I guess we can take that", Ash responded. Just then, Pikachu, who was sitting on Ash's shoulder this entire time, jumped down and ran over to the cages. He stopped in front of the wild Pikachu and began to talk to it.

"Pikachu? Chu?", Pikachu asked. The other Pikachu nodded.

"Pika!", the wild Pikachu responded. Ash's Pikachu then turned and looked to Ash, giving him a nod. Aleksi did not know what this meant, she guessed that they were checking to see if the Pokemon were alright. Suddenly, one of the Rocket grunts lunged at Pikachu.

"Come here you little rat!", the grunt demanded. Pikachu turned around and immediately launched a Thunderbolt at the Rocket. He flew back and crashed into a tree, right beside Gary and Tracy. The other grunts looked on in anger.

"Alright, that's it! KILL EM!", the lead grunt ordered. The remaining four grunts then charged, their guns at the ready. One grunt ran at Brock and aimed his pistol, but Brock was already secretly prepared. When the Rocket fired his weapon, a rock Pokemon came out of no where and blocked the bullet. It was Brock's Geodude. It took the bullet, not feeling any pain at all. The Rocket looked on in shock.

"Ok Geodude, Tackle!", Brock yelled. Geodude then charged at the Rocket and struck hard into his chest, knocking him flat on his back and knocking him out. Another Rocket charged for the girls, Misty, May, and Dawn. The three quickly separated and caused the Rocket to be confused, not sure of who to attack first. All three of them then charged and hit the confused grunt. He fell to the ground and then looked up, seeing the three girls standing over him.

"Bet you didn't think you would be taken down by girls did you?", Misty asked. The three girls then kicked the Rocket in the face.

The lead grunt aimed a gun at Ash and Aleksi, ready to go for the kill. Aleksi was brave and ready to fight, but Ash put her behind him for protection.

"You're going to pay for this insubordination! No one fights Team Rocket!", the lead grunt said. Ash stood his ground.

"Well consider this a message to Giovanni. We're going to rise up and take him down! Team Rocket will not rule the world for long!", Ash said. The Rocket grunt looked at him angrily.

"Alright boys, let's kill this fool first...hmm?", the Rocket said, realizing that he was not getting a response. He turned around to see that all of his men were now laying on the ground, unconscious. The rebels stood over them, looking at the only one remaining. In fear, the lead grunt turned just in time to see Ash, who was right in his face. Ash smirked and held his hand out in a fist.

"Lights out!", Ash said before punching the grunt dead in his face. The Rocket flew back and landed on his back, out cold. Ash smiled and looked to the others. "Great job you guys, you alright?".

"Yeah, we're fine. That was easy! If beating Team Rocket is going to be like this, we'll have peace in a week!", Drew said with his usual air of pride.

"Unfortunately it won't be that easy, Team Rocket is going to be ready for us now. We'll have to be prepared. We'll need a lot more people", Ash said.

"But how are we going to get more to join? We don't know if they would be secretly loyal to Team Rocket. They could be to scared to", Dawn said. Ash sighed. This was true. He wasn't sure what they were going to do. But then he remembered Aleksi. He turned around and looked at her.

"Oh, I'm sorry! Are you alright? Sorry about the smoke thing, we needed to attack in the shadows", Ash said. Aleksi nodded.

"I'm fine, and it's ok. I'm more worried about the Pokemon", Aleksi said. She then ran forward and to the cages. She looked at the Pokemon and saw that they were alright. "Could you help me free them? Please!", Aleksi said. Ash smiled and nodded.

"Sure thing", Ash said. Before they knew it, they had all of the Pokemon out of their cages. The teens watched as the Pokemon thanked them, and ran off into the woods. The wild Pikachu was last to leave. It approached Aleksi, nuzzled against her, and then scurried off. Aleksi smiled, she was glad that she was able to help. She then stood up and looked at Ash and the others.

"Thank you all for saving me, I really appreciate it", Aleksi said. The teens all smiled.

"No problem! What you did there was really brave of you, not a lot of people would be willing to stand up against Team Rocket, especially alone", Ash said.

"I wasn't going to stand around while they were hurting innocent Pokemon. I refuse to", Aleksi said. The teens all smiled.

"It's good to see people who are willing to fight to save others", Misty said. Aleksi smiled too, blushing slightly. She then became serious, shaking off the blush.

"Listen, I heard you want people to join your rebellion. I'm guessing you're new at this...let me join you", Aleksi said. The teens seemed to be shocked by this request. They had not had any people willing to join them before. They seemed unsure of what to do at first, until Ash stepped forward and lowered himself to her level. He smiled and held his hand out to her. She looked at it for a moment, and then took it in her hand, making a hand shake.

"Congratulations, welcome to the PTA", Ash said.

That day, that one day, started Aleksi's life as a rebel and freedom fighter.

She brought herself back to the present, looking once again at Angel, who was still waiting for a response while Ledyba held the Barrier. Aleksi was still concerned for her, but, knowing how she felt, nodded with a smile.

"Alright, just please, be safe Angel! We're counting on you!", Aleksi said. Angel nodded and then turned back to Ledyba. Aleksi ran down the small cliff and made it to the ocean, where Brian and Jeremy were just getting ready to leave. Brian threw a Pokeball towards the water and it burst open, revealing a large Lapras. it splashed in the water, ready to swim. Brian turned to Jeremy.

"Do you have a water Pokemon to swim on?", Brian asked. Jeremy shook his head.

"All I have is Gengar!", Jeremy said.

"Alright then, hop on!", Brian said. Jeremy nodded and ran into the water to hop onto Lapras. Brian then turned around. "Come on Aleksi! Angel can handle this, we need to get moving!", Brian said. Aleksi nodded. She threw her own Pokeball and out came her Dragonair. She hopped on and the two large water Pokemon began to make their way to the others. Aleksi took one final look at Angel. She had pulled out her pistol and began to fire at the Rockets from around the Barrier.

"Hurry Angel!", Aleksi thought to herself. She then brought her attention forward, out to sea. Angel turned around and saw that the three were now leaving. She sighed happily.

"Good, they're on their way. I'll hold on here until they're far enough away so that the Rockets can't reach them. Even if I don't make it, at least they will", Angel thought to herself. She then turned forward, towards the Rockets. They now for the most part out in the open, firing as much as they could to no avail. Angel found it odd that they were not using Pokemon, it was possible that they didn't even have any. Many of the Rockets here didn't use them at all, perhaps, (at least for this base), Pokemon weren't wide spread among the Rockets.

That being said, she knew that it was only a matter of time before they got to her. She was heavily out numbered and Ledyba couldn't hold out forever. Although bullets were weaker than Pokemon attacks, the sheer number of them caused a lot of stress on the Barrier and Ledyba. Angel looked up to Ledyba. She could see it begin to sweat. The stress was building.

"Ledyba...I'm sorry...if this doesn't end the way we want it, I want you to know that I love you", Angel said. Ledyba looked down at Angel from above. The two shared eye contact for a moment before Ledyba nodded in response and turned back to the Barrier. Angel reloaded her pistol and aimed it around the side of the Barrier. In five shots, she managed to strike three Rockets, two of them dead instantly.

She turned back around, looking to see where the others were. They were far enough out now where she could only make out Dragonair and Lapras. That was probably far enough where they would be safe. Angel then turned back to the Rockets.

"Ok, they're safe...now I just have to make it to them alive", Angel said. She tried to think of a way for her to escape safely, but she couldn't think of anything. The second the Barrier goes down, both her and Ledyba will be filled with bullets. She won't leave Ledyba behind, and there aren't any people here to cover her. She thought and thought, realizing that time was running out for her and her Pokemon. Suddenly, it hit her. "I GOT IT! LEDYBA! FLASH!", Angel commanded. Ledyba, while still holding Barrier, created a light source and then released it all at once.

Doing this caused every Rocket that was attacking them to be blinded by the bright light. Angel saw their opportunity. She quickly pulled out her necklace and aimed it at Ledyba.

"LEDYBA! RETURN!", Angel yelled. As quickly as Ledyba was sucked into its Pokeball, Angel turned around, jumped off the small cliff, landed on the sand, and pulled out another Pokeball. She threw it towards the ocean and it burst open. Just as the Rockets were beginning to get their vision back, Angel ran into the water and jumped onto the back of Evan's Sharpedo; gripping on tightly to the dorsal fin. The rough scales felt like they were cutting her skin, but it was the least of her worries right now.

"Sharpedo! We need to catch up to the others, and quickly!", Angel said. Sharpedo lowered itself in the water, as if getting ready for a race. Suddenly, Sharpedo burst through the water, swimming at tremendous speed. Angel's eyes began to burn from the salt water, but they quickly felt better. She turned around to see that the Rockets were now finally beginning to realize what had happened. They ran to the water's edge and began to fire at her from land. She ducked as bullets zoomed past her, nearly getting her in the head.

"Woah! That was close! Sharpedo, we need to avoid these bullets!", Angel said. Sharpedo nodded and suddenly, began to submerge under water. Angel held her breath just as she went under the water. The pressure of the water going against her nearly caused Angel to let go of Sharpedo, but she held on tightly. It felt like they were moving at speeds of thirty miles per hour underwater. After a few seconds however, Sharpedo popped back up to the surface, allowing Angel to take a gasp of breath. Sharpedo stopped moving and turned, allowing Angel to see back towards land.

The Rockets were still standing on the beach, but they were too far away to reach her. Angel sighed, she made it out alive.

"Oh thank goodness, we made it...thank you Sharpedo. Evan will be really proud of you for how much you've helped me on this mission", Angel said.

"Sharpedo!", Sharpedo responded happily. Angel giggled. Suddenly, she winced in pain and cringed. Her adrenaline was pumping the entire time, but now that she had a moment to catch her breath, the pain of the salt water in her wounds set in. The cuts and scraps ached even more and some of them even began to bleed again. She fought off the pain however and looked to the other direction. From the distance, she could make out Aleksi, Brian, Jeremy, and the Pokemon. They had stopped when they saw Angel pop out of the water and were now waiting for her. Even further in the distance, she could just make out the boat where Misty, Brock, and the others were on, heading straight out to sea.

"Ok Sharpedo, let's catch up to the others, and hurry! Evan and the others are in danger!", Angel said. Hearing this caused Sharpedo's expression to change to anger and concern.

"Shar...PEDO!", Sharpedo yelled, swimming as fast as it could towards the others. Angel held on tightly, trying not to let go. As Sharpedo swam through the water, Angel looked ahead of her. She could see Aleksi and the others get closer and closer to her. But then, something caught her attention. Just off to the left side of the island and in the distance. She looked at it and tried to make out what it was. She could tell it was a boat, one that was moving very quickly in the water. However, this boat wasn't black like the typical boat she's seen here, so it wasn't a Rocket boat. Angel then smiled in joy, recognizing it.

It was Dawn's boat!

Angel was relieved, they had made it after all. Now it was just a matter of them catching up to the other boat, (which would not be hard considering the speed they were moving at), and then meet up with Ash before returning to base. They were almost home, finally! Smiling still, Angel turned to the right side of the island, just opposite Dawn's boat.

It was there, where she spotted nearly a dozen Rocket speedboats...heading towards Misty and the others.

**WILL THESE REBELS EVER CATCH A BREAK? EVERY SECOND THE PTA GETS OUT OF ONE PROBLEM THEY GO STRAIGHT INTO ANOTHER! Man...those Rockets are jerks! Well then, I hope that you liked the chapter update! I intended to get this chapter out earlier today, but I had a job to do in some construction, (it gets me by), and so I was delayed. For those of you who may wonder why the flashback was rushed, the reason is, it's supposed to be. I wanted to have the flashback for more character development, however I didn't want it to take up the entire chapter. Besides, a flashback is merely glimpses of the past, it shouldn't be entirely detailed. I think of like what I did with Nick's flashbacks, short and yet explains a lot. "It seems that Angel and the others will never be able to escape the Rockets! Will the rebels be able to fight off the last swarm before their return trip to base? Or will the Rockets finally get their revenge? Tune in next time on EVAN AAML's "R"!". For my readers who are currently living/visiting the east coast of the United States, please be careful of Hurricane Irene! And also be sure to message prettygirl17 about the characters if you have not yet! And with that, I bid you all farewell until next time!**

**sincerely,  
evan, a fan of aaml**

**P.S. I am still uncertain why, but my spell checking is still down. So once again, I apologize for mistakes. I am trying to fix it, but nothing seems to be working. -_- It may take some time. -EVAN AAML **


	37. Chapter 37

**Welcome back one and all to yet another thrilling installment of EVAN AAML's "R"! Now as write this, Hurricane Irene...oh, sorry, "Tropical Storm Irene", is striking down my house. Luckily, since I live lake front and we're used to this type of weather, I don't need to worry about destroyed property or floods. Anyway, some readers have been wondering why I have not been updating "Christmas: The Sequel". As much as I want to, I simply cannot get into the holiday spirit before the holidays come! :0 I won't write the story if I'm not in the mood. I feel that if I am in the mood, it will make the writing that much better, and you all deserve the very best of my abilities for being such amazing fans! :) Now to me at least, it feels like time has really flown. It's almost September, (my birthday's on the 12th, hint hint. ;), and before you know it I'll be updating it. Anyway, at least you have "R" and "The Alphabet Game -EVAN AAML Style" to keep you occupied until then. That being said, let's get this story rolling!**

**-EVAN AAML**

Angel's heart stopped beating entirely, her body felt colder than the cold blooded creature she was riding. Every time that the rebels were safe and sound, Team Rocket would once again appear and kill more and more of them. It seemed that they were never ending, whereas the PTA were so few left. Angel recalled vividly the horror she and her friends endured on the way to the island the lives lost before the mission even began.

Jonny...

No, she could not let that happen again. This was her family, and she would not let them down. Angel pointed to the Rockets and looked to Aleksi and the others.

"TEAM ROCKET IS COMING! THEY'RE GOING FOR THE BOAT! YOU HAVE TO STOP THEM!", Angel yelled at the top of her lungs, nearly choking on the water that splashed into it. Aleksi, Brian, and Jeremy all turned to see the boats that were quickly making their way through the water. All three of them panicked.

"THEY'RES MORE OF THEM? WHY DON'T THEY JUST GO AWAY?", Jeremy asked panic stricken.

"We don't have time to find out, come on, we need to help the others!", Aleksi said. Dragonair and Lapras then made a bee line for the boat that had Misty, Brock, and the others on it. On this boat, the rebels were just beginning to get a good speed and were heading out towards Ash's location. Misty took the wheel of the boat and was acting captain. Brock had gone downstairs to help those who were wounded from the journey to the boat. The others, like Emily, Michael, Nick, and Sawyer, were helping the rebels on deck, making sure that they would be traveling quickly and safely.

"Misty, how long do you think before we reach Ash?", Emily asked. Misty kept her eyes ahead, focusing on the driving.

"I'm not sure. We're going against the majority of the current now. But the currents here can change in an instant; for all I know, the paths are entirely different than when we arrived. We could be tossed aside any second. On top of that, I don't know how long we'll be safe like this. If everything goes smoothly, which it never does, I'd say within an hour, maybe hour and a half, depending on when they reach the determined spot", Misty explained. Emily nodded in understanding.

"HEY!", someone yelled out. Both Emily and Misty turned to see Michael, who was looking over the left side of the boat, towards the back. Emily ran over to the side right next to Michael and looked at what he was looking at. From the distance, they could make out Dawn's boat. Emily smiled.

"It's the others! They're coming!", Emily said, looking back to Misty. Misty sighed heavily, she was glad that they made it to the boats alive. Now Michael looked up to Misty.

"So what do we do now?", Michael asked. Misty thought for a moment, and then slowed the boat down.

"We'll wait for them. It will be safer if we're together for this final stretch. We can't afford to lose each other in the currents", Misty explained. She then turned to Nick and Sawyer, who were both moving some crates with supplies in them. "Sawyer, could you go downstairs and tell Brock what's going on?", Misty asked. Sawyer nodded and then placed her crate down. She placed her hand on Nick's back and allowed it to fall off as she walked past, letting Nick know she would return shortly. Nick then glanced briefly to the back of the boat and noticed something. He looked back up to it again to see if it was just his mind playing tricks on him or not.

"Wait...is that who I think it is?", Nick asked, pointing to the back distance. Everyone turned around and noticed the same thing. Misty stopped the boat entirely, stepped to the end of the captain's house, and looked in the distance. She was able to make out Aleksi, Brian, and Jeremy on their water Pokemon, and Angel further off in the distance. Misty gasped.

"YES! IT'S THEM! THEY MADE IT!", Misty exclaimed. The others all sighed in relief and cheered, glad that their friends made it out alive. Misty was just as relieved, but this was short lived, as she quickly noticed the high speed of the Pokemon in the water. Thinking something might be wrong, she walked back to the captain's wheel and pulled out a eyeglass, which she extended out completely and peeked through. After adjusting the view, she could see the worried expressions of the teens up front. She now knew that they were speeding towards them for a reason.

"What is it?", Emily asked. She, Michael, and Nick came up to the captain's house, knowing that Misty was checking something out. Misty kept on looking at the others, now beginning to worry.

"Something's not right...", Misty said. Suddenly, someone yelled.

"I think I know what it is!", someone remarked. Misty pulled away from the eyeglass and walked up to the captain's wheel. From below on deck, Mathinza was leaning just before the siding of the right side of the boat, looking through the scope of his rifle, which rested on the side. He was looking at something in the distance.

"What is it?", Misty asked.

"My scope isn't the best, but I can clearly make out something coming towards us", Mathinza explained. He reached up and placed his fingers onto a circular knob. He turned the knob once or twice, thereby increasing the view in the scope. "There are about a dozen boats coming our way from the far right...uh oh...". He moved the gun slightly, trying to get a better view of something along the side of one of the boats. Because the boats were moving at such a high speed, the object that caught his eye kept bouncing up and down in the water. But once the boat bounced up again, he got the clear view. "R". "ROCKETS COMING IN FAST!", Mathinza yelled in fear and shock.

Misty, wide eyed, pulled up his eye glass and looked to where Mathinza was looking. With a more powerful eye glass than the scope, she was able to make out the boats clearly. They were the same exact types that chased them on the way to the island, but now there were many more. She quickly pulled the eyeglass away and ran to the wheel. She hit full throttle and the boat immediately began pushing hard through the water.

The sudden jolt of force caused many people on the boat to sway and many fell over onto the deck. Coming up from below deck were Brock, Sawyer, and Riles. Brock and Sawyer immediately ran up to the captain's house while Riles tried to hold on tight to a railing, nearly losing his balance and falling back down the stairs below deck.

"What's going on?", Brock asked, now worried.

"Rockets! Tons of them! Coming from the starboard side!", Misty explained. Brock immediately ran over to the side and looked in the distance. By this time, the boats were now coming in fast.

"SHIT! EVERYONE, BATTLE STATIONS!", Brock commanded. The rebels immediately began to get moving, running around and gathering weapons as needed. Nick, Sawyer, and Michael jumped down to help, while Emily grabbed her Pokenav and immediately tried to get into contact with people.

"We stopped the boat to allow Dawn and the others to catch up, but that slowed us down, they'll be on us soon!", Misty said. Brock turned to Emily.

"Emily! Try to contact Dawn and Ash, tell them what's going on! We need help and we need it now!", Brock said.

"I'm already on it!", Emily said, trying to contact someone. Down on the deck, the rebels prepared for battle. Many of them pulled up the weapons that they thought they wouldn't need anymore, making sure they had ammo and everything. Riles, helping the rebels look for supplies, realized something and then ran over to Nick, who was checking a rifle.

"We're running low on ammo, we'll run out before we know it!", Riles said.

"Then we'll have to rely on our Pokemon and a little bit of luck to fight", Nick said. Riles nodded. The two boys then ran over to the rail, now standing right next to Mathinza. He continued to look through his scope to see them. Nick turned to Mathinza, leaning over a bit to look past Riles, who was in-between them. "How close are they?", Nick asked.

"Close enough, they'll be here in a minute, maybe two", Mathinza explained.

"Do you think you can reach them from here?", Nick asked.

"Not alone I can't. The wind is much stronger out here and the boats move unpredictably. But I can if I had some help", Mathinza said. Before he could explain what he meant by this, he pulled out two Pokeballs and opened them to his right. Riles and Nick watched as the light took form and revealed a Umbreon and Espeon. A common Pokemon pair, especially in the PTA. They both shook off the feeling of being inside the Pokeball and looked up to Mathinza, prepared for battle. "Listen, I'm going to need your help on this one. Our lives are all in danger, can I count on you?", Mathinza asked.

"Um/Es!", the Pokemon responded. Mathinza smiled.

"I knew I could. Alright, Vui, I need you to use Psychic to help the shots fly straight and far, I won't be able to alone in these conditions. Yuki, unfortunately out here in the open sea hiding us won't make much a difference, so just help us out in close distance fighting ok?", Mathinza explained. The two Pokemon nodded. Yuki stepped back while Vui closed its eyes. After a moment's pause, they opened again, completely covered in Psychic aura. Mathinza's rifle was then covered in the same aura.

"Oh, I get it! Umbreon and Espeon help Mathinza snipe! One hides him, and the other makes the shots better! A perfect human/Pokemon combination!", Riles said. Mathinza pulled back the bolt for the rifle and prepared to fire.

"Let's hope my shots are close enough", Mathinza said. He took aim, and fired. The gun was quiet, most of the rebels on the boat didn't even realize we began firing. Nick and Riles looked to see if his shot had hit a target, but they could not make it out from their view. Mathinza looked through his scope, trying to see. He looked at what was his target, and sure enough, suddenly the Rocket fell over, falling off the boat and into the water. He sighed. "Ok, I can make the targets from here. I'll pick off as many as I can, but we're still going to have a lot of people knocking at our door step!", Mathinza explained. The two boys nodded.

"Right, hopefully the others will get here soon enough to help!", Nick said. Meanwhile, at the bow of the boat, Tracy stood with a pair of binoculars, looking ahead with them. Drew stood by his side impatiently, periodically glancing back towards the approaching Rockets.

"Can you see Ash's boat yet?", Drew asked, getting more and more uncomfortable. Tracy knew and understood why he was acting this way, so he did not get angry over bring asked over and over again. He just continued to look through the binoculars.

"No, not yet. It's still going to be a bit before they'll be close enough to see, let alone reach. Especially...with these...waters!", Tracy said, nearly losing his balance from the currents. It reminded him of his, Ash, and Misty's original journey to Shamouti Island many years ago. However, unlike then, this time they had danger approaching not just from the sea itself. After regaining his posture however, he went right back to searching. Drew remained impatient, but this time looked over towards Dawn's boat, where he knew May and the others would be.

"I hope May gets here soon, we need all the help we can get to escape this time", Drew said.

"I wasn't with you on the way here, but from what Dawn told me, I don't want to experience it", Tracy explained. Drew nodded.

"And the worst part is, I didn't experience the worst of it, ours was a walk in the park compared to Brock's", Drew said. He then turned back towards the Rockets. He noticed that they were beginning to spread out. They were getting smart. They must of known about the previous boat attacks from earlier and learned from them. They're spreading out early so as to avoid being clustered for one massive attack. This will also make them surrounded and easier targets. Even if Dawn and Ash's crews were here to help, they would still be at a massive disadvantage.

He then looked over to the opposite end of the boat, and saw that Mathinza and now even a couple other rebels were firing upon the boats with long range sniper rifles. That would surely help. Suddenly though, he noticed that a couple of them, Mathinza included, were beginning to worry. Drew looked back to the Rockets. They were still too far away to be attacked by their guns, and he didn't see any Pokemon appearing, so what were they getting so worried about?

Suddenly, he noticed it, a small poof of smoke. He wasn't sure what it was, but he knew it was something being launched. Within seconds, we wished he was wrong. He saw a Rocket flying through the air, and heading straight towards them. It was a bit high, but still able to hit the boat. Drew panicked and grabbed Tracy from behind, tossing him onto the ground.

"GET DOWN!", Drew yelled. The two fell hard onto the ground and covered themselves. They looked up just in time to see the Rocket. Miraculously, it flew just above them, going over the boat and landing in the water. After a few seconds, a large splash could be seen from the side of the boat and the vessel rocked for a moment before going back on coarse. Drew and Tracy sighed in relief, they were safe.

"That was a close one, thank god", Tracy said. Drew nodded.

"Yeah, thank god is right, but we probably won't be so lucky next time. We need to fight back and quickly!", Drew said. The two boys got up and Tracy went back to looking for Ash, (but being more cautious), while Drew went to the other end of the boat to prepare to fight. He reached the captain's house, where Misty, Brock, and Emily were. Misty looked down at him, seeing him approach them already.

"What's the damage report?", Misty asked, driving the boat as quickly as she could.

"No damage, but we're lucky that Rocket missed, we're not going to be so lucky next time!", Drew said. Drew then turned to Emily. "Did you reach the others?". EMily lowered her Pokenav and put it away.

"I just finished talking to them. Ash said that they've been on the move since we talked to them back at the base, but the current is slowing them down and they have to move cautiously. I contacted Dawn and their on their way to help as we speak, but obviously they're not going to reach us before the Rockets do", Emily said. She then turned around to look at the others following by Pokemon. "Our best bet is that Aleksi and the others can help defend us until then". Brock, beginning to worry more and more, walked over and looked down towards the snipers.

"Mathinza! What's going on?", Brock asked. Mathinza fired a shot, and then pulled away, looking up to the captain's house and Brock in particular. About five other rebels, all with either long range rifles or sniper rifles, continued to lay suppressive fire.

"We're doing what we can, but we're missing a lot of shots with these waves! We took out the RPG gunner but god knows how many more they have!", Mathinza explained. Just then, a loud shot rang out from the distance. Before anyone realized what had happened, the rebel positioned right to Mathinza's left fell to the ground, a bullet going through his head and leaving a bloody hole all the way through. Mathinza and the others gasped and ducked. "SHIT! SNIPER! GET DOWN!", Mathinza yelled. Misty, Brock, and the others all ducked. Mathinza looked at the rebel, but knew it was a lost cause to try and help. He turned back to the others. "We can't afford to try and fire back! Rocket snipers are way more skilled!".

"Dammit! Alright, everyone get as low as you can. We can't afford to use Pokemon until they're closer. They won't use a sniper at close range. They're using distant defense until they can get in close enough with their mounted machine guns! Does anyone have large and powerful water Pokemon that can attack them from below?". Brock didn't bother asking Misty, he knew that she was stock full of them. However with the exception of Gyarados, none of them were big, and therefore would not be strong swimmers in the rough currents.

"I have a Blastoise, that should work well in the currents, Totodile and Squirtle are too small!", Michael said, remaining low to the ground. Brock nodded in agreement. He then turned to Emily. He recalled her having a Gyarados like Misty's that she used when their original ship sunk. So that was three Pokemon.

"Alright, try to release them on the other side of the boat, hopefully they can attack the Rockets from under water and be safe", Brock said. The girls and Michael nodded. Michael and Emily carefully walked over to the left side of the boat while Misty remained at her station, but pulled her Pokeball out. The three then threw the Pokeballs over the edge, making sure that the Rockets wouldn't be able to see them.

The Pokemon came out of their Pokeballs under water and the balls flew back up in the air. Michael caught his while Emily caught both hers and Misty's. The three Pokemon popped their heads out of the water and looked at them, ready for instructions. Michael, being the closest to them, leaned over the edge of the boat.

"Listen, we need you three to remain underwater and go over to attack the Rockets from below! It's the safest way, but be careful, all of you!", Michael said. The three Pokemon nodded and dove under the water. The rebels remained low to the deck, waiting to see what would happen, and if they could survive this ordeal.

Further away, behind the boat and moving at a brisk pace, Aleksi, Brian, and Jeremy were trying to reach the rebels. Brian, being the closest to the left side of the boat, leaned over just in time to see the heads of the three water Pokemon pop up and then back down. He leaned back over safely on Lapras' back.

"They released three water Pokemon. I think they're going to try to attack them from below!", Brian said.

"That's good! The Rockets can't shoot them from under water! Especially with the current!", Jeremy said. Aleksi however did not show as much excitement.

"It's not as easy as it seems", Aleksi said. The two teens looked to her, Jeremy completely confused to this statement. "We don't know what weapons these Rockets have. It may have worked with Sharpedo earlier, but these Rockets most likely are prepared for a aerial _and _underwater attack".

"How can you be so sure?", Brian asked. He didn't doubt that it would be as easy as they hoped, especially considering how nothing for them as been easy. But he still seemed uncertain.

"Because, the Rockets have no qualms over getting to them as quickly as possible. Even though we were able to defeat these Rockets back on New Island, they're still better trained. I bet they're hoping they attack them from underwater. It's the only way they could. The mounted machine guns would strike down even the fastest flying Pokemon, and we heard the sniper shots so we know the rebels themselves can't pop their heads up without risking it getting blown off. So logically, the only way for them to attack", Aleksi explained in detail.

"is from under water", Brian finished.

"Right!", Aleksi said. Jeremy sighed.

"So then what the hell are we supposed to do?", Jeremy asked. Aleksi thought for a moment.

"Well...it seems like the mistake the Rockets have made so far is not noticing us, or at least not considering us a threat. That means, if we go around the back, we could attack from behind. The machine guns might not be able to spin three hundred and sixty degrees, and the boats won't be able to turn on a dime at fast speeds. The only problem is getting there without being shot at", Aleksi said.

"And what about Angel?", Brian asked. Aleksi turned back around and looked to Angel. She was still far behind, and not appearing to be getting any closer.

"Sharpedo is one of the fastest water Pokemon alive, but only for short distances. And these currents don't help. They'll reach us eventually, but we can't afford to wait for them. They'll be safe back there, we'll move on ahead. Angel will understand", Aleksi explained. Brian nodded. "Ok, let's go!". Aleksi then motioned for Dragonair to pick up speed, Brian did the same for Lapras, and the two Pokemon burst through the water.

"Well, going off to die for our country now. Hope they're happy!", Jeremy said, referring to the others on the boats. Brian laughed.

"You're pretty morbid Jeremy, live a little!", Brian said with a chuckle. Jeremy sweatdropped. Suddenly, the teens noticed four large beams of water shoot out from under water and strike the speed boats. They gasped as one of the boats, being lifted by two rather close beams, was shot high in the air and then blasted off, away from the other boats only to land hard on the water upside down. The other two beams, farther apart, blasted their own targets. One boat had its front completely torn off, causing it to dig into the water at high speed and flip over. Another was shot straight through the middle, and Aleksi swore she saw a Rocket get torn to pieces from the water pressure. That boat sunk in seconds.

Three boats down in a matter of seconds. The rebels couldn't believe it.

"Holy shit! Were those the Pokemon?", Jeremy asked. Aleksi nodded.

"Yeah, A Hydro Pump and two Water Pulse attacks", Aleksi determined, noticing the details of the attacks.

"Well if we can keep that up, we'll have nothing to worry about!", Brian said. Aleksi continued to look at the boats. The Pokemon stopped attacking, most likely finding another spot to hit them from. The Rockets on the boats were looking through the water, some spraying bullets through it. She knew that those attacks wouldn't work. But a part of her felt that they weren't doing it to find them, but to distract them. Suddenly, she noticed a couple of the boats in the center of the group began to pull something out from the back end. She couldn't tell what they were exactly, but they were large black balls.

"Wait, they're trying to move something, I...I think they're going to drop them in the water!", Aleksi pointed out. Brian and Jeremy looked to see what she was talking about. Though it was hard to see well from that distance, the large black balls were easy enough to spot. Brian instantly panicked. Aleksi noticed this. "What are they Brian?".

"Those are Depth Charges", Brian said with a great sign of fear in his tone. "They're very powerful bombs that go off when they reach a certain depth under water".

"But if they go off under water, then the pressure from the blast will...", Jeremy said, realizing the danger the bombs possessed. Aleksi immediately stood up and began to wave her hands side to side in the air, hoping to get the attention of Misty's boat.

"HEY! HEY! GET THE POKEMON AWAY FROM THERE! THEY'RE IN DANGER!", Aleksi yelled out as loud as she could. From the boat, the rebels watched, waiting for the Pokemon to attack again. Because the snipers were no longer looking, they did not see the depth charges being released into the water. They witnessed the destruction of the previous three boats already, and were both shocked and amazed. But now they were anxious, hoping that they would be able to take the others out without losing anymore lives.

As they watched and waited, Misty glanced behind her, filled with a feeling that she needed to. When she did, she noticed Aleksi, waving her hands frantically. Misty pulled out her eyeglass once more and looked into it, getting a much better view of Aleksi. She was able to see the panic stricken girl filled with terror. Misty immediately knew that something was wrong. She then noticed that Aleksi was pointing to the Rockets. She made a motion with her hands of something being pushed, sinking below the water, and then exploding. That was all she needed.

"GUYS! GET THE POKEMON OUT OF THERE! NOW!", Misty yelled. Everyone looked at her, confused at the sudden command.

"What? Why? What's wrong?", Michael asked.

"The Pokemon are in danger!", Misty replied. The rebels all gasped. However, there was no way for them to yell at the Pokemon to return, they would not be able to hear them. Misty realized this, and grabbed a Pokeball. "Corsola! Tell the other Pokemon to come back to the boat!", Misty commanded as she threw the Pokeball overboard. Within seconds, a small white and pink coral Pokemon appeared, it quickly dove under the water and made it's way to the other Pokemon.

From above, no one could tell what was going on. They all waited cautiously, their hearts racing, hoping their Pokemon would be alright. Seconds felt like minutes and it wasn't calming their nerves any. Suddenly, a large explosion shook the entire area. The boat rocked back and forth, nearly throwing people off into the water. Drew and Michael grabbed onto the left railing on the lower deck, preventing themselves from going in the water. Nick, Sawyer, and Emily did the same in the captain's house while Misty and Brock clung onto the right railing. Suddenly, another explosion.

"WHAT THE FUCK IS HAPPENING?", Mathinza yelled, gripping the railing as hard as he could.

"THOSE ARE DEPTH CHARGES! THEY'RE BOMBING THEM FROM UNDERWATER!", Brock yelled. Another explosion. The boat was rocking heavily due to the weight of the ship. The Rocket speed boats were also being hit hard, especially since they were right above the explosions. But since their boats were light and low, they were not rocked as hard. Misty looked out to the water, seeing the last of it splash back down onto the ocean. Instantly, her heart stopped.

"GYARADOS! CORSOLA!", Misty yelled.

"GYARADOS!", Emily yelled.

"BLASTOISE!", Michael yelled. The trainers did not know what had become of their Pokemon, and it made them worry. They feared the worst of them. The explosions were large and if the shockwave didn't kill them the things underwater being blasted like shrapnel could. Misty and Emily quickly ran to the railing and looked over to see if they could spot any signs of the Pokemon. They did not worry about being shot at from Rocket snipers; although it would not make a difference since they were too distracted with getting the boats back to order.

After not seeing any signs of the Pokemon, everyone felt that it was the end of them. Misty and Emily fell to their knees, Emily holding onto Misty and the two girls began to cry. Michael punched the top of the boat's side, fighting back tears. Everyone else remained quiet, not daring to say anything to disrespect them. Michael opened his eyes, trying to be strong in this situation. As he did, he noticed something pop up in the water. He got a better look at it and noticed that it was Corsola. He gasped. Then, a couple other heads popped up, it was the Gyarados and Blastoise.

"IT'S THEM!", Michael yelled. Everyone turned around and ran to the side of the boat. They all smiled when they saw that they were safe and sound. Misty and Emily were relieved and wiped away their tears. Corsola swam to the side of the boat and made a motion that it wanted to be picked up. Michael leaned down and gripped it by one of its coral spikes then pulled it out of the water. He looked at it oddly, it seemed different. "I think something happened to Corsola", Michael said.

Brock and Misty looked at Corsola, Misty with worry. Once she saw her Pokemon however she sighed. Both her and Brock immediately knew what happened.

"It's ok, the depth charges blasted off some of the corals on Corsola. They'll grow back", Brock explained. Misty then pulled out a Pokeball and aimed it at Corsola.

"Thank you for saving the others Corsola, return", Misty said. She then returned her Pokemon. Emily turned to the Pokemon in the water, holding in her hands both her and Misty's Pokeball; Michael did the same with his.

"You guys too, you all deserve a nice long rest!", Emily said. Within seconds, all of the Pokemon were safely placed in their Pokeballs.

"That's a relief, but let's get back to the task at hand before", before Misty could finish, they were interrupted by the sounds of engines roaring. The rebels turned quickly towards the opposite side, where the Rockets were. Mathinza looked up over the side and saw that the boats were now speeding towards them.

"THEY'RE COMING!", Mathinza yelled. Misty quickly ran to the captain's wheel and hit the engine. The boat roared to life and began to move forward. It was slow going, but soon it began to pick up speed. Drew and Michael looked over towards the opposite end and saw Dawn's boat, which was much closer to them and still gaining.

"The others are almost here!", Drew told the others, noticing some rebels on board Dawn's boat waving towards them, signaling that they were on their way.

"Good, but they need to get here faster! We can't hold off these Rockets for long!", Brock said. He turned around to see where the others were. Aleksi, Brian, and Jeremy were on their way quickly. They would make it to them probably around the same time that Dawn's boat would. Angel was still further back, and he worried for her; but knew that she would be safe there. Brock then brought his attention to the Rockets. They were gaining up on them quickly. He got a closer look at them...and saw that they were now pulling out their weapons. Brock gasped.

"EVERYONE! OPEN FIRE!", Brock yelled. No sooner did he yell this than did the Rockets fire at them. Everyone ducked immediately. One rebel did not duck quick enough and was hit a couple times, the bullets going straight through him and blood splattering everywhere. He flew back a couple feet and landed on top of a storage box, dead.

The rebels quickly grabbed their weapons and began to fire back. Mathinza's Pokemon were still out and trying to help him shoot back. The rest of the snipers however grabbed better suited weapons for the closer range and shot back.

From farther back, Aleksi, Brian, and Jeremy began to move faster, knowing that their friends were in trouble. Aleksi was the most anxious, and began to fumble with her backpack while still riding Dragonair. Brian and Jeremy watched as she pulled out her folded bow and arrows. As she began to set them up, Brian sighed.

"Uh, Aleksi, I don't think that's going to help much. We're still too far away for that kind of weapon. And it takes to long to reload", Brian said. Aleksi ignored this and continued to set it up.

"I know it's not practical, but anyway that I can help the others I'll do it", Aleksi said. Jeremy shrugged.

"Well, she's determined, you got to give her that", Jeremy said to Brian. As they watched her get ready, the sound of heavy gun fire caught their attention. They looked up worried, knowing what it was. The Rocket boats were now in range to use their mounted machine guns. They fired them upon the boat. "SHIT! THEY'RE GONNA SINK IT!", Jeremy yelled. Brian shook his head.

"No, the boat is actually outfitted from bow to stern with bullet proof material. It'll take more than those bullets to sink it. Of course, that still put the rebels in danger", Brian said. As he watched, he noticed that one of the boats was beginning to turn away from the battle...and aim towards them. Before he even realized what was going on, the speed boat sped directly at them, firing with its heavy machine gun. The bullets struck the water, making a bee line for the teens. "WE'RE UNDER FIRE! EVERYONE WATCH OUT!", Brian yelled.

The bullets got closer and closer. Aleksi looked up, seeing the boat coming. She put her bow up and pulled it back, ready to fire. She aimed at the machine gunner, ready to take him down. But just as she was going to fire, the bullets reached them. The Pokemon tried to maneuver around in the water, thus causing a lot of commotion. Brian and Jeremy nearly fell off Lapras as it tried to dodge the bullets. The boys could hear the stream of heavy fire go past them and knew that Lapras successfully avoided them.

However, when Lapras finally stopped moving hard the boys looked over to Dragonair. They saw that it had also managed to avoid the bullets, probably better in fact due to its snake-like body. But when they looked for Aleksi, they could not find her. Only traces of blood on Dragonair and some coming from underwater. The boys all looked on in shock and horror.

"ALEKSI!", the boys yelled.

**As per usual, I'll leave you at a HORRIBLE cliff-hanger, because I'm a jerk like that. BAM! :P Well this doesn't bode well, literally one of the most skilled and valuable PTA rebels gunned down. I _don't _think Angel will take that too kindly, what do you think? "Oh no! Just as the rebels were preparing to fight back tragedy strikes! Will Brian and Jeremy be able to avoid the same fate? Will Dawn's crew be able to aid them in the fight before it's too late? Will the PTA survive this final ordeal? Find out next time on EVAN AAML's "R"!". Well, I would respond to your reviews, (or after this cliff hanger, hate mail), today, but alas, I will not be home. Me and my siblings have decided to spend the day at The Great New York State Fair! I'm sure each of your home states have their own state fair, so I'm sure you understand what's to be expected. I'll be doing nothing but walking around in large masses while paying over the top prices for boring rides and even more boring shows and eating food that's so deep fried that I'll have to pray to any and all gods to not die from this "Heart Attack on a Stick!"...ahh, America. So, with that, I bide you all farewell! Be sure to F.A.R. (Favorite, Alert, Review), I hoped you liked this chapter, and I will see you all next time!...If I'm not already dead by the time you read this. **

**sincerely,  
evan, a fan of aaml -EVAN AAML **


	38. Chapter 38

**Welcome back everyone! I know it's been awhile since my last update, well, I've been busy. So deal with it! Now then, the last time I left you all, everyone was scared, wondering what happened to Aleksi. Well, let's finally find out shall we? **

**-EVAN AAML**

The boys looked around, but could find no signs of Aleksi. All that they could see was blood; rising from the depths of the ocean and floating on the top like a red cloud. They were about to dive into the waters to look, but the Rocket boat was fast approaching. Brian looked at it both in anger and worry. They needed to take it out before more lives were lost. He tried to think fast, and then came up with a solution.

"LAPRAS! ICE BEAM!", Brian ordered. Lapras opened its mouth and fired a bluish white beam towards the oncoming boat. The Rocket gunner at the front of the boat dodged the beam, but it still struck the back end of the boat, freezing the motor and a couple Rockets. The boat could no longer move on its own now, but was still approaching them from sheer force. The Rocket went back to his gun and took aim once again.

The boat by this time was right in front of them, it would be impossible for him to miss. But Dragonair intervened. It fired a Ice Beam of its own from the spike on its head, contacting the front side of the boat and freezing the gun and gunner. The boat floated in-between the two Pokemon, the Rockets inside frozen in time. The bottom half of the boat sunk slightly under the water, but the rest of it remained afloat. Jeremy looked at it in wonder.

"Think they'll get out of that?", Jeremy asked.

"Eventually, it's too hot down here for that to last...but by then they would be dead from freezing", Brian said. They watched then as the small iceberg floated away, no longer a threat to anyone. Brian, realizing it was gone, went back to Aleksi. "Come on, we need to dive down and find her! She may still be alive!". He stood up, ready to dive into the water. Jeremy however stopped him.

"Brian...I don't think she's alive", Jeremy said solemnly. Brian looked at him.

"How do you know?", Brian asked, somewhat annoyed.

"Brian, she was shot by a mounted machine gun. Those bullets are fifty caliber. Something like that would blow a person in two", Jeremy reasoned.

"I don't care what it _could _do, I'm going down there to see for myself! We've lost one to many friends here as it is, I'm not going to let more die when there's still a chance", Brian said.

"Uh...guys?", someone said. The two boys, completely stunned by the voice, turned around in shock. They looked around, but could only see Dragonair. "Down here", the voice said. The boys looked down, towards the voice. They gasped.

Aleksi gripped the tail of Dragonair and was swimming in the water. The boys looked on in a mixture of shock and relief.

"ALEKSI! YOU'RE ALIVE!", the boys said. Aleksi smiled.

"Yeah, but just barely", Aleksi said. Dragonair lifted its tail and placed Aleksi onto its back. The boys looked at her and could see that her left arm was bleeding all the way down. She winced in pain and held it tight, the blood pouring out more. "Damn, the salt burns and the cold water prevents it from clotting, this won't be fun".

"What happened? How did you survive?", Brian asked in shock. Aleksi looked at the boys.

"Because I was aiming my bow at the boat, my body was sideways, so I just narrowly missed getting hit in the chest. Had I been standing normally or not aiming at the boat I would of been hit right in the chest and died instantly. But the bullet grazed my left arm", Aleksi explained. She then looked down to the water. "On top of that I lost my bow, arrows, and a lot of gear falling in the water". The boys both sighed in relief.

"Well, at least you're alive, be thankful for that much. Come on, let's get going", Brian said. Jeremy pulled out his pistol from his belt and tossed it to Aleksi. She caught it with her good hand and nodded. "The others need out help", Brian continued. The two Pokemon then made their way through the waters once again, trying to catch up to the boats ahead of them. Because they stopped to deal with the Rocket speed boat, they were now further behind. But they moved as quickly as they could to catch up.

Angel meanwhile began to get closer and closer to them. She did not see what had happened to Aleksi, so she was unaware of her injury. As she rode Sharpedo through the waters, they passed the iceberg. She looked at it and could make out the Rocket inside of it, still as frozen as before. The ice glistened in the sunlight and made it look like a crystal or diamond. She passed the iceberg and looked back to the front, ignoring the doomed Rockets. She knew she had to keep moving forward and help the others anyway she could.

Meanwhile, the other rebels tried their best to fight off the attacking Rocket boats. Bullets seemed to fly everywhere, no one was sure when they could pop their heads up to even see where the enemy was. The only advantage the rebels seemed to have was protection and height. Their boat was higher than the low Rocket speed boats and had more cover, whereas the Rocket were all in the open and easy to hit. Unfortunately, with the high speeds on the choppy waters and the bullets flying by, few people could land a hit.

Misty kept herself just low enough to avoid bullets, but just high enough where she could see where she was going. Out of all of the rebels, she was best suited to drive the boat. She knew nearly all of the waters around Kanto, and she knew that the currents could pose as a problem to them if she didn't look out for them. Bullets zoomed past her but she kept right on steering. Brock had in his hands a rifle and fired it at the Rockets. It was a brown hunting rifle that only held about five to ten rounds in any clip. He fired a couple shots before ducking down with his back to the enemy and began to reload.

"How are we doing Misty?", Brock asked. Misty kept her eyes on the waters.

"We haven't hit the currents yet, but we will soon. That's when everything is going to get worse. The currents have changed since we arrived, they're going in different directions. And we aren't close to the currents that will take us back to Kanto. We have go to through other currents first. The only upside to this is that the Rockets probably aren't used to them, and they're boats are more pron to flipping", Misty explained. Brock had just finished reloading his rifle and nodded.

"So then we just have to hold them off until then and hope for the best", Brock said. Misty nodded.

"Easier said than done", Misty stated.

"Agreed", Brock replied. He then immediately stood up, turned around, and took aim. He fired a shot, hitting a Rocket dead in the chest and killing him on the spot. He fired another shot, this one was a miss. Suddenly, bullets began to fly by him and he ducked to avoid them. "Shit! We need help and we need it now, where are the others?", Brock asked. Michael, who was on the left side of the main deck, looked over towards Dawn's boat. It was now much closer, it would arrive any second now.

"They're coming! Just a little longer!", Michael responded. Just then, a beeping noise brought everyone in the vicinity's attention towards Emily, who was low to the ground in the captain's house. She looked at them, and then looked down to her Pokenav, which was by her side on the ground. It was going off, someone was trying to contact her. She picked it up and answered it. When she did, she saw May's face.

"May! Are we glad to see you!", Emily stated. May nodded.

"Yeah, it looks like you've gotten yourself in quite a jam. We're on our way to help, what's the situation so far?", May asked. Brock began to speak and Emily turned the Pokenav around so that May could see him.

"We're being attacked heavily on the right side. We took out three of them ourselves with Pokemon from underwater, but they have depth charges, so DON'T use Pokemon now! Another one turned direction and attacked Aleksi and the others, but they seemed to of taken care of the problem. We're reaching the currents soon, we need to lose them NOW!", Brock explained. Suddenly, the boat jerked violently. Everyone held on tight to whatever they could as Misty tried to steer the boat in the right position.

"What's going on?", Emily asked, worried. From the Pokenav, the sound of panicking had just started as well, they were experiencing the same problems as them now. Misty looked up ahead towards the waters, and then looked over to the Rockets. They too were struggling, some Rockets had even fallen off and dove under the waters; not to resurface.

"The currents, we hit them!", Misty exclaimed. Further back, Aleksi and the others watched as the group of boats all seemed to go must faster and were tossed around. Jeremy and Brian looked at them confused.

"What the hell is going on up there? Jeremy, see if you can contact them will ya?", Brian said. Jeremy, just as bewildered as Brian, nodded.

"Yeah, I'll get on that. Wonder what's wrong", Jeremy said as he began to fumble with his Pokenav. Aleksi however was looking not at the boats, but at the water. Like Misty, she had a lot of experience in these waters, she knew what to expect of them. And she was looking for what she hoped wasn't there. But unfortunately, she soon spotted what she was dreading.

"Oh god...", Aleksi said. The two boys looked at her confused.

"What?", Jeremy asked. Aleksi immediately got a tight grip on Dragonair's neck.

"EVERYONE, HOLD ON TIGHT!", Aleksi yelled. Brian and Jeremy were uncertain of what was going on.

"What do you me", before Jeremy could finish asking, Dragonair and Lapras were immediately pushed forward and moved as a much greater speed than before. Brian quickly latched onto Lapras' neck while Jeremy grabbed a spike on its shell; dropping his Pokenav into the water as he did so. They had hit the currents. Because they were lighter than the boats, the two Pokemon seemed to move faster. Even further behind, Angel watched as her friends were thrust forward.

"Uh oh, looks like those currents again. Sharpedo, we need to be careful, we're going to be moving a lot faster now", Angel said.

"Sharpedo!", Sharpedo responded. It was counting on it. Sharpedo was running low on energy, but these Pokemon instinctively knew about approaching currents, they rode them to get to further distances without expending a lot of energy. Angel got a better grip on Sharpedo, trying not to cut her already injured hands anymore from Sharpedo's Rough Skin. When she could see the change of waves, she closed her eyes, and was thrust forward at tremendous speed.

The water struck her sides and face with such force that she felt like she was being punched continuously. But despite this, she never let go. She held on tight, even opening her eyes despite the raging water to see her destination get closer and closer to her. She was going to help the others at any cost. As she looked on, she noticed the Rocket boats begin to move. They were still struggling themselves in the currents, but this did not stop them from attacking. Two boats remained where they were while the rest moved from their location and positioned themselves behind the boat.

It was at this point, that Dawn and the others finally reached Misty and Brock's boat. From the captain's house, Emily looked up to see the boat next to them; still maintaining some distance between them so as to avoid a collision from the currents. She turned to the others.

"THEY'RE HERE!", Emily yelled. She then immediately screamed and ducked as the Rockets began to fire at them from behind. Down on the deck, Drew bent down and helped a rebel who had a minor gunshot wound to the shoulder. After hearing Emily, he turned around, saw the boat, and then stood up to get a better view. From there, he could see her, directing the rebels towards the Rockets.

May

He was glad to see her; and was glad that, as usual, she was still leading the rebels even during the hard times. But he knew that he couldn't let himself get distracted by it, not now. There would be time later to be with her...hopefully. Drew bent down and helped the injured rebel to his feet and handed him his gun before going off himself to fight. From the other boat, the rebels were all just beginning to fight back. None of them had known about the immediate danger they were all in, but were going to help anyway, they weren't going to leave their friends behind.

May was standing in the middle of the deck, directing rebels towards positions. Some were sent to the front of the boat to help determine the locations of the currents, most were stationed at the sides of the boat to fight off the Rockets from both ends. She was feeling the pressure of the moment, a lot was riding on this escape and she refused to let her team mates down. She answered questions and helped anyone who needed it, not even batting an eyelash. May, still directing rebels around, felt a tap on her shoulder. She glanced back to see Darrel, who looked anxious and ready.

"What do you want us to do May, we're all ready to fight!", Darrel said. Behind him were several rebels, all of them just as anxious as he was. May smiled.

"Good, you guys can support the port side, I have a feeling these Rockets are going to try to attack us like they did earlier, with boats on all sides", May explained. Darrel nodded.

"You got it, let's go boys!", Darrel said. The others all nodded and began moving, getting to the left side as quickly as possible. Before Darrel left however, May grabbed him. He stopped and looked at her.

"Darrel, you're doing a great job, you make for a great leader and fighter", May said. Darrel did not smile, but nodded, acknowledging what she said and being grateful. He then walked off, regrouping with the others. As the group left, May ran up to the captain's house. It was here where Dawn held on tightly to the wheel, making sure not to let the currents push the boat around. She struggled but seemed to maintain control. She looked when she saw May.

"Is everyone ready?", Dawn asked. May nodded.

"Yes, they're all at battle stations", May said.

"Good, I don't know how much longer we'll be able to maintain control in these waters. The only thing that saved us this time is that we were partially prepared for it", Dawn said. Standing further back from Dawn and May, his gun at the ready, was Hunter. He had a new bandage on his shoulder that wrapped around from under his arm. His typical M-16 machine gun was gripped tightly in his hands. He watched as the girls discussed battle plans, but then realized that something was wrong. He looked over to the other boat and noticed that the rebels were ducking from the gunfire, but the gunfire was coming from the back!

"SHIT!", Hunter yelled. He ran forward, grabbed the girls, and threw them down onto the ground. "GET DOWN!", Hunter yelled. Just as he managed to bring them down, bullets began to spray onto their side. "ROCKETS COMING FROM THE BACK! EVERYONE OPEN FIRE!", May yelled, still on the ground. Hunter crawled off of the girls and over to his gun, which he dropped. He picked it up and crawled to the back end, taking aim and firing at the Rockets. The other rebels did the same and fired back. Now, there were six speed boats attacking the back of the two rebel boats with two remaining on the starboard side of Misty's.

"THEY'RE ATTACKING FROM BEHIND! THEY'RE TRYING TO HIT US WHERE WE'RE THE WEAKEST!", May yelled.

"THEY'RE SMARTER THAN THE ROCKETS FROM BEFORE! WE CAN'T LAST VERY LONG OUT HERE!", Dawn remarked. Hunter kept the fire up. He struck one Rocket down, then another, then another. Soon, other Rockets began to focus fire on him. He slid back and lowered himself to be out of the way of the bullets. He looked back to the girls.

"WE BETTER COME UP WITH SOMETHING!", Hunter yelled in almost a sing-song voice. The girls both began to try and think of a plan. They had to hurry however, they weren't sure if the Rockets would try to shoot out their engines and the rebels could not last much longer in this position. Suddenly, a thought struck Dawn. She turned to Hunter.

"Hunter, do you know if we have any armor piercing round weapons on board?", Dawn asked. Hunter thought for a moment.

"I think we've got ourselves some light machine guns that have armor piercing rounds!", Hunter recalled.

"Good! Use them to fire at the Rocket engines! The currents will cause the boats to toss and turn without them!", Dawn ordered. Hunter nodded, looked back to see if he was in the clear, and then immediately dove out of the captain's house and down to the deck. When he did, he looked around, seeing if any rebels happened to have any light machine guns. As he did, he looked to his left. One of the rebels in Darrel's group happened to have one, he held onto it tightly with both hands and open fired at a Rocket speed boat that was trying to make its way over to the left side of the boat.

Hunter ran over to the rebel, making sure not to get shot in the process. When he reached him, he grabbed him, getting his and the other rebel's attentions.

"SOLDIER! ARE THOSE ARMOR PIERCING ROUNDS?", Hunter asked. The rebel seemed confused, but nodded.

"Yeah!", the soldier responded.

"GOOD! WE NEED YOU TO OPEN FIRE ON THE ROCKET BOAT ENGINES! THAT'S AN ORDER BY DAWN HERSELF!", Hunter exclaimed. The rebel nodded and ran over to the back end of the boat, just off to the side of the captain's house. As the soldier began to open fire, Hunter turned to Darrel and the others. "IF YOU FIND ANY MORE LIGHT MACHINE GUNS OPEN FIRE ON THE ENGINES!", Hunter said. The others nodded in response.

The rebel meanwhile began to open fire at the Rocket speed boats. Due to the weight and force of the gun, it was hard to get a good shot in. But he soon found a good spot and gave it everything he had. He managed to strike one of the engines on a Rocket boat, causing it to smoke and eventually die. The speedboat, now no longer able to run, began to spin around due to the currents and eventually flipped over at the high speeds. All of the Rockets on board fell into the water and were dragged under from the currents.

The rebel, astounded at his accomplishment, turned around and jumped up in joy.

"I GOT ONE! I GOT ONE!", the rebel yelled out. Suddenly, all of the mounted machine guns that were focusing on their own targets all focused on the back deck of the boat. The rebel was struck down by heavy machine gun fire, his arm getting torn off by one bullet and his upper body being separated from his waist by another. Several other rebels were struck down by the machine guns as well, their body parts flying in all different paths. The surviving rebels all ducked down as quickly as they could, trying to avoid being torn apart like their allies beside them. Blood began to flow from the collections of bodies and limbs and make its way down to Hunter, Darrel, and the other rebels.

Hunter looked to Darrel, and the two of them shared eye contact. The same thought crossed both of their minds at that moment.

What do we do now...

With the machine gun fire still on them, they knew that it was only a matter of time before all of the rebels would either be dead or dying. They had to act now. Darrel stood up, but kept himself low so as to avoid the gunfire and ran towards the the bodies. He got down, and lifted the upper half of the dead rebel off of the light machine gun. He placed the body part to the side and grabbed the gun. When he did, he moved behind cover and aimed the weapon. If he was going to go down, he was going to go down fighting.

Hunter meanwhile grabbed his gun from off of the floor and ran over to the railing on the very far corner of the boat. He placed his feet on opposite side of the rails and stood up on them, aiming his gun at the Rockets. From fighting alongside Darrel and so many other rebels at the Rocket base, he knew what he was best at...pissing off Rockets.

"HEY! OVER HERE ROCKET BASTARDS!", Hunter yelled. He then open fired upon the boats. He did not aim particularly well, but he wasn't trying to. He did manage to strike down one Rocket, who fell over onto another Rocket on the same boat. Several Rockets noticed Hunter and began to open fire. Hunter smiled and laughed. "MY GOD, YOUR AIM SUCKS! PLAYING VIDEO GAMES DOESN'T COUNT AS SHOOTING PRACTICE YOU DUMB SHITS!", Hunter yelled, laughing hysterically. Darrel smirked. He knew what Hunter was trying to do. He was merely the distraction.

Darrel positioned his gun and aimed it at a Rocket speed boat, just off to the left of him. He immediately open fired. Darrel, having a lot of upper body strength, managed the weapon better than the previous rebel and had better aim because of it. Within seconds, he shot the engine and destroyed it. This engine however did not just shut down, it exploded, causing the speed boat to be engulfed in flames. The Rockets watched as their allies screamed, being burned alive before the boat fell behind and sunk below the depths.

"FUCK YEAH!", Darrel yelled, proud of his accomplishment. The Rockets, now down two more boats, began to open fire once again on the back end boat. There were now half of the original amount of boats, but the Rockets refused to give up or regroup. Darrel hid behind his cover while bullets began to fly by him. Hunter, seeing that Darrel was in trouble, aimed his M-16 back at the Rockets.

"HEY! DID I SAY I WAS FINISHED WITH YOU YET! GET BACK OVER HERE AND FIGHT ME LIKE MEN!", Hunter yelled. The second he yelled this, something struck him hard, causing him to fall backwards onto the deck of the boat. He dropped his gun to his side and held his left thigh. In the moment, he seemed dazed and confused. The pain was excruciating, for a moment he thought his leg was torn off. He knew what had happened, but not the severity of it. He finally managed to look at his leg.

It was still there in its entirety, but it was bleeding severely. A couple rebels grabbed him and pulled him further back, away from the main fire and towards the center of the boat. They propped him against the mast and looked at his injury.

"FUCK!", Hunter yelled in pain, gripping his thigh.

"You're bleeding pretty bad man!", one of the rebels said.

"NO SHIT!", Hunter yelled, gritting his teeth.

"Hold on man, I'm gonna get you a medic, WE NEED A MEDIC OVER HERE!", the rebel yelled, getting up and looking for one. The other rebel, a younger one, looked at Hunter.

"What the hell were you thinking doing that? You're lucky you didn't get yourself killed!", the rebel said. Hunter smirked.

"Well it worked in distracting them didn't it?", Hunter said. The rebel sighed, annoyed at Hunter's apparent stupidity. Soon, the male rebel returned with a medic. Hunter sighed heavily when he saw the medic. It was the same female who treated him when he got shot in the main hall of the base, and the same medic who tried to help him to the ATVs. The female immediately recognized Hunter and sighed heavily as well, just as annoyed.

"Why do I keep treating your wounds? Don't you learn anything?", the medic asked.

"Does it look like I ever learn?", Hunter retorted back. The medic looked over the injury on Hunter's leg.

"It came out clean but I think it hit your femoral artery. We need to bandage you up quickly before you die of blood loss", the medic said.

"Wait, you don't KNOW if it hit it or not?", Hunter asked, shocked that she wouldn't know.

"I'M NOT A FULL FLEDGED DOCTOR HERE! DO YOU SEE HOW MUCH BLOOD YOU'RE LOSING, IT'S A PRETTY GOOD GUESS!", the medic yelled. Just then, bullets zoomed past the group of rebels. The two male rebels ducked, narrowly avoiding the flying metal.

"ALRIGHT, YOU TWO, GO OVER THERE AND DEFEND DARREL, MAKE SURE HE CAN STILL FIRE THAT WEAPON!", Hunter yelled. The two rebels nodded and quickly got up to make their way to the back of the boat, leaving the female medic to work on Hunter's leg. Meanwhile, May and Dawn remained in the captain's house, trying to keep the boat on path and stay alive.

They had witnessed the bloodshed just beside them, and had also seen Hunter being dragged away by the two rebels. They were concerned, but their priority had to be making it to Ash.

"We're in a lot of trouble here! What about the others?", Dawn asked, still keeping her hands on the boat wheel. May leaned over the stairs leading down to the deck and looked over to Misty's side. From there, she could see the rebels, just as stuck as they were. She saw that Misty, Brock, and Emily were still alive and trying to fight back. She also saw on the deck Michael, Nick, Sawyer, and the others trying to help whoever they could. She also spotted Drew, opening fire on the two boats to their right.

"They're in just as much trouble as we are!", May answered.

"Dammit! What are we going to do? We can't take this much fire in this position!", Dawn exclaimed. Suddenly, the entire boat was rocked. But not by the currents, as they were now finally used to, but by an explosion. Many rebels on both boats fell to the ground, the force of the explosion rocking them senseless. Dawn, May, Misty, and Brock all panicked, thinking that they were going down. However, when they turned around, expecting to see their engines gone or their boat on fire, they witnessed something else, something unexpected.

Two Rocket boats had blown up, and the other two had flipped due to the force of the explosion.

Everyone looked at the sudden turn of events, completely awestruck. Many of them did not even believe that this was happening. Brock stood up, ignoring the two boats still following them to their right and looked to the explosions. He could still make out the smoke from the fire and the underside of the two other boats. But what had caused this destruction? What had saved their lives?

And from the distance, coming up quickly, he got his answer.

The water Pokemon both charged forward, their mouths just closing from the Hyper Beams. On their backs, their trainers all hollered in happiness. Aleksi, Brian, and Jeremy. They had gotten close enough to the Rockets to fire from behind. The Rockets were so preoccupied from the rebels ahead of them that they had forgotten about the few from behind. A costly mistake. Brock smiled and held his fist out in excitement.

"YES!", Brock exclaimed. Misty, also looking back, smiled.

"THEY SAVED US!", Misty yelled. From the opposite boat, May sighed heavily in relief.

"Oh thank god", May said. Dawn meanwhile cheered out loud in happiness, bouncing up and down. Darrel, realizing what had happened, swung back over behind cover, sighed heavily, and slumped down to the deck, ignoring the blood that was soaking into his clothes. He chuckled to himself.

"Good thing that happened...", Darrel said. He then looked at his gun and dropped it to his side. "...I ran out of ammo". Aleksi and the boys meanwhile were all relieved that they had made it in time.

"OH BABY! THAT WAS A BEAUTIFUL EXPLOSION! A WORK OF ART!", Brian yelled, not hiding his excitement one bit. As the boys high fived each other, Aleksi sighed in relief.

"Thank goodness...", Aleksi said. She then rubbed Dragonair's neck, making sure not to get her blood all over it. "Thank you so much Dragonair, you saved them". Dragonair yelled in joy, glad to be able to help. The rebels all cheered, they now had a fighting chance. Brock overlooked his boat, seeing the rebels all cheer and holler in joy.

"EVERYONE! DON'T CHEER YET, TEAM ROCKET IS STILL HERE AND THEY AREN'T GOING TO GIVE UP YET!", Brock yelled. The rebels on board all looked up to him, some understanding perfectly what he was saying, others disappointed that he was right. Suddenly, another voice called out to them, but this one came from the front of the boat.

"THERE THEY ARE!", someone yelled out. Everyone on board looked to the front to see who it was that had yelled. Tracy stood at the bow of the boat, still holding his binoculars. He had in his other hand a pistol, which he used to fight off the Rockets. He looked towards Misty and Brock and pointed ahead of them. "ASH AND THE OTHERS, WE REACHED THEM!", he continued. Misty immediately looked ahead of them, and sure enough, in the distance she could make out the same boat that they had left Ash and the others on earlier.

"...Ash!", Misty thought to herself. There was a moment's silence before suddenly, the boats began to rock heavily. Everyone held on tightly to whatever they could for fear of falling overboard and drowning. Waves crashed over the sides and soaked the rebels. Misty stood up and struggled to maintain control of the boat.

"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?", Brock asked.

"THE CURRENTS! THEY'RE COMING FROM ALL DIRECTIONS! THE BOATS CAN'T HANDLE THEM!", Misty exclaimed. She looked around, Dawn's boat, along with the Rocket speed boats were having the same problems.

"WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO?", Emily asked, trying to hold on for dear life. Misty looked around intently. The waves flew up and splashed her from both directions, but she remained poise. She looked out on the waters, trying to find a safe way out of the currents. If she did not find one, then everyone here would die. She looked left and right, and then, at the last moment, she spotted what she was hoping for. To the far left of them, quickly approaching, was a current that led them away from this wave action. it would be hard for them to reach it, but it was their way out.

"OVER THERE!", Misty yelled. Brock and Emily looked over to see what she was referring to. She pointed to the current to their far left. "IF WE CAN GET BOTH BOATS INTO THE CURRENT, THEN IT SHOULD LOOP AROUND AND TAKE US TO ASH!", Misty explained.

"THAT'S NOT GONNA BE EASY!", Emily exclaimed. Just then, the few remaining Rockets opened fire on them. The three ducked as the bullets went past.

"DO IT!", Brock yelled. He then turned to the side and looked over to the other boat. "GIRLS!". Both May and Dawn looked over to him. "WE'RE GOING FOR THOSE CURRENTS, TRY TO MAKE IT TO THEM!". Dawn looked over to where Brock was pointing to and noticed the current. She nodded and took control of the wheel, trying to steer the boat to that direction. Misty did the same, and the two boats turned against the currents to reach their safety. From behind, Aleksi, Brian, and Jeremy watched as the large boats maneuvered and tried to escape.

"What the hell are they doing?", Jeremy asked.

"They're trying to get out of these rough currents! They must of found an escape!", Brian answered. Aleksi watched as the boats tried to escape, and then looked over to the Rocket speed boats. They also noticed this sudden change of direction, and were right on top of it. They immediately tried to follow the rebel boats. Aleksi knew she couldn't let this happen.

"WE NEED TO STOP THE ROCKETS FROM FOLLOWING THEM! LET'S GO!", Aleksi yelled. Dragonair quickly sped forward, trying to get in-between the Rockets and the rebels. Brian, completely thrown off from this sudden idea, tried to catch up. Further behind, Angel witnessed this and knew immediately what Aleksi was trying to do.

"COME ON SHARPEDO! ALEKSI NEEDS OUR HELP!", Angel said. Sharpedo nodded and moved faster through the currents, trying to catch up. By this time, Aleksi had nearly reached the boats. Misty looked down from her spot and saw Aleksi and what she was trying to do.

"ALEKSI! YOU'RE GOING TO GET KILLED!", Misty yelled. Aleksi looked up to her and smiled.

"THEN AT LEAST I DIED GETTING YOU TO SAFETY! GET MOVING!", Aleksi yelled. Misty hated the idea of leaving her behind once again, but she knew she had to. She nodded, and kept on moving to the currents. The Rockets tried to move in as well, but Aleksi and Dragonair intervened. They moved right in-between them and she smiled at the stunned Rocket grunts.

"Going somewhere gentleman?", Aleksi asked. This brief barricade allowed the others just the amount of time they needed. Dawn and Misty, with as much care as they could manage, directed the boats to the currents. Before they knew it, they were being carried off away from the disastrous waters and being pushed forward. The Rockets lost their opportunity. Angry, they decided to take out their rage on Aleksi. One Rocket reached for a machine gun that was on the ground, but Aleksi quickly grabbed the pistol that Jeremy had tossed her and fired.

One shot, one kill. The Rocket fell back and into the waters. Another Rocket, taking advantage of the distraction, pulled out his own pistol and took aim. Aleksi, knowing that she could not have the time to reach over and fire back, looked at the Rocket in fear. The Rocket smirked and pulled the lock back on his weapon.

"Say goodnight lady!", the Rocket said with a wicked attitude. Aleksi looked at him, waiting for the bullet to strike her down. Until suddenly, a gun shot from a distance was heard. The Rocket turned to his right, (Aleksi's left), just in time to take a bullet to the head. Aleksi looked on as the Rocket's head exploded, and the now headless body fell onto the small deck. Aleksi, completely stunned, turned and looked to the direction that the Rocket looked towards just as the speed boat pulled back from her. From the far distance, she could see Ash's boat. It appeared to be coming to their direction, but still had a ways to go. There was a moment's silence until finally, she immediately knew what had happened. She smiled.

"Thank you...Evan", Aleksi stated.

**My god, this was a WICKED hard chapter to write! I worked as hard as I could to make sure this chapter came out tonight, and I finally managed it. I know this chapter is VERY jumpy, and for that I apologize. But regardless, I hope you liked it. I know a lot of you were worried for Aleksi, well...now you don't have to be! HA! Well, anyway, I thank you all for being patient with me. I hope that you can all take a moment, to reflect on the tragedy that took place ten years ago, on Sept. 11th, 2001. Many lives were lost in a horrific attack on the United States. As I write this, I am wiping away tears from my eyes and on my laptop, thinking of the innocent lives that were taken away much too soon. As a New Yorker, this day holds special meaning to me in many ways. Please, in honor of those who perished at the WTC, the Pentagon, and Flight 93, be sure to put those lives in your prayers. Always loved, never forgotten. Now then, on a happier note, (because after today I desperately need one), tomorrow I will turn 20! Not a huge deal really, but I'm trying to make myself feel better after shedding many tears today. So yes, 20 years old, two decades, my god I feel old! Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed the chapter, be sure to F.A.R, and be sure to pray for the lost lives. Thank you all, goodnight. **

**Never Forget 9/11/01 - 9/11/11**

**sincerely,  
evan, a fan of aaml -EVAN AAML **


	39. Chapter 39

**Well, here we are again, ready for another update to "R". I am glad to know that you are all enjoying the story thus far! A lot of people liked the last chapter, which is good, and hopefully you will like this one just as much. Now then, I believe that THIS chapter will be the one everyone has been looking forward to, the one where they FINALLY get to go home! :O I know, shocking, it's only been like, 25 chapters! All kidding and sarcasm aside, I hope that this will be another thrilling installment and I hope you all enjoy. **

**-EVAN AAML**

Seconds after the Rocket speed boat had turned away from Aleksi, Brian and Jeremy sped up and reached her. They looked at her with worry, knowing that she was seconds away from being killed.

"Are you alright?", Jeremy asked worried. Aleksi, who was still looking at Ash's boat from a distance, merely smiled.

"Yeah...I am alright", Aleksi said. The boys looked at her, both confused as her sudden happy personality. She hummed to herself with a grin on her face.

"Uhm...is this...normal?", Jeremy asked Brian. He looked just as bewildered as he was.

"...I don't even know what normal is anymore", Brian replied. He then turned around and looked towards the boats. The current took them off course, causing them to veer to the far left. However, once they would leave the current, it would be easy for them to reach Ash's boat under their own power. "Well, the others made it out alive at least, we can be thankful for that much", Brian said.

"Yeah, I guess now we can", before Jeremy could finish, they found themselves under heavy fire. The two remaining Rocket speed boats had lost the boats, but still had a chance to take out these rebels. They both opened fire on them and the rebels ducked.

"MOVE!", Aleksi yelled, her happy state now over. The Pokemon quickly moved through the water, going through the current once more. The boats chased after them, but had a tough time controlling their vessels. Their aim suffered because of it, and struck the water on either side of the two large Pokemon. Brian looked ahead and could see that Ash's boat was moving closer to them. It was apparent that their boat, unlike the ones behind them, were in clear waters and in complete control. Brian pointed ahead.

"WE'RE ALMOST THERE!", Brian yelled. Aleksi, realizing this, turned her head to look behind her.

"WHERE'S ANGEL?", Aleksi asked. The two boys, hearing this, did the same and looked for her. After a few seconds, Jeremy spotted something.

"OVER THERE!", Jeremy yelled, pointing behind them. They looked and could make out Sharpedo and Angel, both of them booking it through the water.

"WE NEED TO GIVE THEM COVER FIRE!", Aleksi said. Brian pulled out his own pistol, and both him and Aleksi took fire on the two boats. The pistols did little to nothing in terms of damage, but did manage to get the Rocket's attention. One boat continued the chase, while the other, (the one that had attacked Aleksi earlier and had only two people remaining on it), followed from behind. "Good, they're falling for it, just a little longer Aleksi, and then Angel will be safe, and we can all go home together", Aleksi thought to herself.

However, as they were trying to escape, the thing that Aleksi feared most at the moment came true. Due to the currents, the back speed boat nearly spun out, but managed to catch itself. But as it did, the Rockets on board spotted Angel coming in from behind them, and turned their focus on her. Aleksi panicked.

"NO!", Aleksi yelled. Angel, seeing the boat suddenly turn on them, took action.

"SHARPEDO! WE NEED TO AVOID THE BOAT!", Angel yelled. Sharpedo nodded and, just as the boat was about to take fire, dove under the water. Angel held her breath and held on tight. She could hear the sounds of the mounted machine gun firing, but the blasts from the bullets were muffled from the water. Her eyes had already been used to the salt water, so she was able to look around without much trouble. Because they were following the current, it did not hurt her and she was able to see better. She looked up and could make out the speed boat's bottom. She felt relieved, knowing that the boat wouldn't be able to turn around and fire at them very quickly in these currents.

As they made it passed the speed boat, Angel looked around under water. She had never before really seen what it was like under the ocean. Although hardly the time to appreciate something like this, she felt that, since she could die any second, she might as well take it for what it was worth. The waters were a clear blue, it almost looked and felt like she was flying in the air. It was far too deep to see the bottom, which disappointed Angel a bit. She would of loved to of seen the sand and Pokemon on the ocean floor.

Despite the battle they were in, Angel felt a feeling of peace flow through her. She loved where she was right now. Should she die at this moment, she wouldn't mind having her body stay beneath the waves. Hopefully it would make it through the currents and then just slowly sink to the bottom, where it would lay on the sandy floor for who knows how long. She felt it somewhat funny that she was thinking about how her body would stay under the ocean, but it couldn't be helped. She always was one for random daydreams.

Then, as if suddenly, a thought crossed her mind. She had been thinking about how she would be at peace if she died under water, but she didn't think about the others, who had. The rebels who had been shot, burned, or drowned during their arrival or escape. She hoped at least that it would of been a quick death. She wondered if Jonny went through the same feelings as she was right before he passed on. Probably, she had a feeling that Jonny was like her in that sense. Although he couldn't swim, he probably had the same thoughts going through his head as he sunk beneath the waves with the ship. This sort of calmed Angel a bit, she knew that he was at peace.

Knowing that they had been under for awhile and that Angel needed air, Sharpedo swam back up and hit the surface. Angel gasped for breath, her peaceful thinking replaced once again with the will of survival and the urge to see her friends and family again.

Aleksi saw them pop up and sighed in relief. They had avoided one boat, but needed to avoid the other to reach them and safety. Suddenly, and without warning, Aleksi felt their speed slow down considerably. It was so sudden in fact that she nearly fell off of Dragonair. Aleksi gripped onto her Pokemon tighter and managed to catch herself before falling in. She turned and saw that Brian and Jeremy also stopped abruptly. The Pokemon were still moving, but at a much slower pace.

"What happened?", Brian asked. Aleksi looked at the water and immediately realized what had happened.

"We made it out of the currents, we're no longer riding them", Aleksi said.

"Great, then let's hurry up and get to Ash before the boats catch up!", Jeremy said. The two Pokemon then swam as fast as they could, beginning to run out of energy. Aleksi turned back and looked for Angel. She was still trying to reach them. The final Rocket boat had not yet taken notice of Angel and was still trying to catch up to Aleksi and the boys. However, the currents proved too much. As they sped through, the boat hit a wave at just the right angle. The boat turned abruptly to the left, making it directly in the path of Sharpedo.

Due to the current, Sharpedo did not have enough time to avoid the boat, and it was too dangerous to attack it with Angel on its back. So with the high speed on them, Sharpedo made one large dive out of the water.

Polaris Breach

Time seemed to slow down for Angel, who did not have the same reaction time as Sharpedo did. She looked down and could see that they were just above the Rocket speed boat. She could make out the faces of the Rocket grunts, all of them looking at her in shock, as they flew by only a couple feet or so above the head of the tallest Rocket.

Before she knew it, Sharpedo had landed back on the water and was speeding forward. It flew out of the currents and into safe water, quickly progressing to Aleksi and the boys. They all smiled and cheered as she reached them. She panted, feeling her heart and making sure it hadn't jumped out of her chest while they were in the air.

"You made it!", Aleksi said, relieved. Angel smiled and nodded, holding her thumb up. She was still however panting. Brian laughed.

"Bet that last bit scared you quite a lot didn't it?", Brian asked. Angel nodded.

"I barely had time to react, I would of struck that boat dead on if I was in Sharpedo's position...thank you Sharpedo", Angel said with a smile. She lowered her head and kissed Sharpedo on the top of the head. Sharpedo smiled.

"Shar! Pedo!", Sharpedo replied.

"Well I'm just glad you're safe Angel, and next time...don't stay behind like that, ok?", Aleksi said. Angel giggled and nodded.

"Alright, I'll try and remember that, thank you Aleksi", Angel responded. Jeremy, who did not feel like conversing, then turned around and looked towards where the Rockets were. Because the speed boat in front had spun out just as the line between the currents and clear waters, it had managed to stay afloat and was now just sitting on calm waters, not moving at all. The motor had probably died on it from the turn. The other speed boat had just then crossed the border and remained still, right next to the other one. The Rockets seemed to be conversing with one another, while others watched us closely.

"They're planning something", Jeremy said. The other three looked over to the Rockets and saw what he was looking at.

"Think they'll continue the chase?", Brian asked. As if answering his question, the Rockets revved their engines and turned their boats towards them. Apparently the motors hadn't died after all.

"No doubt! QUICK, RUN!", Aleksi yelled. The three Pokemon then quickly sped up, trying to reach Ash's boat. They knew it would be a lot safer for them if they could reach it in time. They could hear the sounds of the machine guns firing at them, both from the mounted weapons on the front and the hand held guns the Rockets carried. Each of them tensed up, getting ready in case they actually did get shot. Aleksi looked ahead and could see that Ash's boat was moving towards them, they were coming to the rescue. From the deck, she could make out the figures of the people on board. She saw Milo, running to the side of the boat with a weapon in hand, a machine gun.

He fired it towards the boats, distracting them if only momentarily. She also saw what appeared to be Ash, who was waving for them to come over as quickly as possible. She couldn't see Gary, Max, or Pikachu, but in particular, she couldn't see Evan. Figures she would be thinking of him at a time like this.

Eventually, they were close enough where they were able to make out their voices. Milo of course was the loudest, screaming and yelling out obscenities towards the Rockets as a distraction...or for fun, no one was quite sure.

"Come on! Hurry!", Ash yelled. The others got closer and closer until finally, they reached the boat. Aleksi immediately turned around to look at the speed boats. They had veered back and were slowly going to the side, making sure not to get too close to the ship. It was far bigger than their speed boats and unlike the rebels, they had no idea how many people were really on board it. Ash bent down and grabbed onto Brian's hand, helping lift him up onto the boat. "Glad to see you all made it", Ash said.

"We are too", Brian joked. Aleksi watched as Brian was aided off of Lapras and onto the boat. Suddenly, she caught a hand come down from her side. Aleksi looked at the hand, and immediately recognized it from the wrist watch that was attached. She looked up to see the one person she had been waiting to see all this time.

"...Evan", Aleksi said. She could just make out his little smile from the sunlight. Most of his face was covered, but his bright blue eyes still managed to glow, and she could also see and smell the smoke from his usual cigarette. Aleksi grabbed onto his hand and was lifted entirely off of Dragonair and onto the siding of the boat. Despite not looking as muscular as say Milo or Brian, he had a lot of strength. As she was being lifted, she looked over to the side and could see Ash, Brian, Milo, and now even Gary; who watched as the others began to board. From here, she was able to see much better and finally saw Evan's entire body.

"Nice to see _you _again", Evan said, the cigarette bouncing up and down in his mouth as he spoke. Aleksi smiled.

"Aww, you missed me?", Aleksi asked, more as a joke than anything; although she did secretly love to hear him say it. Evan smiled.

"Certainly, who else am I going to have fun arguing with? Milo?", Evan asked. The two then glanced over and looked at Milo, who was staring at them and making a cheeky grin at Evan. He nodded approvingly and gave a thumbs up. Evan sweatdropped.

"What's what mean?", Aleksi asked.

"Long story", Evan answered. He turned and looked at her, standing on the siding. He smiled. "But seriously though, you have no idea how glad I am to see that you're alive". The two teens continued to share eye contact for awhile, not even so much as blinking. After a bit though, Evan shook out of it. He coughed and held his hand out to her. "Well, let's get you down from there huh?". Aleksi shook out of the trance as well and nodded. She gave her hand to him and allowed him to help her down. However, her foot was dangling over the edge of the rail. When Evan pulled, her foot caught on the side and she lost her balance. She toppled on top of Evan and the two fell down hard onto the deck of the boat.

Aleksi raised her head to see that she had fallen on top of Evan. Despite the trip however, Evan still managed to keep a hold of his cigarette. She gasped.

"Oh my god! I'm so sorry! Are you ok?", Aleksi asked. Evan smirked and raised his head from off the deck.

"Just peachy", Evan replied. Aleksi couldn't help but smile.

"YEAH! GET SOME!", Milo yelled from off to the side. Evan and Aleksi both blushed immensely and sweatdropped at the embarrassing comment.

"I'm gonna kill him", Evan said.

"Get in line", Aleksi commented. She then got off of Evan and helped him to his feet. From over the side of the boat, the two could hear the voice of Angel.

"Not to ruin a cute moment between you two, but it would sure be nice to be out of the water and away from the Rockets with the big guns!", Angel stated. Evan smiled and walked over to the side of the boat. He looked down and could see Angel from below, still resting on top of Sharpedo.

"Well looky who else made it safe and sound. How you doing sweetie?", Evan asked, merely looking at her. Angel smirked.

"Just peachy", Angel replied. Aleksi giggled at this response. For a twelve year old she was very quick witted. Evan lowered his hand and with one fall swoop she was on the deck of the boat. She immediately ran over to the side of the boat and looked down at the Pokemon that had helped her so much on their mission. She smiled at the shark Pokemon. "Thank you Sharpedo!", Angel called out. Sharpedo smiled and bobbed its head up and down.

"Glad to see you're alright Sharpedo, thank you for protecting Angel and giving them help. You deserve a nice long rest", Evan said. Angel pulled out Evan's Pokeball and aimed it at Sharpedo.

"Return!", Angel called out. Within seconds, the red light sucked the large Pokemon in and it was gone. Angel turned around and held the Pokeball out to Evan. "And thank you Evan, for lending Sharpedo to me, it really helped", Angel said. Evan nodded with a smile, took the Pokeball from Angel, and shrunk it down to its smaller size before returning it to his belt.

"Not a problem at all Angel", Evan replied. It was at this moment that Brian and Ash helped Jeremy into the boat. Once he was safely on board, Brian approached the side of the boat, his Pokeball in hand. Aleksi walked over and did the same. They both looked over to their respective Pokemon and aimed their Pokeballs at them.

"Great job Lapras! Return!", Brian said.

"You too Dragonair, have a well deserved rest!", Aleksi said. The two Pokemon were then pulled into their Pokeballs. Once the Pokemon were safely stored away, Ash looked to the teens.

"So everything is done? The mission was a success?", Ash asked. Aleksi approached Ash and nodded.

"Yes, but I wouldn't call it a resounding victory...we lost a lot of friends on this mission", Aleksi explained. Ash nodded. He sighed and pulled his hat off of his head, wiping away the beads of sweat on his forehead. After placing the hat back on, he looked at Aleksi.

"...I know. This was not what I had hoped for...not at all", Ash said. He then turned around and looked to the other two boats. Within the time it took Aleksi and the others to reach the ship the two boats had made it out of the current and were now approaching them. They would arrive within a matter of a couple minutes. "The others made it as well", Ash said. Aleksi nodded.

"Yes...Misty too, they're all safe Ash", Aleksi said. Ash nodded.

"Good...that's good", Ash said.

"I contacted gramps just a few seconds ago. He said that the base was still safe and sound, nothing has happened there. I told him we'll be on our way home", Gary stated.

"We're not out of the woods yet", Evan said. The group all turned around to see him looking through the scope of his sniper rifle, which was unattached from the gun itself and aimed at the Rocket speed boats. His gun remained however at his side. Milo jumped down from his place and all of the rebels walked over to the side of the boat and looked at them. They were now a good distance away from the boats, but it was clear that they were still keeping an eye on them. The two were very close to each other, close enough where a Rocket could hop from one boat to another if he or she so wanted to. Due to the now major difference in numbers, the Rockets remained further away, but would probably attack the first chance they got.

"What are they doing?", Ash asked, preparing for a fight if it came down to it. With the years of battle experience he had, everyone on the boat felt safest when Ash was in charge. It was like he was a general, leading his soldiers into a fight and giving them the support and will power they needed to accomplish anything.

"So far they're just talking. I think one of them even has a walkie he's speaking through, probably to their base. It doesn't look like they're going to be trying to attack us anytime soon, but you never know. Unfortunately, this brings up a problem", Evan said. Ash nodded. Angel however seemed confused.

"Why is that? They're leaving us alone, that's good right?", Angel asked.

"Them not shooting at us is good, you're right. But because they're keeping their distance but still staying here means something. They're trying to keep an eye on us. They know that we're going to be returning to base after everything we did, and they're going to try and track us there. We can't let that happen", Ash said. Jeremy, who was standing right in-between Evan and Ash smirked.

"They won't do anything to us, they're just a bunch of pussies!", Jeremy said. Suddenly, he climbed up and stood on top of the siding, cupping his hands in front of his mouth. "YOU HEAR THAT? YOU ROCKETS CAN'T DO A THING TO US! WE'RE THE PTA! WE'RE UNBEATABLE! WOOHOO!", Jeremy yelled at the top of his lungs. The other rebels couldn't help but laugh at Jeremy's actions. After what they had been through, it actually felt nice to be able to laugh a little and even brag about their accomplishments.

"Wait, wait! Hold on...they're doing something", Evan said. The other rebels immediately stopped laughing and looked at Evan. He continued to look through his scope. "One of them appears to be grabbing something from the boat, but I can't make it out from this angle".

"Is it an RPG?", Aleksi asked now worried. They have had their fair share of that weapon as it were. Gary however shook his head.

"I doubt it. If they had a weapon like that they would of used it already when we were less aware", Gary explained.

"So then what is it?", Ash asked. Evan continued to look.

"Hold on...it's...oh god", Evan said. Everyone's heart rates immediately lowered just at the mere sound of it. Evan immediately pulled away from his scope and looked to the others. "EVERYONE GET DOWN!", he yelled. Suddenly, a gun shot echoed across the area. A split second later, Jeremy was knocked off of the boat's siding and fell to the deck of the boat, his body smashing against the walls of the captain's house and falling to the ground. Everyone turned to look at him, and immediately were horrified...for his head was no wheres to be seen. There was nothing but blood and brain matter spread across the area.

Evan immediately turned around and grabbed his rifle, not even taking the time to place the scope back onto the top of it. The Rockets had their own sniper, and he had to make sure that no one else would get killed. Using only the rifle's built in iron sight at the front of the gun, he took aim at the Rocket boat. Without the scope, it was much more difficult to see what he was aiming at, but Evan had trained himself for situations like this.

He immediately fired his first shot. Although those on board the boat could not see if he had hit his target, Evan knew better. He knew that he had shot the sniper in his chest, just off to the right by his lungs. Knowing that the sniper was down, he immediately aimed his gun at the motor of the same boat. With another shot, he struck the motor, hitting the gas line that was inside of it. This caused a large explosion from the motor, which, (due to the close proximity of the boats), caused both Rocket patrol boats to explode. The sounds of screaming Rockets and the sight of things being thrown in the air only to land back into the water at all different directions shocked the rebels.

Gary heard the sound of motors and turned around to see the two rebel boats now moving at a very high speed towards them. They were coming to the rescue, although it was no longer needed. Aleksi immediately turned back to Jeremy, but quickly grabbed Angel and covered her eyes. Milo ran forward and bent down to Jeremy, but knew that there was no chance of saving him. He was dead the moment the bullet struck him, before he even hit the ground. Blood squirted out from his neck, where his head once was, and splashed onto the walls and deck of the boat. The sounds of feet pounding could be heard from the other side of the boat and before they knew it, Max and Pikachu had run out towards them.

"WHAT HAPPENED? WE WERE HIDING LIKE YOU SAID AND WE", before Max could come any closer, Ash held his hand out to him.

"NO! Stop...don't come any closer Max...", Ash said. Just like Aleksi with Angel, he would not let someone as young as Max see the gore before them. Pikachu however hopped over and saw the carnage. He immediately lowered his ears and looked down to the ground, regretting ever laying eyes on it. Max knew that something bad was just off to the side of his view, but seeing Pikachu's reaction and Ash's persistence on him not moving, he didn't want to see.

Brian looked at the body of Jeremy, still in shock. It was a split second that Jeremy's life was taken away. Not a minute ago he was standing on the siding and taunting the Rockets, and now...unrecognizable. It was at this moment that Misty and Dawn's boats arrived. They were just far enough apart from each other. Misty's boat was the closest to Ash's. Brock ran down from the captain's house and stopped just at the side of the boat, looking over.

"WHAT HAPPENED? WE HEARD GUN SHOTS AND NEXT THING WE KNEW THE PATROL BOATS BLEW UP!", Brock yelled. Ash ran over to the side and responded.

"THEY HAD A SNIPER! EVAN TOOK THEM OUT!", Ash said. As the boat got even closer people were able to see the carnage. From the captain's house, Emily and Misty looked over and could see the lifeless body, still bleeding out. Emily covered her mouth and turned around.

"Oh my god", Emily said, feeling like she would throw up at any second. Seeing the bloodshed on the bus and during their escape had already left horrible images in her head, this one only made them far, far worse. Misty looked at the boat solemnly. For a moment, her and Ash made eye contact. Although it lasted only a few seconds, everything that needed to be said had been said through their eyes. On board, the surviving rebels all either looked away or looked on in horror; unable to even react. Some said a prayer for Jeremy and the other fallen allies on board the vessels.

"...What do we do from here?", Brock asked Ash. Their boats were now so close that he didn't need to yell over. Ash looked to him.

"...We head home. When we get to land, we'll have to either hide or dispose of the boats. From there, we'll make our way quickly and quietly back to Pallet. We can't stay here, the Rockets were talking on their walkies. More patrols are bound to arrive at our location any second now", Ash said. Brock nodded. He then turned and looked up to Misty, who nodded back. As she signaled to Dawn that they were moving out, Ash turned to Gary.

"Gary, can you", before Ash could finish, Gary nodded.

"Yeah, I can drive. Come on Max, you don't need to be out here", Gary said. He walked back to the side of the boat with his hands in his pockets, Max hesitantly following. Ash then brought his attention back to the others. Milo had by this time placed his weapon on the ground and approached the body. Aleksi, still covering Angel's eyes, (though by now she already knew what had happened and was now crying in her hands), walked up to Ash.

"We can't leave the body there", Aleksi said quietly. Ash nodded.

"We'll take care of it", Ash said. He then motioned for Evan to come over. "Why don't you take Angel inside, Evan can grab the medical supplies and check you guys over". Aleksi nodded. At that moment Evan walked over, carrying with him his sniping rifle. He held the gun with one hand and put his other arm around Aleksi. He then led the two girls inside, away from the carnage.

As they walked away, Ash looked down and saw his little Pokemon. He was still saddened over the lost life. He looked up at him, his ears and tail still down and his eyes showing nothing but pain. Ash sighed.

"I know buddy...I know. You better go inside with them, I have a feeling Angel will need you", Ash said. Pikachu nodded. Slowly, he turned around and like that he was gone, scampering away into the boat. With the others gone, Ash walked over and made it to Brian and Milo. The three teenage boys stood over the body of Jeremy, all of them solemn. They merely stood there for a minute or two as the boat began to roar and slowly move. They could tell that the other boats were also on the move, but ignored them for the time being.

Jeremy's body was the prime example of what kind of hell they had been through. Of course it had to happen. At the moment they were finally safe, when everything seemed to be finally going their way...this had to happen. It was as if fate didn't _want _them to succeed, to survive. Despite their "victory", none of them were smiling. They all looked down at the corpse, which had finally stopped squirting blood. Ash glanced up for a moment and caught eye of something. A hole in the upper corner of the wall. It shot through the wall and came out the other end. The bullet wasn't slowed down at the least by Jeremy's head.

"Brian", Ash said, still looking at the holes. Brian and Milo both looked up to him. Ash lowered his head and faced the two. "If you don't mind, grab his belt. Milo, can you help me move the body? We'll give him a proper burial back on land", Ash said. Brian and Milo nodded.

The "Fire Master", as his shirt proclaimed, bent down and slowly tried to grab Jeremy's belt. The entire body and area was soaked in his blood, brains, and skull fragments. Brian held in his gag reflex and finally managed to undue the belt. Unlike a belt that is fitted for holding up your pants, a Pokeball belt was designed to not affect the pants at all, and came off relatively easily with a plastic fastener. He held the belt in his hand, which had only Gengar's Pokeball and the holster to the pistol that he had given Aleksi earlier.

He stepped back after this to allow Ash and Milo to move the body. Carefully, Ash grabbed Jeremy's arms while Milo the legs. They walked the body along the length of the boat, heading to the back. When they reached it, they placed the body down carefully, right by where the propellers churned the water and moved the boat. They then covered the body in a tarp that was laying out from when the Rockets examined the boat and left it there. As they walked back to the front, Ash stopped in front of Brian, who was still holding the belt. He placed his hand on Brian's shoulder, which caused him to make eye contact with the leader of the PTA.

"Come on Brian...let's get inside", Ash said. Brian looked at him for a moment before nodding and following Ash and Milo into the inside section of the boat. When they stepped inside, Brian placed the belt onto a table near the entrance. Just as he did, he felt something crunch underneath his feet. He looked down to see glass, which was crushed from him stepping on it.

"Is that a beer bottle?", Brian asked. Milo, who had entered the room after he did, looked at the floor from behind Brian and sighed.

"Yeah, wasted a perfectly good beer smashing in a Rocket's skull...pity", Milo said.

"I could sure use one of those right about now", Brian said. He was trying to get over everything that had happened today, from nearly getting killed in the truck on the way to the water to now. Milo nodded.

"Me too man...come on, I'll get us one", Milo said. Brian nodded. The two boys then walked through the boat, going past several rooms, including the captain's house. Inside this room was Gary and Ash. Ash sat down at a table and looked over some paper work, maps and detailed plans they had written out previously. Gary stood beside the wheel, controlling the boat and leading the other rebels back towards Kanto. It was silent for awhile, none of the two making any noise except from what they were doing, until eventually Ash broke the silence.

"We've certainly been through a lot over the years...haven't we Gary?", Ash asked. Gary nodded, keeping his eyes on the waters.

"Yeah, more than most people would go through in several lifetimes", Gary stated.

"And yet, after all of this time, after losing so many lives again and again, you'd think we would be numb to the feeling...but we really aren't...are we?", Ash asked.

"I think it's a good thing we aren't. If you don't show any emotion to the things we've been through, you're not human. We've seen friends who have practically lost their souls in this war and look where that got them. I have friends who I hung out with back in the day who now are mentally unsound. It's...not right", Gary explained. Ash nodded.

"I know what you mean. To be honest, I feel that the ones who died in this war, brutally or not, had it easy compared to others. All I can say is...I'm glad it's almost over", Ash said. Gary nodded.

"Yeah...me too. I wonder what it'll be like...to have peace once again. I...I almost don't know what to even do when that happens. We've been in this war for what, a decade, even longer? I almost don't know how to live otherwise. It's been far too long since I was traveling, far too long since I was running my own lab", Gary said.

"I've thought the same thing. After this...I don't even know if I'll go back to training. I mean, I've seen most of the world from my training back in the day, and the rest of it during the war. I think...I think when we finally win this war, I'm going to retire. Just, get a house for my own, live there quietly with Pikachu and the Pokemon. I'll probably stick to living in Pallet, can't leave mom all alone", Ash explained.

"Yeah, that sounds like a good plan to me. I might just take you up on that. Gramps was always saying how he wants to retire himself, he already told me he wanted me to take over when he did", Gary explained. Ash nodded.

"You'd be good for it. I just hope...that everyone else can get on with their lives when all of this is said and done. And for those who never got the chance to...well, I just hope that they're resting in peace", Ash said. The room was silent for awhile after that conversation. All they did was look out the large window, as they moved across the sea and made their way back to Kanto, back home. With the sun on their backs and the wind helping them along, they had no where to go but forward. And that's how it had to be.

**FINALLY! I MEAN MY GOD! I know this update came early, considering the last chapter was up by Sunday, but I wanted to get this section of the story over with and I was on a roll. Well...what do you think? Love it? Hate it? Indifferent of it? Let me know! Be sure to F.A.R., tell your friends, do whatever! My apologies to people who send me reviews or private messages and don't get responses. As you know, I am pretty good at doing that, (for reviews or messages that are easy to respond to that is), but some of my readers either do not have their settings set for replies or simply aren't getting them. Be sure to check your settings on your profile to see that you are in fact able to receive them! "With the mission completed and the PTA now heading home, what more is in store for them? Will they be able to take down Giovanni and the evil Team Rocket? Or will there be more dangers in store for them yet? Stay tuned for the next chapter of EVAN AAML's "R"!". At this point of the story, I guess you can say that part 2 will be starting now, although that's technically incorrect since the entire story is all one big part. But you know what I mean. Now I know some of you may be shocked as to what has happened to some of the more known or popular rebels, but understand that is GOING TO HAPPEN! And be warned, IT WILL HAPPEN AGAIN! For all you know, your favorite OC is already destined to die, so be prepared and don't send hate mail if this happens. Of course, I am also known for making it look like they die, (eg. May and Aleksi), so for those...yeah, that's just me being me. :P Well anyways, I hope you enjoyed the chapter, be sure to F.A.R. as usual, and I will see you all next time!**

**sincerely,  
evan, a fan of aaml -EVAN AAML **


	40. Chapter 40

**This figures. I spent the time writing chapter 37 getting over a nasty cold. By the time 38 came out, I was already better, not sick in the least. So now, here I am for chapter 39 and guess what? Now both me AND my girlfriend have colds. -_- And I live in New York state, it's cold here now, sure, but there's no snow, we're still hitting 60 and even 70s. You know fall is coming when the sniffles start to spread. Ugh! Oh well, better now than in the winter when I'm sick AND stuck inside during a blizzard, (something we get much too often). Anyway, I am glad to see that a lot of you really liked the last chapter. Surprisingly, only about one of you even mentioned Jeremy in your reviews, hmm, must not of been a fan favorite. BET IF I KILLED ANGEL OFF NOW YOU'D ALL SAY SOMETHING! HUH? HUH?...no, I won't do that...yet. ;) But I digress. I hope that you are all sitting on the edge of your seats, overly anticipating what happens to Angel and our heroes next. Well I won't hold you from it anymore, please enjoy! **

**P.S. I just realized that the three main people who died on this mission all started with the letter "J". One before, one on, and one after the rebels were on the island...weird. 0_o**

**-EVAN AAML**

The waters were finally calm and quiet. After what felt like hours, (though in reality it was in fact not even one), of riding the rough currents and being attacked by Rockets, they were finally safe.

At least, so they hoped.

It was over though, it was finally over. They made it to the island, they sneaked into the base, they attacked the unprepared Rockets, downloaded information, destroyed their array, fought their way off the island, and made it back. But, despite their success after success and close calls, this victory was not one that came without cost. And they all knew that.

Jonny, Jacob, Jeremy, and so many other lives were lost in one day. Although it was small numbers compared to the entire number of rebels in the PTA, it was still not to be forgotten. Unlike Rockets, the PTA were _always _hurt with the loss of life to their team. And this was the worst battle they had ever fought. Many of the rebels were still feeling the pain of losing their allies. Some relatives, some lovers, some close friends, others they barely even knew; but all of them were remembered.

Angel sat in her chair, quiet as can be. It was a odd feeling for Evan and Aleksi, who were used to her being happy, carefree, or at the very least talkative. They knew why she was like this, and couldn't blame her for feeling this way, but they wished that they could help. They were all sitting in the Kitchen of the boat, trying to find something for the girls to eat. Evan had taken them inside to avoid seeing Jeremy's body and had given them temporary medical attention. After applying medical treatment to Aleksi's arm and wrapping it up and treating Angel's burned hands and minor concussion, he took them to get something to fill their stomachs.

So there Angel sat, at the very small wooden dinner table, her feet dangling just over the floor from her wooden chair, Pikachu sitting on her lap and being supported by Angel, who wrapped her arms around him. She looked at the food on the table, but did not touch it. All it was was a warm bowl of oatmeal with fruit and berries in it. Evan was by no means a professional cook like Brock or Sawyer, but what he could make he made good. Angel was not very hungry, so Evan made something that would at least fill her stomach and make her feel better.

Aleksi leaned against the counters that were behind and to the left of Angel, looking at the girl with worry. In her hands was a small mug filled with herbal tea, something she made herself to get her mind off things, (the fact that Evan couldn't make a good cup of tea also prompted her to do it herself). Evan stood a few feet away, preparing a meal for Aleksi on a cutting board. At first, they had whispered about Angel, trying to keep quiet around her. But after realizing that she wasn't going to be moving or even talking to either of them for awhile, they just talked to each other normally.

"She hasn't moved from that spot since you sat her down", Aleksi said, bringing the mug to her face with both hands. She sipped the warm tea carefully, feeling the warmth of the liquid go down her throat and make her insides feel warm and relieved. Evan, who's back was to Angel, kept working on the meal.

"I know, I'm worried about her too Aleksi, but this isn't something that can be taken cared of in minutes. She's been through a lot. I mean, how would you feel if you were twelve years old and in a war, people dying in front of you?", Evan asked. Aleksi sighed. Truth be told, she didn't know how she would feel. She grew up knowing what peace felt like, and knowing that fighting would be needed to return it. Angel was too young, there was war before she was born. It was because of this that it had a different affect on her. On top of that, Aleksi had been fighting even before joining the PTA, Angel never even held a weapon before this.

Evan looked around his station, trying to find something. He then walked away from the station and looked on the floor, finding a plastic plate, (boats usually didn't have glass, for obvious reasons), and bringing it back to the sink to wash. The Kitchen, along with most of the boat, was still a mess from when the Rockets came aboard and messed it up. The rebels never bothered to cleaning it up, and so everything was left to where it was thrown. After washing the plate, Evan placed something on it and held it out for Aleksi.

"Here", Evan said. Aleksi was so deep in thought that she spaced out. She snapped out of it when she heard Evan speak and turned to look at the plate, which was right by her face. It was a typical sandwich, but a big one. Lettuce, turkey, ham, cheese, tomatoes, cucumbers, and bacon all on wheat bread. Aleksi was not a finicky eater, but she doubted that she would be able to finish such a massive meal. Regardless, she was hungry and thankful, so she took the plate from Evan.

"Thank you", Aleksi said. Evan nodded. Aleksi walked over with the plate to the table and sat down in the chair next to Angel, her back to the entrance of the Kitchen. The table had only four seats, and the one across from Aleksi was too hard to get to. Evan meanwhile walked over to the corner of the Kitchen, close to the entrance, and began to make himself a coffee. He as he set the machine up and began the brew, he turned around and looked at the table.

Aleksi had begun to eat her sandwich, but kept her eyes on Angel, who kept hers on the oatmeal. Evan felt bad for Aleksi, knowing how close she had gotten to Angel since her arrival to Pallet Town. He couldn't blame her, she had grown on him too, like the little sister he never had. And of course Aleksi being so down didn't help matters. The two girls that Evan cared about most were both emotionally drained and there was little he could do to make them feel better.

Suddenly, his own train of thought was derailed from the sound of the coffee machine. He turned to it, turned it off, cleaned up, and put sugar and cream in his drink before walking over to the chair next to Aleksi and across from Angel.

He looked at Aleksi's plate, raised his eyebrow in bewilderment and then laughed. Aleksi looked at him, wondering what he was thinking of.

"What is it?", Aleksi asked. Evan looked to her.

"Hungry were we?", Evan asked. Aleksi looked down to her plate. The entire sandwich was gone, not even crumbs left. Aleksi must of been hungrier than she thought. She smiled a bit slightly embarrassed for feeling like a pig eating so fast.

"Oh yeah, sorry", Aleksi said. Evan shook his head and took a sip of his coffee.

"Mm mm. I'm glad, you needed to eat", Evan said. He then looked over to Angel, who was still spaced out. "You need to too Angel", Evan said. Surprisingly, Angel actually looked up at him, acknowledging him. It took Aleksi by surprise but she hid it. Evan remained poise. "Understand? I worked hard on that oatmeal, I don't want it to go to waste. And it's healthy for you, it'll bring your energy back and make you feel warm".

It seemed rather rude for Evan to be talking to her like this, especially given the circumstances, but it was what Angel needed at the moment. Not for people to be grieving. The time would come for it, but Evan didn't want it to be now, especially with her injuries and mental state to think about. Aleksi and Evan looked at Angel, not taking their eyes off of her. She looked at Evan, then to Aleksi, and then back to her oatmeal. Slowly, she moved her hand to her spoon on the side of her bowl and picked it up. The other two smiled as she began to eat.

"Now that's more like it", Evan said, taking another sip of coffee. Aleksi smiled at him, she mouthed "Thank you", and he nodded back to her. It was at this moment that Milo appeared at the entrance of the Kitchen. He was about to walk in, but then he stopped when he saw Angel. He pointed at her and looked at Evan. Evan nodded. "She's fine", Evan said. Milo nodded, glad to hear it, and then walked in, being followed closely by Brian. As Milo walked to the Refrigerator and opened it, Brian sat down on a chair separate from the table, near the entrance.

"We just came in here for a couple drinks. We could use one. You need one Aleksi?", Milo asked as he pulled out two bottles of beer, holding one up to her.

"No", Aleksi said, shaking her head. She didn't drink at all, and thought that he would of known that, but she disregarded it. Milo then brought his attention back to Evan.

"How bout you bro?", Milo asked. Evan held his mug of coffee up.

"I'm good man, I'll stick with the coffee", Evan said. Milo nodded, understanding. He closed the fridge door and walked over to hand a beer to Brian. He accepted it and the two opened their bottles, clanged them together, and then took a drink. Angel, who had eaten a few spoon fulls of oatmeal, smirked ever so slightly.

"You didn't ask me if I wanted one", Angel said. Evan and Aleksi both laughed to themselves quietly while Brian and Milo smiled.

"Sorry lil' girl, even someone like me has standards", Milo said.

"Oh, _you _have standards?", Aleksi said sarcastically with a smirk. Milo smirked back in his usual sleazy way.

"Yeah baby. Even Milo the chick magnet has to have some standards", Milo said giving Aleksi a playful wink. Evan knew that Milo was merely joking, and that this was how he always was. He was used to it. But this did not change the fact that he felt a bit of anger for someone trying to talk this way with Aleksi. Of course, this did not mean that Aleksi couldn't defend herself, which she was more than capable of doing.

"Oh, well then I'm sure the whole two drunk girls you've managed to get in bed with you are thrilled", Aleksi said. Brian even chuckled a bit at this one.

"Ok, ok!", Milo said, trying to end the insults. Milo walked over and leaned against the counter near the fridge, his beer bottle in hand. The group of older teens, along with Angel and Pikachu, had a moment of silence at this point. The group merely kept to themselves, sitting or standing quietly with only the sounds of them drinking or the waves crashing outside. The group wasn't trying to purposely keep quiet, they just could not find anything to say. During times of war, it was hard enough to have a moment of quiet or peace, alone or with friends. Often at times if those times did come, no one would know what to do, they would be nothing more than awkward silences. It was however Angel, who broke this silence.

"...I wonder if they would be proud", Angel said to herself. Of course, with the quietness of the room, everyone was able to hear her. The group of teens looked to her with a hint of confusion and interest. Pikachu, who was still in her lap, looked up to her, blinking his eyes. Angel couldn't help but find this cute, but it did not change her personality at the moment.

"What do you mean Angel? Who are you talking about?", Aleksi asked.

"...my parents. I wonder, if they would be proud of me...after all of this that's happened", Angel further explained.

"Why wouldn't they? You've been fighting off the toughest Rockets, traveling around, protecting ones you love in order to achieve peace and rescue them!", Milo said. "I know my family would be proud of me, and I can't wait to see their faces when I rescue them!".

"I know, I've done a lot...but that's also what makes me wonder", Angel said. This seemed to confuse the teens even more. "My parents always brought me up right, they taught me what's good and bad and indifferent, and how to live my life with those things in mind. Just like Milo, I have my own standards, my own morals. And I've nearly crossed every one just trying to save them. So it makes me wonder...have I changed my beliefs and myself doing all of this?", Angel asked. The group all had a mixture of feelings from this. They couldn't believe that a twelve year old had these thoughts, but also understood what she was getting on about.

"Angel, your parents would be _so _proud of you! You're trying to save them and countless other innocent lives by bringing down Team Rocket. That's the stuff of heroes!", Aleksi explained.

"Legends even", Brian added in. Aleksi nodded.

"Exactly. Anyone would be proud of you..._we're _all proud of you", Aleksi finished.

"But...is this what being a hero means then?", Angel asked. Everyone looked at her. "I've killed people, hurt people, did whatever I could do in order to survive long enough to save my parents. But, if being a hero means I have to change my morals or simply not have any...is it worth it?", Angel asked.

"Angel...being a hero has different meanings. You have morals, be proud of that. There are people who have had years more experience than you who live by none, and because of that they've changed who they are. Some people may look up to them as heroes, but that doesn't mean they are. The fact is, you have them", Evan explained.

"But what good is having them if you don't follow them?", Angel asked immediately once Evan was finished. This threw all of the teens off, none of them were even sure of how to respond. There was a moment of silence before Aleksi spoke up.

"Angel...sometimes, things have to be done in order to achieve peace. None of us here want to kill for it, but there comes a time where you have to. If there was a way that we could bring down Team Rocket without making casualties, trust me, we would follow that route. But...there simply isn't. But Evan's right, you have those morals, so stick by them. It's easy to kill a person given the circumstances, what isn't easy is keeping to yourself once you do. So far, you have. And be sure to keep doing that. So long as you don't change who you are, your parents will be proud regardless", Aleksi explained.

Angel didn't seem satisfied. She still had a lot of questions and opinions. But she took what the others said to heart and tried to understand it all. War took its toll on everyone, young or old. Most people were changed by it completely, others consumed by it. But maybe then, if she stayed true to herself, she wouldn't become like them. She wasn't so sure herself, but it appeared that there would be no other choice. In order to save her parents and even the whole world, she would have to fight, and even kill, again.

"We understand what you're going through Angel, we really do", Brian said. Angel looked up to him. "We've all been down this road before. When we first joined the PTA, we thought the same things you have. Maybe not as well as you, but the thought was there. What morals are we willing to cross in order to win this fight? I don't think you really _can _be in the PTA without having those thoughts", Brian explained.

"He's right. I remember when I first joined, I thought the same thing. I was always a bit egotistical, a ladies man, whatever you'd like to call me, but I wasn't a killer. Never was. But I knew that in order to save my family, I would do whatever was necessary. If it meant I had to kill one Rocket or one hundred Rockets, I would", Milo explained. He then took another swig from the bottle. Pikachu suddenly jumped up on the table, making sure to avoid the bowl of oatmeal, and turned to face Angel. Everyone watched as Pikachu began to speak, moving his paws around as he did.

"Pika, chu. Pikachu. Chu, Pika pikachu. Chu chu, pikachu; pi!", Pikachu explained. The older teens all looked at Pikachu in a confused manor; none of them knew what he was saying. But Angel seemed to understand, if only slightly. She looked at him as if she was trying to understand a teacher giving a lecture. She then nodded.

"I think I get it", Angel said. The other teens weren't sure how to react to this, so they merely watched. "Pikachu said, I think, that sometimes sacrifices had to be made for the greater good. But that I shouldn't let it change who I am. I may do things I don't agree with, but I have to accept it and move on, not let the past change my future", Angel explained. The other teens all looked at the young girl and yellow rodent with both impressed and shocked expression.

"Huh, lil' rodent's pretty smart", Milo said. Pikachu turned to face Milo and took a bow, taking what he said as a compliment.

"Pikachu!", Pikachu said. This caused the entire room to laugh. Meanwhile, on board Dawn's boat, several more injured rebels were being placed under extensive care by the medics also on board. Because of the chase and fighting, many of the medics were unable to help those already injured, instead staying on deck to help fight or aid those who were injured up there. But now that there was a moment of peace, they had the time they needed to help them.

Wallace helped several injured rebels down below while a couple other people with medical experience helped those in most need. Because they were in short hand and because the majority of their medical equipment and personnel were back at base, they were limited in what they could do. Wallace began to help one rebel, a young injured girl with a bad arm, down the stairs and into the boat. The inside of the boat was more like one long hall, much like a shotgun home. On both sides once you enter are two long cushioned benches, accompanied soon after by several chairs, a table with bench for eating, Kitchen, and small open bed. Of course, the seats, benches, bed, and even floors were taken up by the injured.

"Here, we'll find you a spot where you can get worked on alright?", Wallace said, reassuring the injured rebel. One of the medics, a male about as old as him, turned to him and shook his head.

"I'm sorry Wallace, we simply don't have the room down here. We have too many injured", the medic said apologetically. Wallace sighed heavily. Seeing this, Trent, (who was laying down on one of the cushioned benches to rest), stood up and showed Wallace and the girl his seat.

"Please, take mine. I don't need one", Trent said. Wallace nodded with a smile.

"Ok, thank you. Here, you can lie down right there", Wallace said to the girl. Wallace then helped the girl down onto the bench and layed her gently. "Alright, I'll be right back, I'm going to grab something for that arm of yours, excuse me", Wallace explained. He then walked past Trent and towards the center of the boat. As he did, Trent watched him go.

"Thank you", a voice said. Trent turned around and looked down to see the injured girl rebel. "For letting me take your seat...thank you". Trent smiled and nodded.

"No problem", Trent said. Although small, he was glad to be able to help in anyway. He however felt bad that he was not able to help her in any other way. Because of his lack of medical experience, he could not make her feel better. He looked around, seeing even more injured rebels than before. Some merely had cuts or scraps, others were on death's door and might not make it back to Kanto. Trent sighed. It was just then that Wallace walked back over with bandages, hydrogen peroxide, towels, cotton balls, and rather long tweezers.

He bent down, placing all of the gear next to him on the ground, and grabbed the tweezers. He then readjusted his glasses on his head, making sure they were on tight. After doing so, he looked at the girl who lied before him.

"Ok, now I have to pull out the bullet in your arm or else it could get infected. Now unfortunately because of the circumstances, I can't do it with proper anesthesia, so this will hurt a bit. Can you be strong for me and take it?", Wallace asked with sincerity in his voice. This was not the first time that Wallace was in this situation. Although not a legal doctor, he had all the medical experience to be one because of the war and constant injuries to the PTA. The girl rebel looked at Wallace and nodded.

"Y-yes", the girl said, trying to be brave. It was obvious that she was slightly worried, but knew it was for the best. She prepared herself and Wallace nodded.

"Alright, here we go...", Wallace said. With the tweezers, he dug into the small hole that was in the girl's upper left arm. She gritted her teeth and tried to fight back the pain, but was not able to fight back the tears as they came down through her tightly closed eyes. Trent watched with a mixture of pity, worry, and grossness. Wallace knew that this would be painful, especially for someone who had never been shot before, so he tried to make it fast but correct. Soon, he could feel the long tweezers clang against something metal. He smiled as he gripped the metal and pulled. Quickly but carefully, he pulled out the bullet from the girl's arm.

"There we go, great job my dear!", Wallace congratulated. The girl opened her eyes, knowing that the worst was done, and looked at the bullet in the tweezers. It was still for the most part in its original shape, although completely covered in blood. She looked disgusted, but mostly relieved and happy.

"Thank you!", the girl said. Wallace nodded.

"No problem. Now would you like this for a souvenir? We could clean it up for you and who knows? Make a nice necklace out of it? Or maybe we could put it in a rock for a paperweight?", Wallace joked. This tactic was to cheer up the patient, which worked. The girl giggled and nodded.

"Sure, sounds good", the girl said. Wallace nodded.

"Alright then. I'll bandage you up and we'll get right on that", Wallace said. He turned to Trent, who was merely watching, and handed him the tweezers. "Here, hold this will you?", Wallace asked, nearly shoving the tweezers in his hands. Trent took it hesitantly as Wallace grabbed the hydrogen peroxide. He twisted the top open.

"So, how long have you been doing this medical stuff?", Trent asked. Wallace kept to his work, but replied.

"Quite awhile. Before the takeover I was just a little kid, but had always wanted to be a doctor. I studied hard and gradually made it to medical school, of course it was a Rocket one. I did well but when it came time for graduation I slipped out without anyone noticing. As much as I hated the thought of possibly being the only chance at saving lives there, I knew that staying would mean being under the power of Team Rocket, and I couldn't do that. While on the run, I hitched a ride to Pallet Town, in hopes of possibly sneaking out to Johto. And to my luck Gary happened to be the one driving. After telling him my story he brought me to base, I joined the PTA, and that's that", Wallace explained as he poured the peroxide onto the wound. The girl shuddered in pain, but not nearly as much as before.

Once he was finished, he placed the peroxide down and began to place the cotton balls onto and around the wound, mostly to cover the hole and soak up excess blood. Once he did he began to wrap the wound up more with the bandages. The girl sighed, knowing that she would be alright.

"Thank you doctor", the girl said. Wallace smiled. When he finished, he picked up his gear, stood up, and nodded to the girl.

"No problem. Ill be back with your souvenir", Wallace said. He then began to walk towards the stairs, with Trent following, knowing that he was still holding the bullet with the tweezers. Directly to the left, once you reach the bottom of the stairs, was a small bathroom. It was not large, but contained a standing shower, sink, and toilet. It was in here that Wallace and Trent walked into as Wallace turned the lights on. He placed the gear down, pulled off the white surgical gloves he had been wearing, threw them away, and proceeded to wash his hands. "So tell me, what's _your _story Trent?", Wallace asked, just bringing up more conversation.

"My story? Well, mine's a bit simpler than yours. Grew up with a drunk dead-beat father and less than caring mother, ran off to join any rebellions I could to stop Team Rocket; doing some solo work and an occasional job with other rebels. One day me and a few guys I was working with tried to bomb a small Rocket outpost positioned between Cerulean and that Pokemon whiz Bill's place, you know where I'm talking about?", Trent asked. Wallace shook his head.

"No, I was born in Sinnoh, I only came here for school, don't know the place to well", Wallace explained. Trent shrugged.

"Well anyway, we try to bomb this outpost, but the damn Rockets caught us before we could set the timer. So they tie us up and were about to execute us when out of the blue, a bunch of other rebels come out and defeat them. They set us free and we finally set the timers, blow the outpost up. The group of rebels who saved us were PTA, who heard of our plan and came to help. So I joined and here I am", Trent explained. Wallace nodded, understanding.

"I see. And what of the other guys who were with you? Are they still in the PTA?", Wallace asked.

"Were, they're all dead now, KIA", Trent explained. Wallace sighed slightly and nodded, he understood.

"Right...let's have that bullet shall we?", Wallace said. Trent nodded and handed him the tweezers and bullet. Wallace washed off the piece of metal in seconds and then he was finished. Although he had cleaned up the blood on his hands, his white buttoned shirt and blue jeans were still covered in it, as if he had just gotten out of surgery, (which Trent could only presume he could have). Wallace then walked over and handed the bullet to the girl, who smiled and took it. "There you go, hard to believe that it was inside you only seconds ago huh?", Wallace asked. The girl nodded.

"Yeah, thanks", the girl said. Wallace nodded. Trent walked over next to him.

"Anything I can do to help?", Trent asked. Wallace thought for a moment.

"Well, we are short handed. I'm sure we can find some things for you to do", Wallace said. Just then, the sound of someone yelling echoed through the boat, causing Wallace to jump in freight and Trent to cover his ears.

"YEOUCH! WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING YOU CRAZY BITCH?", someone yelled. Trent and Wallace turned around to see none other than Hunter, sitting on a chair at the far end of the boat. His leg was fully revealed to allow the medics to work on it after being shot earlier. The female medic who had worked on him previously had the (unfortunate) luck of working on him again. She was luckily wrong with the prediction of the femoral artery being hit, but still needed to be bandaged. Of course, he had to have the wound cleaned first, something that Hunter didn't take to kindly to.

"I'M TRYING TO MAKE SURE YOU DON'T GET AN INFECTION!", the female medic yelled back. She would not take to his constant arguing.

"WELL YOU THINK YOU COULD DO IT LESS PAINFULLY?", Hunter asked. The girl sighed. She wrapped up the wound in bandages carefully, making sure it was tight and secure. When she finished, she stood up.

"There, now was that so bad? You can stop your constant bitching now", the girl said with a smirk. Hunter grumbled to himself. "What was that?", the girl asked, more sternly.

"Thanks", Hunter said slightly louder. She doubted that this was what he was grumbling, but she would take it.

"You're welcome", the medic said with a smile. Just then, she picked up the bottle of peroxide she had and poured it onto the bandages. It would not ruin the work she had done, but it did cause more pain for Hunter. He cringed and held his thigh.

"ARGH, YOU DID THAT ON PURPOSE!", Hunter yelled. The medic merely smiled and walked away, leaving Hunter to angrily talk to himself about what a "crazy bitch he had to put up with". Wallace and Trent sighed.

On another boat, still steering like she had previously, was Misty. Although now that the waters were calm and anyone could take control of the wheel, she remained at the position, feeling that it was something she had to see through, as minor as it was. Beside her was Brock and Emily, who had also remained at their positions since the chase ended. Brock was looking at a nautical GPS that was attached to the boat right beside the wheel. He nodded at it.

"Alright good, we're just about to reach the Kanto coast. Misty, any idea where exactly we'll hit?", Brock asked.

"From what I can tell, it looks like we'll just be a bit east of Pallet. But I can't be sure...oh, hold on tight!", Misty proclaimed. Just as Brock and Emily prepared themselves, the boat suddenly jerked forward. Not as badly as before, but definitely still noticeable. It wasn't long before Misty regained control, although the speed of the boat had still increased. "Perfect, we hit those currents Ash was talking about, we should be reaching land soon", Misty explained. Brock nodded.

"Perfect. I'll go and tell the others myself", Brock said. Misty nodded as Brock walked down the stairs and towards the other rebels on the boat. While he was gone, Emily slowly walked over to Misty with a bit of a smile.

"So, speaking of Ash, you uh...intend to "talk" to him anytime soon?", Emily asked. Misty seemed confused by the question.

"Uhm, yeah...Of course", Misty answered. Emily smiled more.

"Not like that, I mean like, _talk _talk to Ash", Emily said. Misty looked at Emily.

"Uh, I don't quite...wait...you mean _talk_ talk to him?", Misty asked. Emily nodded with a grin. This prompted a immediate blush from the red head. "I don't think that's any of your concern!", Misty said, turning back to the wheel. Emily chuckled.

"Oh come on! I've had to put up with your constant little cutesy moments for ever! Can't you at least tell him?", Emily asked.

"There's nothing between us!", Misty said. Emily sighed.

"Yeah, ok, _sure _there isn't. Listen, I'm just saying, you may want to get onto that...you don't know if you'll have a second chance to the way this battle is going on", Emily said, more seriously this time. Misty took these words to heart and looked down. She knew that Emily was right, but it was a complicated matter for her. Emily sighed. "I'll leave you to your thoughts", Emily said. She then began to walk away. Just before she walked down the stairs however, Misty called her out.

"Wait!", Misty said. Emily stopped. "Do...do you think he'll return my feelings?", Misty asked. Emily turned to face Misty and smiled.

"Honestly, judging by the way he acts around you, I'm surprised you don't already know the answer to that question", Emily said. She kept on her smile as she turned back and walked down the stairs. This left Misty alone. She thought about it for a moment, and then soon smiled herself. She smiled all the while, as she looked back to the waters; watching as the land was now just beginning to come into view in the far distance.

**And that's that! I wanted to have a little bit more characterization for this chapter since there's actually some quiet for them at the moment and a lot of characters haven't had a lot of screen time. Now for those of you who have OCs in this story and have not seen a lot of your character, just wait, there's still more of these type of chapters to come in the next few updates or so. So don't be impatient. As you know, I'm still getting over this sickness that I THOUGHT I had gotten rid of, so blah to that. -_- Not sure when I will update again, so don't be surprised if there isn't one by say, next week. But regardless, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I hope that you will continue to read and F.A.R.! Not much more for me to say here, except wish you all the very best, and I'll see you next time on EVAN AAML's "R"! **

**sincerely,  
evan, a fan of aaml -EVAN AAML **


	41. Chapter 41

**Well, here we are, once again ready for another thrilling installment of "R"! This is chapter 40, can you believe that? (for those of you who realize that it says chapter 41 on the upper side there, remember, the first chapter doesn't exactly count as a "chapter" in "R"). Before this story came out, the longest story I had in terms of hits, reviews, words, and chapters was "Power From Within", this story blew that one out of the water in chapters and words! But in reality, reviews aren't as strong as they should be considering it's this long, (still the most I have in any story by far, but I'm going by per chapter). And hits are barely the most. As for favorites and alerts, it's not even a contest, so many of my older stories have WAY more than "R". I blame my year off, I lost a lot of readers during that time period, whether they retired within that time, forgot about me, or simply decided they don't want to read these stories. I tend to comment on my author stats because, as much as it makes me look like an egotistical person, I like to see how popular I am. Not because I think I'm all that or anything, I just think it's sort of a "wow moment" for me when I see how many people I have entertained. You know? I'm sure a lot of you, the older authors like me in particular, know what I'm talking about, (or at least understand). Well all that regardless, let's get started with chapter 40 of this story! Hope you all enjoy!**

**-EVAN AAML**

Misty looked over to the other boats around her. From her position, she could not tell whether Ash's boat was able to see what she saw, but she guessed that they did. Dawn's boat however didn't seem to take notice, although they were heading in the same direction.

"HEY!", Misty called over. From the other boat, (on the right of her), Dawn looked over from her wheel and made eye contact with her. She pointed ahead of them. "KANTO IS JUST AHEAD, DO YOU SEE IT?". Dawn looked ahead of her, squinting from the sunlight and trying to focus. After a few seconds, she did eventually find the line of land approaching. She smiled and nodded, looking back to Misty.

"YEAH! WE MADE IT!", Dawn exclaimed. Misty nodded.

"BE SURE TO GET EVERYONE ON YOUR BOAT READY! I DON'T KNOW WHAT WE'LL DO ONCE WE LAND!", Misty said. Dawn nodded. She turned to May, who was standing beside her the entire time. She didn't even need to say anything, May nodded immediately and walked down the stairs to warn the others. As she did, he first person she ran into was Darrel. He had remained on the deck of the boat since they're escape, both to help those on the deck and for protection just in case they ran into more Rockets. He was holding in his hands a wooden crate filled with unknown objects, one of many he and a couple other rebels were moving in preparation of reaching Kanto.

"Darrel", May said. Darrel stopped walking and turned to face May, still holding the crate.

"What can I do for ya?", Darrel asked.

"We're about to reach land, be sure to get ready, for anything", May said. Darrel, understanding what she meant, nodded.

"You got it", Darrel replied. He placed the crate down and turned to the other rebels who were helping. "Alright boys, we're headin out!". As him and the other rebels all cheered and prepared, May walked towards the stairs and made her way down below deck. Once she reached the bottom, immediately several people took notice. Because of the high number of wounded and the number of rebels who wanted to help, the majority of the rebels on board were down here.

She walked past the first benches, looking at both the girl whom Wallace and Trent helped, and Ryoto; whom was asleep and still injured severely. She continued forward until she reached the end of the hall, where the majority of the people were. Once she reached the end, someone caught her attention.

"What's going on May?", someone asked. May turned to her left and looked down to see Ashley, sitting in a chair and holding her gut. Her entire stomach and chest was wrapped in bandages, but due to the fact that they were internal injuries, that was all they could do for now. Despite this, she did look better, even managing a smile.

"How are you doing Ashley?", May asked, disregarding her question for the moment.

"I've been better. Wallace did a basic check on me, I have five broken ribs, one of which possibly punctured my lung. I have trouble breathing and I need surgery when I get back to base", Ashley explained. May sighed.

"Well at least then I come with good news. We're just about to land, so hopefully you'll get your surgery sooner than expected", May said. Ashley nodded.

"Wait, we're almost at land?", someone asked. May turned around to meet Wallace's eyes looking back at her. Both of the girls saw that he was covered in blood, but still helping the rebels. May nodded.

"Yes, we'll reach it within a few minutes. Pack up everything you need and help the others off of the boat. I'm not sure what we'll do once we land, but we're going to try to make it back to base as quickly and quietly as possible", May explained. Wallace nodded.

"Understood...alright medics, listen up! We're a few minutes away from finally reaching Kanto! Grab any and all medical supplies you can and make sure to help everyone off, the most wounded first. If a rebel is willing to help, to not turn down the offer, we need all the help we can get. Those who are wounded, be careful and as soon as we get to base all medical staff will work on you ASAP!", Wallace explained. Immediately, the medics, aid, and slightly wounded PTA began to move about, collecting belongings and items and preparing to land.

Hunter, who was still sitting in his chair, (across from Ashley and a little to the left), sighed happily and grabbed his bag from his side.

"Well, it's about time, I can finally get to base, get this damn leg looked at, get better, and prepare for another Rocket ass kicking", Hunter explained. He then tried to stand, but found it difficult. He grunted in pain and leaned against the wall behind him for support.

"Are you sure you can walk on your own Hunter? Your leg is pretty messed up", Ashley asked. Hunter looked at the girls and smiled with a thumbs up.

"Oh yeah. I'm fine. I can't let a little injury like this stop me, right?", Hunter said. The girls both giggled.

"No, I guess not", May said.

"Damn straight! Now let's get this gravy train rolling! Hoorah!", Hunter exclaimed as he (slowly) made his way to the other end of the boat. May couldn't help but smile at Hunter's actions. She then turned around and held a hand out to Ashley.

"Need help?", May asked. Ashley looked up at her and nodded with a smile, clenching May's hand with her own.

"Yeah, thank you", Ashley said. May took the arm that Ashley gave her and placed it around the back of her neck while using her other hand to grab Ashley's belt for support. The two girls then made their way towards the end of the boat and up the stairs with the others. As they reached the main deck, they could see everyone getting ready, carrying with them backpacks, items, and weapons. May glanced over to the other boats while she walked with Ashley. Although it looked like there was no action going on with Ash's boat, Misty's boat was filled with movement as everyone began to prepare for docking.

May walked over towards the captain's house and looked up to Dawn, who was still steering. She then turned around to face the direction the boat was heading. By this point, land was very noticeable and they could make out the outline of the trees and valleys. The temperature had dropped slightly as well to a more moderate level; instead of the hot and humid temperature of the tropic Orange Islands.

"It's going to be about five more minutes or so before we reach land. We already left the currents so we're relying on boat power now", Dawn said, knowing that May was watching. May nodded in response.

"Right. It's good to be back here...I didn't think I would ever see Kanto again", May exclaimed. She looked at the upcoming land and reflected back to the battles and near death experiences she had while on the mission. She recalled sneaking into the base, fighting off countless Pokemon and Rockets in the basement, nearly dying in the hands of Calamity Jane, (she placed her hand over the bullet wound on her chest, feeling the pain she still had), fighting off the last of the Rockets in the main hall, and their fight to the boats.

"May?", a voice said. The voice snapped May out of her thinking and brought her back to the present. She looked to see Ashley, who was the one that spoke to her. "You alright?", Ashley asked. May nodded with a smile.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just remembering", May said. Ashley nodded.

"Yeah, I know what you mean. I can't believe everything we've been through either. It almost seems unreal", Ashley remarked. May nodded. She turned around and saw a large wooden crate that was against the wall of the captain's house, right beside the stairs. She walked the few feet to the crate and carefully placed Ashley down. She sat there, still holding her chest, but looking much better.

"Is that good for now?", May asked. Ashley nodded.

"Yes, that's good. Thank you", Ashley said.

"No problem", May replied.

"We're here!", Dawn yelled out. May and Ashley looked to the front of the boat and could see that they had in fact reached the mainland. She sighed heavily, they had made it safely. She then ran over to the side of the boat, closest to Misty's side. She yelled over.

"WE'RE HERE!", May yelled over. Not so much to let them know so much as saying it in excitement. The other all cheered or smiled. Misty, who was still driving, nodded and looked to her.

"YEAH, WE'RE HOME!", Misty yelled.

"WHAT DO WE DO NOW?", May asked. Misty thought for a moment, even she was not sure herself.

"...I DON'T KNOW EXACTLY", Misty replied. Misty then looked over to Ash's boat, hoping for an answer herself. As if he had heard them, Ash stepped outside from being in the boat and approached the side, looking first to land and then over to the other boats. "WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?", Misty asked. Ash pointed ahead of them, at the mainland.

"GARY FOUND A SMALL AREA WE CAN DOCK AND HIDE THE BOATS, SEE THAT PATCH OVER THERE?", Ash asked. Misty turned to look to the mainland. Directly ahead of them was a large cliff face that overlooked the waters. The cliff side itself was covered completely in plants that went all the way to the water below. Misty looked at it curiously.

"YES! I SEE IT!", Misty yelled.

"WHAT ABOUT IT?", Dawn asked. She had been listening in on the conversation herself.

"THERE'S ACTUALLY A SMALL AREA HIDDEN BEHIND IT! IT'S A NATURAL GROTTO WHERE WE CAN HIDE THE BOATS!", Ash explained. The girls both seemed shocked and impressed. It was the perfect spot to hide the boats. They both knew that Gary, being the Prof. that he was, knew the Geology of Kanto extremely well, it was only natural that he would know of places like this.

"SOUNDS GOOD TO ME!", Dawn yelled. Misty nodded.

"I AGREE!", Misty replied.

"ALRIGHT, WE'LL HEAD IN AT THE SAME TIME, BUT GO IN VERY SLOWLY! WE DON'T KNOW HOW DEEP OR LARGE THIS GROTTO IS, WE'RE TAKING A RISK IN HIDING HERE!", Ash ordered. The girls both nodded. They slowed their engines down to the minimum power and slowly steered their way towards this hidden grotto. Everyone remained silent now, not wanting to draw any possible attention from land. It was unlikely that there would be any Rockets near this area, but after the battle the security around the shoreline could have increased.

As the three boats reached the grotto, Ash and several other rebels from the other two boats ran to the front of the boats and began to lift the vines and leaves out of their way. They purposely did not tear them down, knowing that keeping them there would give more cover. They carefully lifted the plants as high as they could, merely trying to make it easier for the boats to pass by. Everyone watched as the vines began to inch closer to them and eventually pass by. They felt the plants go through their fingers and hair as it slid past the rebels and eventually went back to covering the entrance.

Everyone looked inside of the grotto in awe. It was just large enough to hold the three boats comfortably, although they had to be nearly pressed in to prevent any parts from sticking out past the vines. Going all the way around the cave and out to the left was something like a walkway made out of the cave itself. Years of erosion left a even level for walking. The grotto was dome shaped and just tall enough to fit the boats in. Misty realized then that had she still had her boat it would of been impossible to hide it in here.

Ash looked around the cave from where he stood, nodding to himself. He was glad that it was here and it would suit them perfectly for hiding the boats. He then walked over to the right side and looked to the girls in the other boats. Knowing that his voice would carry in the cave, he didn't yell.

"This will do perfectly, let's anchor the boats here and unpack", Ash said, his voice echoing throughout the cave. Everyone nodded. From that point on, everyone had begun to bring things off of the boats. They had anchored the boats down and made sure that they wouldn't move. Several rebels jumped off of the boat and onto the walkway that went around the cave. Once they did, they helped other rebels over or caught supplies that were tossed over to them. A wide wooden plank was placed down from each boat onto the walkway to allow larger supplies and the wounded to cross.

From Dawn's boat, several rebels, including Trent, Wallace, and May and Dawn themselves, helped the wounded over and onto the walkway. At the far left end of the walkway, all bunched together, were Ash, Brock, Tracy, Gary, and Drew. They were looking at a map of the area and deciding what they would do next.

"The grotto's actually not to far from Pallet Town, but it's still quite a walk from where we are now. And with the wounded and supplies you can double, maybe even triple the time it takes to get back", Gary explained, pointing out the locations of the grotto and Pallet Town on the map.

"We can't afford to take that long, with the array down and New Island's base nearly destroyed Team Rocket would most certainly have found out about the PTA attack. They'll have buffed up security all over the Orange Islands, and the shorelines of Kanto and Johto", Drew explained.

"Well we can't stay here much longer, a lot of people need medical attention ASAP", Tracy said.

"If we can send out say, a couple scout groups, get a good feel of the area, and have them report back, we can decide if we should stay for awhile longer or get moving", Gary suggested, pointing to possible scouting locations.

"What do you think Ash?", Brock asked. The male teens all looked at Ash, wondering what he thought of the situation.

"Hmm...try to get into contact with Prof. Oak, see how things are there and see if he knows if the Rockets did in fact buff security yet. They may know about the attack, but they might not have mobilized their troops just yet. From there, we'll see if we should move", Ash said. The teens nodded. Gary then pulled out a Pokenav and immediately began to call Prof. Oak. Suddenly, a voice called out to the teens.

"Hey, guys?", someone called out. All of the teens turned and looked to the source of the voice. From Blaine's ship, Milo could be seen looking at them. He stood just at the front of the ship. "We still have something we need to do", Milo said, pointing to the deck of the ship. Ash sighed heavily. He knew what he meant.

"Understood", Ash said to Milo. He then turned to the other boys. "We still have to move Jeremy's body", Ash explained.

"There are some bodies on the other two boats as well, from both water attacks", Tracy explained.

"We can't bring them with us. As much as I hate to say it, it would only slow us down", Drew stated. Ash nodded.

"I know...we'll have to give them a water burial", Ash decided. The teens nodded in agreement. He then turned to Gary. "Stay here and try to talk to Prof. Oak, we'll take care of the bodies", Ash said. Gary nodded and continued to work on the Pokenav. The other teens meanwhile walked past him and made their way to the boats. With the help of some willing rebels, they were able to bring up all of the deceased from below deck and carry them to the walkways. All PTA rebels stood either on the walkway or remained on the boats and watched as all of the bodies were gathered and placed just on the edge, waiting for their final resting place.

There were over a dozen bodies, some covered, others not. Eight from the attack heading towards the island, the rest on the way back, including the rebel who rode with Trent and Hunter, and Jeremy. A few bodies were so mangled and broken up from heavy machine gun fire that they were more in a pile than anything else. Everyone watched solemnly as the bodies were all placed down and Ash approached them.

"...As you all know, I'm no good at these kind of things. And unfortunately we're short on time and in possible danger, so we have to keep this short. These rebels...these friends, along with countless others, all died in the name for freedom. They gave their lives, so we could live ours free. Some of them may have been your best friend, others you probably never even shared words with. But all of them made the ultimate sacrifice for us. We must remember them always, and never forget what they did for us", Ash told the rebels. Several rebels cried, others tried hard not to. After the words were spoken, there was a long moment of silence for the fallen. Everyone looked down, remembering the friends they lost in the battle, and praying that they would rest in piece.

When all was said and done, Ash and several other rebels approached the bodies. They got on their knees, placed their hands on them, and with one push, the bodies all fell off the walkway and into the water. There was only a foot or so from the walkway to the water, so little splashing or noises occurred. Everyone watched as the bodies floated on the surface before slowly sinking to the depths of the grotto. No one knew exactly how deep the water here was, but they hoped it was deep enough.

Angel, who stood idly by for the minor ceremony, felt bad that this was all they did for their fallen allies. But she knew as well as everyone else that they could not waste too much time, otherwise more lives could be lost. She promised to pray for them all later, when they had returned home. She remained still as everyone else began to get moving, either moving supplies or aiding the wounded. She watched as they walked of sometimes even ran past her, ignoring her completely. She didn't mind, she knew that other people needed their attention more than she did.

"Angel?", someone asked. Angel snapped out of her thoughts and turned to see Gary standing over her. He held in his hands his Pokenav. "You alright?". Angel nodded with a smile.

"Yeah, I'm fine, just thinking", Angel said. Gary nodded. "Is there anything you need?"

"Yes, do you know where Ash is? I made contact with gramps", Gary said. Angel did not know that he was supposed to contact the Prof. but she nodded and turned to point towards a group of rebels.

"He's over there talking to the rebels", Angel replied. Gary looked over to where she was pointing and just barely saw Ash's hat in the group. He nodded.

"Perfect, thanks Angel...come on, let's go get him together", Gary said. Angel nodded and together the two walked over towards Ash. Just as they had reached him, he and the group of rebels he was talking to dispersed. Ash turned around, Pikachu taking his spot on his shoulder, and saw the two walking towards him.

"Did you get into contact with Prof. Oak?", Ash asked. Gary nodded, putting one hand in his pocket.

"Yes, I managed to talk to him. He said that there wasn't much going on around Pallet Town itself, but that there were more Rocket activity in the Southern Kanto area in general. If we can manage to get out of this grotto and hurry through, we should be fine. But we can't guarantee that we can move fast given the circumstances", Gary explained. Ash nodded.

"Right", Ash said. He then began to think of what to do from here. Gary and Angel stood and waited for a response from the PTA leader. A decision like this seemed small compared to others he surely made before for the PTA, but none the less, the wrong one could result in all of their deaths. It was a lot of pressure, especially since all of their leaders were here with them.

"If I can make a suggestion...", someone said. Ash and Gary both looked down to Angel. "Let me go up there and have a look around. I can search and see if anyone is around us that could possibly be a threat. I'll come back and let you know exactly what's going on. And if we're safe, we can move", Angel explained. The two boys seemed shocked and, more importantly, impressed by Angel's thinking and bravery. Ash smiled and nodded.

"Alright then Angel, if you're willing to do that, then that's what we'll do. Find a pair of binoculars and sneak up onto the hill above us. Remain hidden and get a look around the area. Whatever you see, come back and report to us about it", Ash told the young girl. Angel nodded.

"Understood sir!", Angel responded. She then made a salute to Ash and then turned around and ran off to do what Ash had said. The two boys watched as she left with smiles on their faces.

"She's come a long way in only a couple days", Gary said. Ash nodded.

"Definitely. That's the making of a great leader right there", Ash said. Angel meanwhile walked around, looking at supply crates and asking people if there were any binoculars around. Thus far, no one had any or knew where to find some. She looked and looked but could find nothing. As she peeked through a large wooden crate for a pair, someone who noticed her stopped to see what she was doing.

"Uh...you alright Angel?", someone asked. Angel popped her head out from the crate and turned around to see Mathinza standing behind her, his Pokemon Vui and Yuki by his side. Angel looked at him, and as she did, she noticed that in his hands was his sniper rifle case. Angel gasped in excitement.

"THAT'S WHAT I NEED! Mathinza, can I borrow your rifle scope?", Angel asked, pulling herself off of the crate and approaching Mathinza. He seemed confused as to why she was asking to borrow it, but regardless, opened his case and pulled out the scope from its spot.

"Sure, here", Mathinza said. He handed the scope to Angel, who held out her hands and accepted it. She smiled greatly and looked back to Mathinza.

"Thanks Mathinza!", Angel said with a cheery smile. Mathinza looked at her and smiled back. He looked at the young girl and then suddenly, an image crossed his mind, the image of another young girl. One who reminded him of Angel.

"_Thanks Matthew!_", this girl said. The image suddenly disappeared, replaced once again by Angel. Mathinza looked at her now with shock in his eyes. Angel however seemed confused.

"Uhm...Mathinza? Are you ok?", Angel asked. Mathinza, hearing Angel, shook off the weird feeling and nodded.

"Yeah...yeah, I'm fine. What do you need the scope for anyway?", Mathinza asked.

"I'm going to scout the area above and see what's going on. If we're safe, then we're going to move on to base", Angel explained. Mathinza nodded in understanding.

"I see. Alright then, stay safe, and if you need any help, just run down here alright?", Mathinza said. Angel nodded.

"I will, thanks again!", Angel said. She then ran off, down the rocky walkway and towards the end of the grotto. Mathinza stood there, watching her leave, but not thinking about her in the least, but instead of the young girl who crossed her mind. He sighed. From below, Vui and Yuki watched their trainer in sadness. They both knew what he was going through. They both walked to his legs and pressed their bodies against them. Mathinza looked down and smiled, petting his two Pokemon.

"Thanks guys, I'm alright, I promise", Mathinza said. It seemed to make the Pokemon feel better, but Mathinza knew that he was lying. He wouldn't feel better anytime soon.

Not after what he went through.

Angel reached the end of the grotto and stopped. Her heart pounded in her chest. Not as bad as it had earlier, but enough so for her to notice. She knew that this time she would be alone. And that she could easily be spotted and taken away. But she knew what she had to do if that happened. She couldn't lead any Rockets inside of the grotto. She had to keep the others safe. If she was going to get captured, she couldn't say anything to them.

She took in a deep breath and then stepped out from the grotto. She moved a few vines that covered her way out and found herself back outside. The breeze was light and the sun bright. The walkway that was once stone was replaced with grass. She looked around, wondering if anyone could see her from there, not likely. The ocean took up most of the area in front of her, and there wasn't a boat in sight. She turned around and looked up the hill, nothing. After seeing that she was safe, she began to walk up the hill. She did it slowly, unsure if there were lookouts in the area. When she reached the top of the hill, she laid down on the grassy hill and began to look around.

She could easily make out the grassy plains that she knew surrounded the area. Most of the area around Pallet Town were nothing but hills and grass. Which only helped her in looking for possible danger. There were a few trees scattered around, and a dirt road that went around the hills and towards an unknown destination. As she looked around, she turned to the bottom of the hill and spotted something that caused her heart to sink in her chest.

Underneath a tree that stood at the bottom of the hill, raking leaves that fell from it, was a stranger. He looked older, probably in his forties and had a black bushy mustache. He wore jean overalls over a orange shirt and had on his head a light brown farmer's hat. He wore work gloves and raked leaves into a pile under the tree. He probably owned the land in the area.

She didn't think that this stranger was a Rocket undercover, he seemed to old for the job; and from what she could see, he looked peaceful, not worn from war. But that didn't mean that he wouldn't notify any Rockets of her location if he spotted her. More times than not people were afraid of going against Rockets. Some would rat out their innocent neighbors just to get on their good side. Others merely feared that if they did not report anything suspicious it would result in their deaths; something not unheard of in recent years.

Suddenly, as she watched the man tend to his field, he turned around and looked in her direction. Angel panicked, and could find nothing else to do but lower her head and cover it, hoping for the best. She could have no possible way of running without being spotted and she had no cover. Her only advantages were her small stature and her elevation on the hill. She kept her head covered and closed her eyes tight, thinking that this would somehow make it harder for her to be spotted. She remained still, not even breathing in effort to keep herself hidden.

She could hear a noise, though she was unable to determine what this noise was. Could it be merely the wind picking up, or was it the stranger coming up to her. She wasn't sure, but was afraid to lift her head to find out. Angel remained there for a minute or two until finally curiosity got the better of her and she lifted her head just slightly...only to see a pair of brown boots before her.

She looked up and saw the stranger standing over her, looking more quizzical than anything. Angel panicked, jumped back with a yelp, and immediately pulled out her knife that Evan had given to her earlier, along with her pistol. She aimed the gun at the stranger and kept the blade close to her, but positioned so that she could strike if need be. The stranger's eyes grew wide in shock and he held his hands up in worry.

"Woah! Woah! What is a young girl like you doing with weapons like that? You're not a Rocket are you?", the stranger asked, now filled with fear and panic. He held his rake up in a defensive position, although it would do little to nothing to protect him. Angel looked at him, now realizing that he was not involved in any way with Team Rocket. He was as scared as she was. She shook her head, but kept her weapons aimed.

"No, I'm with the PTA", Angel replied. The stranger, upon hearing this, sighed heavily with relief and relaxed.

"Oh thank god, you had me worried there. I thought you were gonna shoot me down, I've had my fair share of Rocket run ins, I'm lucky to still be alive", the stranger said. Angel relaxed herself, placing her weapons away. As she did, she looked back to the older man.

"So you're not going to report me to any Rockets?", Angel asked. The gentleman shook his head with a smile.

"Oh no my dear. I wouldn't turn in someone who is fighting for our freedom, especially a child such as yourself. You remind me of my daughter when she was younger", the gentleman said with a warming smile. Angel smiled back herself, he reminded her of her own father. "She's older now, working in Cerulean City with her fiance, god bless her. I'm glad she's safe there at least...but now what about you? Why is such a young sweet girl like you out here with weapons like that?".

"Well...I have a feeling I can trust you, so I'll explain. The PTA are hiding right below us, in a hidden grotto. I was sent up here to scout the area to see if it was safe to move back to base", Angel explained. The stranger seemed shocked, not realizing the situation was going on.

"My goodness! That's a lot for someone to take in all at once! Wait...so it was _you _who did that attack wasn't it? When I was in town I had heard that a group of rebels attacked New Island, but the details were little, Team Rocket makes sure to hide as much of the truth as possible", the man explained. Angel nodded.

"Yes, that was us. I can't give you details on the attack, but it was a heavy blow on Team Rocket", Angel explained. The old man smiled.

"Good, that much closer to peace then", the gentleman said. "So you're trying to return to base huh?".

"Yes, I think it would be for the best that I don't tell you where it is, but we need to get there as soon as possible", Angel explained. The gentleman nodded.

"Right, probably is for the best. How many of there are you exactly?", the gentleman asked. Angel thought for a moment.

"Hmm, I'm not sure, probably close to forty, although we had a lot more earlier", Angel said solemnly.

"Oh dear. If there were just a couple of you I would take you to the closest town myself, but that's far to many people for me to travel with", the gentleman said.

"I understand, thank you for the offer though", Angel said.

"Well, the least I can do is hide you if anyone comes. If you see someone coming, run down to me, I'll give you cover", the gentleman said. "I've been working out here for a couple hours on these hills and haven't seen or heard from anyone else, but the Rockets are definitely traveling the area". Angel nodded.

"Ok, thank you so much sir", Angel said, taking a bow of gratitude. The gentleman tipped his hat is reply.

"Of course. Just do me a favor will you? Stay safe. Something big like a war is no place for a young girl such as yourself. You're very brave for doing what you're doing, but be careful; your parents are probably worried sick", the gentleman said. Angel nodded.

"Thank you, and you're right...they probably are", Angel said, not feeling like going into detail about her parents. And with that, the man made his way down the hill, back to his leaf pile. Angel sighed once again in relief, she was glad that there were a few good people out there who had support for the PTA and weren't scared of Team Rocket. After she saw that the man went back to raking, she laid back down on the hill, pulled out Mathinza's scope, and began to look through it.

She was unfamiliar with how a sniper rifle's scope worked, Evan had not taught her how in their training. But it was in good enough settings where it didn't need to be tampered with. She looked across hills and into distant valleys, seeing if there was anything out of the ordinary. All she could see was grass, a tree or two, and once in awhile a Pokemon either flying by or grazing on the grassy hills. Angel turned around to the other direction to look. The dirt road followed the cliff side by the ocean and went around in a large loop before once again going to the hills and in the distance. From here, it was much easier to see due to the hills being smaller in size.

After seeing that there was absolutely nothing in the distance, she once again turned around, back to her first position, and looked through her scope. She looked around for a minute or so and sighed. It appeared that there was no one in the area, (with the exception of the gentleman below), who could possibly attack them or report their location. She decided then that the area was safe and the PTA could move out. She took one final look through the scope, saw nothing, and stood up. She brushed off her wet, torn, bloody, and messy sundress and turned around to head back to the grotto. As she did, she casually looked off to the right of her, where she had just looked.

In doing so, something small caught her eye. She stopped where she was and squinted her eyes to get a better look. Whatever it was, it moved quickly out of view due to the hills. Angel pulled out the scope and looked back in the area where it moved. She looked and saw a length of the dirt road that went through the low point of two opposite facing hills.

And it was here that she saw four large vans coming at great speed, down the road and to her location.

**It appears that there is more trouble heading their way! How will Angel be able to handle this situation? I know, I never seem to give these PTA a break! Well I hoped you all liked the update and be sure to F.A.R.! I notice that some dedicated readers have not received alerts from the chapter updates. I don't know if this is internet troubles, or if they some how came off the alert list, or if somehow my story no longer sends out alerts. So if this is the case, please be sure to check in frequently to see if the latest chapter is up! I have also had the fortunate honor of being able to talk to my good friend _Bittersweet Romanticide _once again, after not having any contact with her since I started "R'. I was glad to hear from her and to hear that her life is going very well. :) Also, as a irrelevant note, what do you people think about the recent Baseball games going on here huh? Lot of drama going on with the playoffs on the way! Luckily my Yankees made the playoffs awhile ago. I'm also looking forward to this weekend's football games. My "picks" have been going well in terms of wins and upsets, thanks to my Giants. Well, with that, I'll send my goodbyes. Be sure to F.A.R., and I hope to hear from you all again soon!**

**sincerely,  
evan, a fan of aaml -EVAN AAML **


	42. Chapter 42

**Brrrr! It's getting cold here in New York! As I type this A.N., I look directly across from me out the large lakeside windows and see a rainstorm coming from across the lake, and with the wind and cold temperatures already here...well, let's just say I'm glad I'm inside. Of course, I had to go outside to pull two docks out of the water, needless to say I lost feeling in my body soon afterwards. Oh well, at least it means Fall is coming and soon it'll be beautiful out here! I love this type of season, the pumpkins, apples, cider, cornstalk, and football BBQs; leaves that explode in colors, wearing hoodies and sweaters, etc. I love it all! But enough of my mind wondering about for the upcoming season, let's see what happens to Angel now!**

**-EVAN AAML**

She looked through the scope, which was now shaking in her hands from fear. Every time she turned her back, more Rockets were arriving. It seemed like they would never stop. Would it ever be possible for her and her friends to make it home alive? She put the scope away in a hurry and tried to think of what to do. Her first instinct would be to run to the others, but she already knew she couldn't risk it. It was unlikely that they would see her, but she couldn't take the risk, not if it involved the Rockets finding all of them.

She already knew that laying down on the hill would not work either. If the gentleman at the bottom of the hill was able to find her so easily, then the Rockets could just as easily.

Wait...of course!

Angel turned and looked down the hill. The gentleman was still raking the leaves, although the pile now was much bigger than before. It seemed that he did not notice nor hear the vans that were on the way. The worried young girl looked to the vans for a moment, seeing that their view was blocked by a hill at the moment, and then made a bolt down the hill. She ran as fast as she could, knowing she would only have a few seconds before the vans would be able to see her again. As she ran, she nearly tripped and had to try to maintain her balance all the way down the hill.

The gentleman, hearing the pounding footsteps, turned around and saw Angel rushing to him. His expression turned from confusion to worry.

"What is it my dear?", the gentleman asked, knowing from Angel's worried and feared expression that something was wrong.

"ROCKETS ARE COMING!", Angel yelled in fear. The gentleman's face seemed to lose all of it's color as he thought of what to do. His large dark blue truck was parked right on the side of the dirt road, and it would be very easy for her to hide in it. But he knew that the truck would be searched entirely by any Rockets that came by to question him. He looked around, thinking of what to do, and then found something.

"Quick! Hide in the leaf pile! The Rockets wouldn't think to look in it!", the gentleman said. Angel looked at the pile beside them. The leaves were all brown, red, orange, and yellow. Although the leaves only came from this one tree, there were plenty there to hide her body. She then looked back to the gentleman.

"But what about you? What are you going to do?", Angel asked, worried for the older man.

"Don't worry about me. I've dealt with Rockets before, I can handle myself with them", the gentleman said. He then glanced back to see if the vehicles were coming. He did not see them. "Now get in, now!". Angel was still worried for the gentleman, but did as she was told. Quickly, she dove into the leaf pile, making sure to cover up as much of herself as possible. She turned herself so that she would be facing the gentleman, though she could not see him. She did however hear him move more leaves onto the pile, making sure that she was entirely covered.

She was glad that this stranger, whom she had just met, was so willing to help her hide from Rockets. seven out of ten people would not aid anyone in anyway if it meant angering Rockets, and two of the remaining three would turn in whoever asked for help, whether out of fear or actual support of the Rockets. Angel thought of this and thought of this, and then it suddenly hit her.

Had she made a mistake in trusting him?

It was true that he was nice to her, and he did hide her instead of immediately running off and reporting her and the others. But could this all have been an act? She personally had not heard of anyone act this way, but certainly it has happened. Perhaps this gentleman, although maybe not a Rocket himself, helped them by turning in PTA. And she had foolishly told him where the others were!

She cursed herself for being so stupid, and immediately thought of killing the "gentleman" now to avoid the trouble. But it was too late. She heard the sound of the vans coming down the dirt road. They were close now. Surely they could see the man from where they were. If she came out now she could easily kill the man but it would mean nothing, she herself would be caught, and that could possibly lead to the capture of the others. All she could do now was wait and pray. Pray that perhaps she was wrong, and the gentleman was in fact merely trying to help.

But given her luck so far today, she doubted it.

She heard the four vans pull up, they had reached the tree and the man. The engines did not die, so they did not plan to stay long. She then heard the sound of a door opening. It wasn't a sliding sound, so it must of been a driver in one of the vans. They were probably trying to avoid having to deploy their Rockets every time they stopped. She then heard the gentleman's voice.

"I wasn't expecting you!", the gentleman said, surprised. This proved it, the man was in fact helping the Rockets! Angel felt like her heart would explode in her, from fear of dying and not saving her friends or parents, anger at herself and the gentleman, and worry that peace would never be found. She could not hear the sound of the other man's voice. The noise of the vans was too loud. They were older vans that coughed nearly every second. The only reason why she was able to hear the gentleman was because he was so close.

But soon his voice even seemed to disappear. He must of pointed to her location, so as to avoid a struggle. Angel panicked, knowing that she could be shot up any second. No, they wouldn't risk it, not if they wanted information.

It was then that this theory was proven right.

Suddenly, she felt someone grab her arm and pull her out of the leaves. The leaves clung to her body, including her face. She was unable to see, but struggled in the arms of the person who pulled her out. She tried to reach for her gun, but could not reach it.

"Hey, hey! Calm down! It's safe! You're safe!", a voice told her. She recognized it as the gentleman's voice. Confused, she relaxed herself and stopped struggling. Angel pulled the leaves off of her body and face and turned to see the gentleman by her side, with a smile on his face. "Thought you were being grabbed by a Rocket huh? Well you won't have to worry about that now. Someone here came looking for you!". Angel turned her head and looked in front of her, only to have her eyes meet another pair, a pair of older, gentle eyes.

The eyes of Prof. Oak.

"PROFESSOR!", Angel yelled in shock and excitement. She immediately pulled herself free from the gentleman's grip and ran into the Prof. for a hug. He gasped in shocked and even got the breath taken out of him from the tackle, but merely chuckled in response.

"Yes, yes. It's great to see you too my dear!", Prof. Oak said. Angel looked up to meet his eyes once again, but did not release her grip.

"But, what are you doing here? How did you know to come here?", Angel asked. She released Prof. Oak as he began to explain.

"Well obviously we were all waiting for you all to return, but we became anxious. When Gary sent me a call, he explained to me where you all were. I knew that although the Rockets had not searched the area too well, it was still too risky for you all to come to us, so I came to you! Who do you think was the one who taught Gary about the Geography of the area hmm?", Prof. Oak said with a chuckle to himself. Angel giggled back. "So I took my old transport vans and a few willing aids of mine and we came down here to look for you. It'll be faster and quicker if we bring you back to the base ourselves".

"That's great! Thank you Professor!", Angel said. Prof. Oak nodded back in response.

"Well we wouldn't of been able to find you if we hadn't stopped to ask Geoff here", Prof. Oak explained. Angel turned around to look at the gentleman. So Geoff was his name. Geoff merely smiled back at the girl.

"Prof. Oak made a point of knowing everyone in and around Pallet Town, he visited the farms out here often for research or supplies", Geoff explained.

"Thank you...so much Geoff. I owe you my life", Angel said. Geoff smiled more.

"No worries my dear. Like I said, you remind me of my daughter", Geoff said. Angel smiled, bowed to him in thanks, and then turned back to the Prof.

"The others are hiding in a grotto right under this hill here. We need to get them back to base as soon as possible! A lot of people are wounded!", Angel explained. Prof. Oak's expression changed back to his usual serious tone. He nodded.

"Right! Show me where my dear. We'll get them in the vans as soon as possible. It'll be a tight fit, but we should get you all there safely", Prof. Oak said. Angel nodded and motioned with her hand.

"This way!", Angel said. She then ran up the hill, as quickly as she could. She knew that Prof. Oak would have a lot more trouble running up than she did, but she did not stop to wait for him. Time was of the essence. She made it to the top of the hill, but did not stop. She made her way down the other end and hurried to where the Grotto entrance was. When she reached it, she stopped only to catch her breath. As she bent over and gasped, she turned back and looked up the hill. Prof. Oak had just begun his way down the hill. She was surprised, for a elderly man, he had a lot of energy and strength.

Seeing that he was on his way, she made her way into the grotto. She side stepped onto the walkway, moving the vines out of her way. As soon as she did, she was immediately greeted by Ash, Gary, Brian, and Aleksi. They were all standing guard at the entrance of the walkway. The four teens looked at her in shock and worry.

"Angel! Are you alright? You look tired!", Aleksi said. Ash quickly made his way to her side.

"What is it Angel? Are Rockets coming?", Ash asked. Angel shook her head, now smiling.

"No, much better! Prof. Oak is here!", Angel said. The four teens immediately gasped in shock.

"Prof. Oak/Gramps?", the four teens said in unison. As if on cue, Prof. Oak walked past the vines and met the shocked teens and young Angel. He smiled greatly upon seeing their faces.

"Oh thank goodness you're all alright!", Prof. Oak said relieved. The teens themselves sighed as well.

"We're glad to see that you're alright too Prof. How did you find us?", Ash asked.

"There will be enough time for explanations later Ash, right now we need to get your group out here as soon as possible! It was a safe ride here, but I can't make that same guarantee for the way back!", Prof. Oak explained. Ash nodded in agreement.

"Right! You have a ride for all of us?", Ash asked. Prof. Oak nodded.

"Yes, I have four vans outside waiting for us. It will be tight, but you all should fit according to Gary's number count", Prof. Oak answered.

"Great, alright guys, let's get everyone moving!", Ash said, turning to the others. They all nodded in agreement. Aleksi, Brian, and Angel turned and ran down the walkway, preparing to alert the others and get them moving. Ash and Gary meanwhile stayed with the Professor, whom began to leave the grotto and head back to the vans.

"It's great to see you Gramps, you have no idea!", Gary said. Prof. Oak nodded.

"And it's great to see you Gary! You have no idea how worried I was over you! When your sister found out what you were doing she became brutal! I swear she could of killed me through that monitor she was so furious", Prof. Oak said with a joking manner.

"And my mom? Is she alright Prof.?", Ash asked. Prof. Oak nodded.

"Yes my boy, Delia is fine. She was worried sick for you of course, but handled herself well. Although you guys really weren't gone for long, not even twenty four hours. What happened down there?", Prof. Oak asked.

"Like you said earlier, they'll be time for explanations later", Ash said.

"Fair enough. Let's just make sure we can have a "later"", Prof. Oak said. The three men made their way over the hill and back over towards the vans, where Prof. Oak's aides remained in their driver's seats and where Geoff remained waiting for them.

"Glad to see that the young girl wasn't alone!", Geoff said. Ash and Gary nodded.

"No, we wouldn't leave her alone in this. You must be a local around here?", Ash asked. Geoff nodded.

"Yes, I own the land, I just so happen to run into the young girl while she was scouting. Your location is safe with me", Geoff said. Ash nodded.

"Thank you! You greatly helped the PTA today!", Ash said. Geoff nodded.

"Anything for the rebel group!", Geoff said. Ash and Gary turned around to see if the others were coming. With perfect timing, the PTA began making their way from the peak to the vans. As quickly as they could, the rebels made their way over, carrying their gear and weapons, supplies, and injured rebels. As soon as they reached the bottom, the aides left their vehicles and opened the doors, helping the rebels in quickly and efficiently.

One by one the rebels squeezed into the four vans. Some were helped in because they could not move well, others got in themselves. Because of the lack of space, some people and even some equipment had to sit on other people's laps. Ash watched as his rebel force slowly but surely made their way into the vans.

"I'm glad that now we won't have to walk all the way back to base", Ash said. Gary nodded.

"Right, these old clunkers haven't been used a lot since the Rocket takeover, nice to see their getting some worth in now", Gary added.

"However, there is a drawback", Prof. Oak said. The two boys looked at him. They guessed at what the drawback was, but wanted to hear if it was correct. "Although we were all able to get here together, we're not going to be able to leave together. We could probably succeed, but we can't take the risk. Sending four large vans out at the same time one after another would certainly draw attention of the worst kind. And we cannot afford to lose you all".

"Right, so how are we going to do this? One at a time, five minutes apart?", Ash asked.

"I think we should time it out even farther than that, possibly even an hour", Prof. Oak said.

"An hour? We can't do an hour! There are sick and dying people that need medical help!", Ash said.

"An hour apart could potentially kill those who don't leave first Gramps", Gary added in.

"I know it's a risk, but the Rockets are getting closer and closer. They haven't begun to search vehicles, as their more preoccupied with boats and shore houses, but who knows when they'll start. We can't afford to give them an excuse to search", Prof. Oak explained. Ash and Gary thought it over for a bit. An hour was simply too much time, but what Prof. Oak had said made perfect sense. So they made a compromise.

"Fine, we'll leave half an hour apart, how is that? Two hours for the longest wait, instead of four", Ash said. Prof. Oak nodded.

"Agreed. Be sure to send the most injured in the front", Prof. Oak said, now directing his attention to his aides. He walked off to help them. Gary then turned to Ash.

"So what are you going to do?", Gary asked.

"I'm staying with the last van, I'll see to it that the people who wait the longest get home safely", Ash said. Gary nodded, placing a hand in his pocket once again.

"I thought as much. I might as well stay with the third van, no point in me taking up space when others need it more", Gary said. The two teens watched as the rebels piled into the four vans. They remained quiet as they hurried in. "Seems odd doesn't it?", Gary said.

"What?", Ash asked.

"Going home. It just feels weird. This wasn't our longest mission by far. I remember people going on missions that lasted a week, maybe two. But this was the biggest. And after everything we've been through as a group...it feels weird to finally go home after it", Gary explained. Ash nodded.

"I agree. But. it's a good weird", Ash said with a smile. Gary nodded. There was a short pause until Gary spoke up again.

"So then...how long will it be until we have to attack Viridian?", Gary asked. Ash's smile disappeared.

"...I don't know. Had we merely taken communications down then Team Rocket could of had it back up and running in a matter of hours, less even if we never killed a single Rocket. But we completely destroyed that base, array and all. They'll hurry with repairs and construction, but even a massive work force wouldn't be able to get that base up and running again for at least a month. And as far as intel can pick up, they don't have a backup. So within that time frame", Ash explained. Gary nodded.

"Hopefully by then everyone will be fixed up...physically _and _mentally", Gary said. Meanwhile, Prof. Oak began to converse with the people who were sitting in the first van. He was explaining to them how they would all be leaving.

"So that's how it's going to be alright?", Prof. Oak asked. The people in the first van nodded in agreement. Most of them were far too injured to even give a proper response. In the van was Ryoto, who was propped up against the side of the van, sitting on a bench that went along the entire inside of the van, (save for the back doors). Wallace was also in this van, tending to the injured; he sat right beside Ryoto. Ashley sat against the wall as well, opposite Ryoto and towards the end of the van. She was feeling better, but still needed surgery immediately. Now she was resting.

It was at this time that Brock entered the van from the side door. He made his way through and sat against on the bench just by the driver's seat. Wallace looked over to him.

"How are you feeling Brock?", Wallace asked as he looked at a syringe in his hand. He flicked the syringe and nodded to himself before preparing to inject something into Ryoto.

"My arm is pretty bad. I know my limitations. I'll need this checked out when I get back. But don't worry about me, I can do it myself", Brock said. Wallace glanced over to him and then nodded. He was aware that Brock had medical experience himself, so he could trust his judgment. He then brought his attention back to Ryoto. He injected a liquid into his arm and waited for a response, but got none. Wallace shrugged.

"Huh, you have a pretty good tolerance for pain don't you?", Wallace asked. The liquid was not supposed to hurt a lot, but most often people would react to it painfully, mostly from the large needle. Ryoto was still in too much pain to react much, he couldn't even keep his eyes open. But he did respond.

"Mph...Rockets are trained...for pain resistance", Ryoto explained.

"Well that works good in your favor. I gave you a minor morphine, it should relax you for a bit until we get to base...how's everyone else?", Wallace asked, referring to the other rebels. The ones who could respond did so with a typical "I'm fine", "Could be better", or "Good". He nodded accordingly to them all. Just then, the back doors swung open, and in came a couple more rebels, including Sawyer. She sat on the end seat on the right hand side and smiled to someone outside of the van. It was then that Nick stepped into view and looked at her with concern.

"Are you sure you'll be alright? I can come with you if you need me", Nick said. Sawyer couldn't help but smile at him. He was so kind and sincere to her, despite being a bit rough to others.

"Yes, I'll be fine sweetie, I promise. I was told to get in the first van for a heart check up", Sawyer explained. She then leaned forward and gave Nick a soft kiss on the lips, which Nick was more than happy enough to return. After a few seconds, she pulled back and looked into his eyes. "I'll see you soon...I promise", Sawyer said. Nick nodded. He checked to see that everyone was in, and then closed the back doors. Sawyer kept smiling to herself, and then turned around to see the people in the van. Although some people were too preoccupied with their own injuries to take notice, others, (like Brock and Ashley), looked at Sawyer with smiles on their faces. Sawyer blushed immensely, which luckily was well hidden in the darkness of the van.

"We're happy for you Sawyer. It's good that you have someone like Nick", Brock said. Sawyer smiled to him.

"Thank you Brock", Sawyer said. Brock nodded back. He then smirked.

"I hope he's a good cook, because I have a feeling that he's going to be doing it a lot now with us", Brock joked. Sawyer and him, (along with a few people who were listening in), all laughed. Suddenly, May popped her head in through the side door and looked around.

"Is everyone doing alright?", May asked. Everyone responded the same way they did to Wallace. She then brought her attention to Brock. "How much more room is there in here you think?". Brock looked through the van. Even the floor was taken up by rebels and supplies. Although only a couple people had someone or something on their laps.

"Well, we could probably fit in a few more people", Brock said. May nodded.

"Alright. Drew is making me come in this van", May said. Wallace nodded in agreement, now bringing his full attention to him, (Ryoto was now passed out in his seat).

"And I agree. You have been through a lot, Sawyer, you too. I'm glad you're both in here because you need medical attention", Wallace said. May nodded. She got into the van and squeezed in next to Brock and another rebel who was closest to the door. Angel and Aleksi then reached the door, Angel however seemed to be arguing with Aleksi.

"But Aleksi, I should stay and wait for the others to leave!", Angel said. It was much like a little girl complaining to her older sister, which brought smiles to the faces of the rebels in the van. Aleksi shook her head.

"No, I'm sorry, but you need your rest and you need it soon. You have a concussion Angel, not to mention a lot of cuts and scraps from that explosion. The others will be fine, I'll see to it. Now get in", Aleksi said. Angel huffed in annoyance and climbed into the van.

"Fiiiiine!", Angel said. Aleksi watched as she crawled into the van and sat on the floor, her arms crossed. Aleksi smiled to herself and was about to turn around, before she suddenly felt someone gently usher her into the van. In annoyance and confusion, she tried to see what was happening.

"And _you're _going to be checked up too!", the person doing the ushering said. Aleksi immediately recognized the voice.

"Evan! What are you doing?", Aleksi asked somewhat annoyed. Evan leaned over so that his face was right beside Aleksi's. The proximity was close, which caused Aleksi to feel slightly nervous, but she ignored it as best she could.

"Don't think I didn't see your arm earlier! I know you've been through a lot, and you need medical attention yourself! I'm fine, so I'll be the one to wait for the others. You can get in too and give Angel some company", Evan said. Aleksi was annoyed that Evan would be doing this to her.

"Evan! I'm fine, I don't need medical attention!", Aleksi said. But this arguing was for nothing. Evan made her get into the van and covered the door so as she couldn't get out.

"I'll see you later Aleksi! Have fun!", Evan said. Before he left, he turned to Angel and gave a wink before pulling out and closing the van door. Aleksi looked at the door in shock, and then annoyance. She crossed her arms much like Angel and sat on the floor in anger.

"Hmph!", Aleksi mumbled. Angel smirked.

"Not so fun when it happens to you is it?", Angel asked. Aleksi playfully punched Angel in the arm. "Ow!", Angel responded back. The rebels in the van all broke into laughter. After the small fit of joy for the young adults and teens, the driver door opened and in stepped a young man to sit in the driver's seat. He wore a white lab coat with a light brown shirt underneath it and a dark brown pair of pants. His hair was short and brown and his blue eyes were covered with a pair of small glasses. As he tried to place his seat belt on, he turned and looked back to the rebels.

"Are you guys all set back there?", the aide asked. Brock looked to him.

"Yes, we're all set", Brock replied. The aide nodded.

"Good. It's going to be a bumpy ride! I'm going to get you back to base as quickly as I can", the aide explained. The rebels all understood. He started the engine up and the van roared to life. The rebels, (who were conscious), all prepared themselves and before they knew it they were off. As to be expected on a dirt road, it was a bit bumpy, but not so much where everyone was uncomfortable. Although they tried to use this time to relax and rest, it was hard to with the possibility of Rocket patrols stopping them. It would not take much for them to get stopped, and if they were spotted, the Rockets would shoot them all on sight.

So in other words, nothing out of the ordinary.

As the van made it's way around and over the hills, the rebels all tried to stir up conversation. Some slept, others tried to sleep. There were only two medical personnel on the van so they tried to do what they could for the injured. Ashley, who was sitting on her bench and resting the back of her head against the side of the van's inner wall, looked as the other medical rebel, (apart from Wallace), worked on checking the heart rate of another rebel sitting across from her. Ashley smiled.

"Hey, I know you", Ashley said. The medic looked up to her, but kept counting in her head the heart rate. "You're the medic who had to deal with Hunter...I'm sorry". She then laughed to herself. The female medic also laughed, now finishing her counting and giving the rebel she was working on a reassuring pat on the shoulder.

"Yep, that was me. I know, I was a lucky girl", the female said. She wore a white medic shirt, but unlike Wallace's shirt, (which was his own attire), this was typical uniform for PTA medics; much like how the black pants, shirts, and hooded jackets were for PTA fighters. She also wore dark blue jeans, red and blue sneakers, and under her white shirt a dark purple shirt. She had dark brown hair that went down to her upper arm and a simple white head band on top of her head to hold it back.

"How did you manage that? I mean, to have the patience to deal with not only him, but everyone else? It must be hard to be a medic!", Ashley said. The medic nodded.

"It can be difficult at times, but I love helping people, and the look on the faces of those I help, when they see that they're being cared for...it's worth it in the end", the girl said, reflecting on the feeling. There was a slight moment's pause before she smiled. "Of course, once in awhile you have to deal with people like Hunter". The two girls both shared a laugh.

"So then, what's your name?", Ashley asked. The female medic looked at her with a smile.

"My name's Catie", the medic said. Hearing this from the other side of the van, Wallace turned to Ashley.

"She's one of our newest medic recruits. She still has a lot to learn", Wallace joked. Catie turned to Wallace and stuck her tongue out at him. This resulted in a few fits of giggles from not only them, but a few other rebels as well. Sawyer, being one of the ones who laughed, leaned over closer to Catie.

"Don't worry sweetie, I'm sure you'll learn everything you can soon enough", Sawyer said. Catie smiled.

"Thank you Sawyer, I appreciate that!", Catie said. Sawyer seemed slightly taken aback.

"You know my name?", Sawyer said surprised. Not that she was complaining, she loved that someone knew her. But given the large number of rebels in the Pallet Town base, let alone the entire PTA, it was rare to be known by a large number of people.

"Yes! I try to get to know everyone and anyone I can, even if I don't meet them. It's just how I am. Plus...(cough), I'm a pretty big fan...of your baking", Catie said with a blush. This resulted in a loud fit of laughter from Brock. He knew exactly what it was like to have someone love you for your cooking. Sawyer blushed slightly from the compliment and giggled.

"Well thank you! It's always nice to meet a fan!", Sawyer said. The three girls then all laughed together. Suddenly, there was a gasp from the center of the van. The girls all looked over to see Angel, who was looking at them with a expression of shock and remembrance. The girls looked at her with a hint of worry. "What is it Angel?", Sawyer asked.

"I completely forgot!...I still haven't eaten that cake you made me!", Angel realized. This comment caused not only the three girls to laugh, but the entire inside of the van. A couple of people even got teary eyed from laughter. It was the first real feeling of peace and happiness they've felt all day; though it felt like years since they last laughed. May leaned over closer to Brock with a smile and whispered.

"You know, I'm glad to see everyone smiling and laughing like this again. It's been awhile", May whispered. Brock nodded with a smile.

"Yeah. I agree. It's good for them to have moments like these. It's these things that they're all fighting for after all", Brock said. The two region leaders watched as Aleksi wrapped her arms around Angel's neck and played with her, arguing over the cake that "she better share".

"They really deserve it. All of them. They all fought hard, did what they could when they could do it", May said.

"It's people like them that are going to make a difference in the world when we finally gain peace and freedom. They'll be the heroes that people will sing songs about", Brock stated. May nodded.

"True. But it's more than that. They're all...a family. The PTA in general, that's what we really are. Not a group of Pokemon trainer fighters, but a family, all working towards the same goal for the same people. Even after the war, when all is said and done, they'll still be a family", May explained. Brock nodded.

"You're absolutely right...we just have to make sure that it stays a big family", Brock said with a more serious expression. May nodded in agreement. They had already lost a large number of their family today, they didn't want to lose anymore. Suddenly, after a few more bumps and turns, the van stopped moving altogether. Everyone in the van stopped moving and talking entirely. They looked cautiously at each other, all of them having the same thought crossing their minds. A few of the rebels who were awake and not entirely incapable grabbed a gun or Pokeball and prepared themselves. Brock, May, and several other rebels all turned around and looked at the aide with worry. "What's the matter? Why did we stop?", Brock asked. The aide turned his head and looked at the rebels. He saw their serious expression and seemed somewhat confused, but then understood why they were acting this way.

"We stopped because...we're home", the aide said.

**Aha! Bet you weren't expecting THAT were you? Expecting Rockets to find them and it turns out to be the help they needed. And then even at the end I make it look bad for them. WHAT A TWIST! ;) But, I figured I would have some nice things happen to the PTA, after all, they do deserve it. Of course, there's only one van that made it home so far, remember that! MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!...cough. Well, I hope you liked the chapter update, especially so soon! I worked hard on this one, and was heavily distracted in writing down important details about the OCs, both of my own creation and of the other authors. Well as a side note, I would like to send a special "Congratulations" to 60 Minutes writer Andy Roony, who officially left the show today after over 30 years. As a fellow writer, we should all honor him for his work and for entertaining millions of people for so long. Way to go Mr. Roony! You inspire us all! :) And a Happy October to all of you! As stated earlier, I love this kind of season, and hope you all will too! **

**sincerely,  
evan, a fan of aaml**

**P.S.- As a special note, I thought I should let you all know that next month I will FINALLY start updating "Christmas The Sequel" again! (chorus of "Hallelujah" in background). I know, shocking and amazing. I intend to finish the story this year and hopefully it will be a great ending to a story I held off for a year. Now I know it's been awhile, so I suggest that you all re-read the story before you read the next updated chapter, I know I'll have to! 0_o But this won't be for another month still, so you have plenty of time. **

**-EVAN AAML **


	43. Chapter 43

**Welcome back everyone! Not really much to put in for a Author's Note for this chapter, all for the better probably, you all want to read the story, not hear me rant about my life! XD So then, let's get right into it! Please enjoy!**

**-EVAN AAML**

Everyone remained still and kept their eyes on the aide. None of them dared to move or speak, as if they were afraid that this was a dream, and that if they moved they would wake up and return to the nightmare that is war. If this was in fact a dream, none of them wanted to wake up. Just the idea of finally being home made them want to cry. The aide, although he did not know what exactly they had been through, understood how they felt and smiled.

"So...we're finally back?", Brock asked. Although he was trying hard to be a good leader, he himself was finding it hard to not scream in joy over their return. Like anyone else, he was just a innocent person who was thrown into war and wanted it to end. The aide nodded.

"Yes...you're home", the aide said. He opened the door to the driver's seat and got out. After shutting the door, there was a moment's pause as everyone looked at each other, until the aide slid the side door open. He stepped to the side and held his arm out, gesturing them to leave. At first they merely looked at him, unsure of what to do. But finally, Angel slowly got up from the floor and made her way to the door. She stopped just before leaving, looking outside. They were in the back end of the lab, where no one would be able to see them. Although it wasn't exactly discrete or hidden, it was enough to avoid detection. It was obvious that there were no Rockets in Pallet Town yet.

Angel looked up and covered her eyes from the beating sun. By this time the sun had reached it's zenith and was beating down on the open fields of Pallet. Angel sort of laughed to herself, it was only hours ago that they had left, and yet it felt like years. Most of the people in the base would be looking at them, amazed at how short the mission was, but never knowing what true hell it had been. It was as though as time itself had slowed down just for the day and just on New Island.

The aide approached Angel and held his hand out. Angel, who was still looking up at the sun, noticed this, smiled, and took his hand in hers. He helped her down onto the concrete driveway and she stepped away from the van. She walked out a couple of steps, feeling the concrete beneath her feet. The rubber on the soles of her boots clicked with the rock and made a slight echo, for nothing else made a noise. Angel looked around. All was peaceful.

No gunfire, no Pokemon roars, no fires, no explosions, no death. Just a very light breeze and the sun beating down on them, like a ordinary peaceful day in Pallet Town. She held her arms out and felt the sun's warm rays, feeling like a warm blanket had just been placed around her. She smiled and basked in the glow. She was finally home, she was finally safe.

Realizing that she was probably looking like a fool, she turned around and ran back to the van. Excited, she peeked through the van's door.

"Well? Come on!", Angel said. The other rebels all immediately smiled and one by one, in a hurry, they began to hop out of the van. Angel ran around to the back end and opened the two back doors. The sun's rays lit the inside of the van and caused many of the rebels to cover their eyes in pain. "We're finally home! Let's go!", Angel said. The rebels in the back all smiled and hurried out of the vehicle. Those who were too injured were helped by the medics or healthier rebels. Soon, the van was empty and the fifteen or so rebels were all on the concrete in the sun.

Wallace had Ryoto's arm around him and was holding him up. A few other rebels were also supported by others. Brock held his arm, trying to ignore the fierce pain he was feeling and enjoy the moment. The aide looked at all of the rebels. This was the first time we got a decent look at them. Because this was the first van, these were the most battered survivors. All of them were covered in bandages, most of which weren't doing their job as blood still soaked through quite a bit. Some had burns, many had cuts and bruises, a couple even had gun shot wounds. The aide couldn't believe what he was seeing. They were bloody, dirty, tired, hungry, and drained. It was as if they had been living underground for their entire lives and this was the first time they ever saw the sun.

"Well, let's hurry and get you all inside! You need medical attention...and I'm sure showers and food wouldn't hurt either", the aide said jokingly. The rebels all chuckled or giggled. The aide then rushed to the doors, which were directly across from the front of the van. They were two very large doors that were probably mostly used for trucks that delivered supplies to the lab for researching or experiments. Near the door was a I.D. card scanner, much like the ones Team Rocket had on New Island, but older looking. The aide pulled out a I.D. card attached to a string around his neck and swiped it. The scanner beeped and the door clicked. The aide then opened the doors wide and the rebels looked inside.

Waiting for them were a large group of rebels, ones who did not go on the mission. They stood there, prepared to help them in anyway possible. At first they were happy to see them return, but once they got a good look at them, they knew that there would not be a lot returning. The aide looked back to the rebels.

"You all best get moving. You need attention. I'll move the van. See you all later!", the aide said. Brock nodded.

"Right, thank you. We got it from here", Brock said. He then turned and looked to the others. "Ok everyone, we're finally home. But the first thing we're all going to do is head to the medical center. _All _of us. Afterwards we'll shower, eat, and whatever". The rebels all nodded and agreed. Although some of them were dying for something in their stomachs or to be clean and relaxed, they knew that medical attention was a must. The rebels stepped inside and were immediately flooded by the rebels, medics, and aides. Wallace handed Ryoto over to two rebels, who helped him onto a stretcher they had ready.

"Ok medics! We need everyone in the medical center stat! We have a lot of people coming in and nearly all of them need your attention! Prepare the surgery rooms and open all beds!", Wallace started to command. Although he was not the head medic at the base, he knew what needed to be done, and the others were more than willing to oblige. Many rushed off and prepared to do what Wallace had instructed as others helped those who couldn't move on their own, placing them on stretchers and wheeling them out.

Ryoto and a few others were rushed immediately to the medical center. Ashley was gently placed in a wheel chair and left with them. Others, who were able to support themselves and walk, made their own way down. As they did however, they were soon stopped by someone who was waiting for them along with the other rebels. Upon seeing this person, Angel, Brock, May, and a few others all smiled greatly.

Delia (Mrs.) Ketchum.

She gasped and ran to the rebels as quickly as she could. She immediately bent down and grabbed Angel, who was quick to return the hug.

"OH! I'M SO GLAD YOU'RE ALRIGHT SWEETIE!", Delia said relieved. She squeezed Angel tightly, and Angel squeezed her back.

"I'm so glad to see you Mrs. Ketchum!", Angel said with a smile on her face. This was true, next to Aleksi, Delia was the closest person Angel had to an actual family member here. Delia looked at Angel but did not release her.

"How are you sweetie? Are you ok? Oh dear look at you! You look so hurt, and are those burns on your hands? Oh dear!", Delia said shocked and worried. Angel smiled, the charcoal, dirt, and blood not hiding her happiness.

"I'm fine Mrs. Ketchum, just a little tired and hungry is all", Angel said. Delia nodded.

"Well don't you worry, I'll have a nice big meal for you when you go back to the house, or if need be, I'll bring it here", Delia said. Angel laughed at this. Delia then looked up and saw Brock and May. She gasped and released Angel to grasp them and give them a hug. Although she was friendly to every rebel and helped who she could, it was obvious that some she was closer to than others. Like Angel, she treated Brock, May, and the other region leaders like family, since they all had such history with her son.

You're all alright!", Delia said, on the verge of tears. May, (who was already crying), and Brock both hugged her back and tightly.

"Yes! We're safe and sound Mrs. Ketchum!", May said through teary eyes. Delia released the older teens and sighed as she pulled out a little handkerchief and wiped away May's tears.

"Oh, I missed you all! You kids had me worried sick! Next time keep in contact with me!", Delia scolded. The teens couldn't help but laugh and smile cheekily.

"We'll be sure to remember that Mrs. Ketchum", May said. Delia then turned and looked at Brock.

"And what about Ash? And the others? Are they", before Delia could finish, Brock nodded.

"Yes Delia, (Brock, being one of Ash's oldest friends and the oldest of the group, spoke to Mrs. Ketchum with name), Ash, Misty, Gary, they're all safe. They'll be returning here shortly. We had to go one by one to avoid detection. Ash will be here in two hours, I'm not sure about the others", Brock explained. Delia nodded.

"I understand. I'm so relieved...(gasp) BROCK! WHAT HAPPENED TO YOUR ARM?", Delia asked, now noticing Brock's left arm. By this time, due to the explosion from the boat and the Rocket beating on it, it had swelled and was covered in bloody blisters and cuts. It was covered in blood and puss and the bandages were on the verge of dripping from it. Brock looked down at it, having forgotten about it when he saw Delia.

"Oh yeah, I", Brock said before being cut off.

"NEVERMIND! I don't want to hear it! Just get into the medical center, and quick dear!", Delia said, not wanting to know what her "adopted children" had gone through. She ushered Brock to move along and he did just that, making his way to the medical center. Delia then turned and looked up and down on May, quickly noticing the bloody, (although less than Brock's), bandages around her chest. "MAY! WERE YOU SHOT? QUICK, YOU TOO! GET THAT CHECKED UP ON!", Delia yelled. She was nearly going into hysterics seeing the children so hurt, as any mother would. Before any other rebel could be personally checked up on by Mrs. Ketchum, they all hurried off towards the medical center. Angel was the last to leave, making sure to turn and wave goodbye to Delia.

"BYE MRS. KETCHUM! I'LL SEE YOU SOON!", Angel yelled as she walked off and waved. Delia waved back to her and said goodbye, but the fear and worry in her expression was undeniable. Angel was led through two open doors, (which were then closed once she was past them), and down a large section of hallway. She looked around as medics and aides scurried back and forth between rooms on opposite ends of the hall. But unlike the other day, when they moved back and forth and ignored her, this time they made time to smile back at her, or give her a high five, a pat on the back, a "great job".

It was the first time that she was acknowledged by so many people. It did make her feel good, but inside, she also felt like she didn't deserve it. They gave her props, but they did not know the mistakes she made, the errors that cost them, the lives she failed to save. Had they known, she was certain that they wouldn't be nearly as kind to her. Despite this, she smiled and thanked them for their generosity. She was then led down another hall to the left. This hall was a bit narrower than the previous, and had less rooms to enter. The only one in fact on the right side was the one she would stop at.

Inside was an all white room that reminded Angel of a hospital. It was obvious that the base was well equipped for medical injuries, but the signs that they still could not compete with an actual hospital was evident. Against the walls in some places were boxes, carts, and bags filled with equipment and supplies that would normally be stored downstairs with the rest. The beds were like the ones in the rebels' rooms, but were flatter, more worn down. At the end of the room, away from the beds and supplies, were large garbage bags filled with old bandages and papers, trash, and an occasional broken tool for medics. But the rebels did what they could to make sure that their injured were well taken cared of.

The beds had fresh clean white sheets and large fluffy pillows. Each bed also had a small cart beside it to hold medicine or other things for whomever was in the bed. There were about twenty to twenty five beds in all, and she was sure that there were other rooms just like this one. Several of the beds were already taken up by rebels whom returned with Angel, including Aleksi, who was sitting up on her bed while a medic worked on cleaning her wound. She winced slightly.

"Ahhh!", Aleksi said from the injury. Angel did not laugh out loud, but felt like she was laughing inside. Here was Aleksi, one of the toughest people she knew, someone who went through every battle on New Island without hesitation or fear, and she was complaining about getting a wound cleaned. Also in the room, sitting on his own bed, was Wallace. He was checking his own heart rate and nodding to himself. He was not very badly injured, but was thrown about from the Voltorb booby trap. The shockwaves of the explosions is what was really ailing him. There were also a few rebels who were being treated for their wounds throughout the room. The majority of the people she returned with however were not present. Wallace, after checking his heart rate, turned and looked at the door, seeing Angel.

"Ah! There you are! Good, I was waiting for you. Come on, let's take care of you", Wallace said. Angel entered the room, allowing the rebels who led her there to leave and go about their business. They waved goodbye with a smile, and Angel waved goodbye back. Wallace ushered her to a bed that was close to Aleksi's and helped her up onto it. She sat on the bed and the sudden urge to just fall back and sleep forever hit her. The bed was so comfortable and she was finally able to rest. But she held strong so that she could get treatment first. "Ok, so you have a concussion correct?", Wallace asked. Angel nodded.

"Yeah, I got in a fight with a Rocket grunt. He slammed me onto the ground and I hit my head", Angel explained. Wallace nodded.

"I see, and any other injuries?", Wallace asked. Angel thought for a moment.

"Well, I have a few cuts and scraps from the explosions, and the Rocket also punched me in the stomach, but that feels fine now...oh, and I have burns on my hands", Angel said, holding out her hands. Wallace looked at the wounds.

"Mmm, they're not major, but burns get infected so easily, we'll have to treat that now", Wallace said. He carefully began to unravel the make-shift bandages from her hands and placed them on the cart next to her. Then, from a lower shelf of the same cart, he grabbed a large plastic container of hydrogen peroxide. He also grabbed a cloth and soaked it in the peroxide. Afterwards, he grabbed Angel's hands. "Ok, this might sting a little", Wallace warned. Angel nodded, preparing for the worst.

Wallace began to rub and soak the hands in the wet cloth. Angel could definitely feel the pain, though it was not as bad as she previously thought. She smirked and looked over to Aleksi, who was watching.

"AHHHHHHHH!", Angel said with a cheeky grin, mocking Aleksi's winces of pain. Aleksi stuck her tongue out at the younger girl. Wallace couldn't help but chuckle himself.

"Very funny...alright, that should do it. We'll have to occasionally clean and re-bandage the wounds, but you'll be fine", Wallace explained. As he began to wrap the wounds in new bandages, he looked at Angel. "Alright, now about that concussion. How are you feeling? Have you been vomiting? Experienced dizziness, cloudy vision? Any swelling?".

"I'm feeling better, but not by much. I did vomit earlier, but it wasn't from the concussion I don't think", Angel said.

"Oh? Then what from?", Wallace asked. Angel looked away from Wallace, not wanting to reflect back on the burning corpses that fell apart on her.

"I...I'd rather not talk about it", Angel said. Wallace looked at the pained expression on the little girl and immediately understood, it was not something that should be brought up.

"Ok, that's fine...what of the other symptoms?", Wallace asked, changing the subject for her benefit.

"Uhm, yes, I was pretty dizzy and had some bad vision earlier, it's on and off now, but not as bad as it was when it happened. I also had a pretty bad memory loss moment when it happened. As for swelling...", Angel said. She then took one of her hands, (the one that was finished bandaging), and felt her head. She winced. "Yeah, a little bit", Angel said. Wallace nodded.

"Ok, that's a bit worse than I thought. Alright, let's see...", Wallace said. After finishing with her hands, he stepped back and held his two index fingers out, side by side in front of him. "How many fingers am I holding?". Angel looked at his hands.

"Two, but they're cloudy, slightly", Angel said. Wallace nodded.

"Alright. Now then, follow the fingers with your eyes", Wallace said. He then pulled the fingers apart slowly and kept moving them apart. Angel watched them both for a second or two until she had to close her eyes and shake her head. It was hurting to follow them any further. "Alright, you definitely need a lot of rest for your head", Wallace determined. He reached into a box that was on the lower shelf of the cart and pulled out a large blue bag with a plastic cap. He then walked over to the end of the room, (near the garbage bags), and opened a door to a room that was in the far corner. He walked in and Angel could hear the noise of a door opening. After a few seconds, Wallace left the room and closed the door after him. He returned with the blue bag, only it looked like it was filled with something.

Wallace placed the bag on top of Angel's head and it sagged over the shape. He had filled with with ice cubes. The cold feeling hit her and she felt a pretty nasty headache.

"Alright, you need to ice down the swelling and rest. The concussion will take some time to go away, possibly a week, little bit longer. But you'll be fine. You actually got off pretty fine compared to a lot of others", Wallace explained.

"She's a tough little cookie Angel", Aleksi said with a smile.

"That she is", Wallace commented back. Angel looked at Wallace.

"Where are the others? Do you know?", Angel asked. Wallace leaned against the wall and put his hands in his pockets, but not before readjusting his glasses.

"Ryoto, Ashley, and a few other people were rushed to the E.R. for treatment. Ryoto was beat up real bad, he had a lot of injuries that I can't even begin to list. Ashley experienced major internal bleeding, which only got worse in time, so she's undergoing surgery right now. It'll be awhile before she's out. But as far as I know, they'll all live. I'm not positive where May is, but I hope to check her out soon, a gun shot wound is not something you just put a band-aid on. Sawyer is waiting for her time in the E.R., we're out of room unfortunately. She suffered major shock from the explosions we endured together, she'll need a pacemaker to help her heart, it took a beating. I don't know if it will need to be permanent or not. The others, as far as I can gather, are all undergoing their own private check ups and will probably come here within the day", Wallace explained.

"I already did", a voice said. Wallace, Angel, Aleksi, and the other rebels all turned to see Brock enter the room. His arm was entirely covered in plenty of bandages and he made sure to slightly keep it away from his body.

"You did your own checkup?", Wallace asked. Brock nodded.

"Yeah, I didn't want someone to work on me when others will be coming. I can handle myself. I cleaned the wound up, but it's pretty severe. I'll need to clean it constantly and not use it for awhile. I don't think a skin graft will be needed luckily. Got a sling I can use?", Brock asked. Wallace nodded and immediately rushed to a cabinet that was located across from the door and in the corner. He opened it and looked around before pulling out a large blue sling and running back over to Brock. With his assistance, Brock was able to slip it on. However, he winced in pain.

"It's probably a third degree burn, I'll get you some meds to ease the pain. Something that bad...yeah, you'll need some heavy stuff", Wallace said. Brock nodded.

"Vicodin should work just fine", Brock said. Wallace nodded.

"I agree", Wallace responded. He liked not having to do a lot of the work himself. Many doctors hated treating other doctors due to often conflicting methods of care, but Wallace was, although a great doctor, also a bit lazy. Any work he didn't have to do was fine by him. Brock then walked himself over to a bed across from Angel and layed himself down on it. After he did, he sighed and relaxed for the first time. But then he looked across at Angel.

"How are you doing Angel?", Brock asked.

"I'm doing better", Angel said, re-positioning the ice bag on her head. Wallace walked over to her and looked at her.

"The cuts and scraps you can clean out yourself when you take a shower, so no worries there. I'd say tomorrow if the swelling is down you'll be able to walk around a bit, but you definitely won't be doing a whole lot today", Wallace explained. He then walked over to the cart and reached for the remains of Jonny's bandanna. Before he could grab it however, Angel held her hands out to stop him.

"No!...Please, can you leave them?", Angel asked. Wallace seemed confused over the idea. He knew that whatever it once was not medical bandages, but regardless they were covered in blood and dirty.

"You can't use it again for your wound", Wallace explained.

"Just leave it", Brock said. Wallace turned around to look at him. "It's not what it was used for, but what it once was that makes it important". Both him, Angel, and Aleksi, who was also watching, reflected back to that moment after the explosion, when they realized that Jonny had passed on. The image of him being there one second, and lost beneath the depths of the sea the next crossed their minds. Alekis reflected back to when she dove under the water and watched as the ship sank, with no signs of Jonny in sight. She blamed herself partially, thinking that she could of searched more, looked around better. She then thought back to when she saw the bandanna floating in the water, and the bandanna now.

Wallace looked at the three rebels. Although he did not know the significance of the ripped bandanna, nor Jonny for that matter, he knew that it was sentimental to them. So he nodded and left it be.

"Alright then, you can keep it. If you need it washed just let me know", Wallace said. Angel nodded. "Ok then, since you're all doing better, I'm going to go and check up on the others, see how they're doing. If they're alright I'll send them down here. The second van should be on their way by now so I'll be waiting for them as well. If you need me, you know where to find me", Wallace explained. He then waved goodbye to the rebels as he walked out of the room. The other medics followed him, their work was done for the most part. This left all of the injured rebels alone in the room. There were about seven in total, including Angel, Brock, and Aleksi.

Seeing that the medics were all gone, Aleksi sighed and got out of her bed. The others watched her ad she bent down onto the ground and picked up her bag, which was placed by the side of her bed when she arrived. She put it on top of her bed and emptied it out completely. She then began to sort through the items in a hurry.

"Aleksi...what are you doing?", Brock asked, finding this odd.

"I'm just...trying to keep busy. I don't like the fact that I'm here resting while the others are still out there, their lives possibly still in danger. I can't sit still at times like that!", Aleksi explained as she organized the things on her bed. There was really no point in doing this since most everything she had she either used or lost on the mission.

"I understand you're worried Aleksi, a lot of us are worried for them, but that doesn't mean you have to", before Brock could finish, Aleksi interrupted him.

"BUT WHAT IF HE'S IN DANGER?...", Aleksi asked. Everyone looked at her with at first confusion. Angel, upon understanding her exact words, smiled with a huge grin.

"Awwww! You mean Evan don't you?", Angel asked. Aleksi blushed immensely. She did not mean to yell that out. This got the other rebels and Brock all smiling as well. Few people obviously knew of their "not crush", but they still found it cute.

"NO! Why would I be worried about _him? _With his, smoking, and ego, and stupid, stupid jokes...and, how he...cares for me like, he truly likes me...NO!", Aleksi said in denial. Brock tried his best to stop himself from falling off the bed in laughter. Angel on the other hand just kept on smiling.

"I think it's so cute Aleksi! You two are the perfect couple!", Angel said. Aleksi blushed even more.

"What makes you think that?", Aleksi asked, trying to hide any signs of pure curiosity. "We're nothing alike! He always shows off his stupid aim and he has that ANNOYING charm of his! Ugh!".

"But Aleksi...so do you! You just don't realize it", Angel said. Aleksi collapsed on the ground. Brock couldn't contain himself and burst into laughter. "But anyway, it doesn't matter, because deep down he likes that just as much as you like how he does it". Aleksi tried to hide her face from the others, not wanting them to see her blush.

"I...I doubt it! I don't think that's the case at all!...do you?", Aleksi asked. Angel smiled.

"I do. I've seen the way he looks at you, and the way you look at him...you both really like each other. Honestly, I think he liked you from the moment he laid eyes on you", Angel explained. Brock, finally able to control himself, looked at Angel. He was thoroughly impressed with her romantic talking skills. He recalled back to the night before, when they had agreed to try to get Ash and Misty together. He had suggested trying to get May and Drew together as practice, but maybe this was practice in itself. Aleksi blushed heavily, thinking back to when they had first met.

Although the first impression wasn't much for her, especially with the smoke and stink of the room and his hint of ego. But she immediately knew that there was...something about him. Not like the other guys she had known. In her years of being in the PTA, she had a lot of guys try to ask her out. Most of which were merely looking for "some fun", something she was not in the least bit into. But Evan, was different. He cared for her, for being her, not for just her looks. Evan was really one of the few men who looked out for her like that since...

Her father...

"Well...WHATEVER! I'm sure, I'm sure he's just trying to annoy me, as usual! Pft, what a jerk! Well, I'm not going to be falling for it!", Aleksi said. She huffed and sat on her bed, completely forgetting about the things she had "organized" and placed there. Angel giggled to herself. It was obvious she was in denial. But it could wait for now, she knew there was time to get them together, just like there was for May and Drew, and more importantly, Ash and Misty.

Several minutes passed as the group of rebels began to finally rest. The majority of them fell asleep, finally able to do so after a long mission. Brock himself tried to as well, but found it difficult to. He had found the Vicodin for his injury, but it would take some time for it to take affect. Aleksi would occasionally get up and walk around, or even move things to keep up her time. Once in awhile Angel would hear her mumble under her breath. Of what exactly she wasn't sure, but she thought she heard Evan's name once in awhile.

After what felt like an hour, (though it was actually fifteen), two people appeared at the door. Angel, Brock, and Aleksi looked to see them. The two were large built boys that looked completely identical. Twin brothers. They were both large in size, probably close to six feet tall and weighing a good two hundred pounds or more. But it was all muscle. They had very short brown hair that was covered in identical cowboy hats, both of which were light brown in color and had a metal band around them. They both wore the same style and color dark brown cowboy boots, the same light blue button up shirt, and same dark blue jeans with belt and belt buckle. The buckle had initials on them, but whether they were their initials or something else entirely was unknown. They both also had light brown eyes and a nice smile. One of the two brothers held the arm of the other one, holding him up. The one being held was carrying a few bags. They looked around the room, as if uncertain.

"Uh, is this where the injured PTA come to for rest?", the cowboy who was supporting his brother asked. Brock nodded.

"Yes, this is the clinic. Are you here for treatment?", Brock asked. The two brothers looked at Brock.

"Oh no, we already got treated, we were sent here to rest. My brother here hurt his leg and needed help to get down here", the first cowboy said.

"Pft, I'd of made it down here fine, but you had to come to otherwise you'd get lost!", the second cowboy said.

"Me? You couldn't find your way out of a paper bag!", the first cowboy said. The two then started arguing and butting heads (literally) until Brock stopped them.

"It's alright guys! You don't need to fight over it!", Brock said, waving his good arm to them. The brothers stopped fighting and looked at Brock, as if confused.

"Huh? Oh, this? This is nothing, we always act this way, it's how we communicate", the second cowboy said.

"Yeah, we're brothers, we fight, it happens", the first one stated. Brock nodded, he should of figured. Having as many siblings as he did, je knew what it was like to argue with one in means of communication. The first cowboy walked the second one over to a bed beside Brock's and laid him down on it. He then took a spot in the bed next to his. The brother who needed help walking grabbed two of the bags and tossed them over to his brother, who caught them with one arm. His other arm was bandaged up.

"So what are your names?", Angel asked, sitting up in her bed and leaning over to them. The two boys smiled.

"Well I'm Logan!", the cowboy with the injured leg said.

"And I'm Luke!", the other brother said.

"Nice to meet you!", the two said together. Angel giggled.

"Nice to meet you too!", Angel said. "You two must be really close".

"Yeah, we've been like that all our lives really, together like steak and potatoes", Logan said.

"Our parents made sure that we were close. They weren't expecting twins, but they wanted kids to watch over the farm when they pass", Luke explained.

"Oh, so you guys live on a farm?", Aleksi asked. Brock laughed.

"Oh? Did the cowboy attire give you a hint?", Brock asked. Aleksi stuck her tongue out at him. The boys laughed.

"Well, it's more of a ranch really. We run a Tauros and Miltank business back at our home in Johto. We raise cattle for beef and milk", Logan explained.

"Our parents live there now, but the business is practically shut down since Team Rocket took nearly all of our Pokemon. Our folks made us flee and we joined the PTA to help get it back to business", Luke stated.

"That's cool! I ran a berry farm with my parents here in Kanto!", Angel explained. Logan and Luke smiled.

"Oh! A berry picker huh? We've been needing to do some business with berry pickers. Maybe after the war we can work together on stuff!", Logan said. Angel smiled.

"Sure!", Angel said, now excited. The berries her and her family made were known to be some of the best around, it was very popular before the take over. They had never worked with other farms, so this could probably benefit the both of them.

"So you have a family back home huh?", Brock asked. The two boys nodded.

"Yep. Just the folks and us. We help them run the farm and do the manual labor", Luke explained.

"I'm curious...which one of you two is the oldest?", Aleksi asked, unsure. Logan smiled with a huge grin.

"That would be _me _pretty little missy, by FIVE minutes!", Logan said, smirking to Luke. Luke gave him a scowl.

"Five minutes doesn't mean squat you moron!", Luke argued.

"Yeah it does, it means I'm the oldest, and the smartest!", Logan said back.

"You can barely figure out how much milk needs to be transported for shipment you dimwit!", Luke said.

"Boy you're looking for a ass whipping!", Logan argued, looking at his brother angrily.

"Anytime!", Luke said back. The rebels all laughed, which resulted in the boys laughing too.

"You guys get along like typical brothers, just like my siblings", Brock said. "So then, what are your skills in the PTA?", Brock asked.

"Well, obviously the PTA doesn't have much use for ranching or farming, but we have some good skills with a gun, living the way we do of course", Logan explained. He then bent down and grabbed one of his bags. He opened it up and pulled put a long rifle that was made of wood and gold colored metal platings. "This here is my Winchester Repeater, I'm a great shot with this thing. Can shoot a beer can from damn near across the ranch!". Luke meanwhile pulled out his own weapons from his bag. They were a matching pair of revolvers, both long and silver with wooden handles.

"And these are my Colt Revolvers, I can shoot all twelve shots in less than five seconds!", Luke said with pride. However, before the group could discuss more about themselves, the door opened once again, this time Wallace walked in. He looked at the group and smiled.

"Oh, sorry to interrupt you all...but the second van just arrived safely", Wallace said. "Two home, two to go".

**A bit abrupt for an ending I know, but I'm pretty busy at the moment and need to get moving! Well I hope you liked the chapter, everyone finally getting home and getting the rest and help they need. It was fun to write! Not much more to write here, except to F.A.R. and that I'll work on the next chapter as soon as I can! Hope you all enjoy! And a special thanks to prettygirl17, I appreciate the help! :)**

**sincerely,  
evan, a fan of aaml -EVAN AAML **


	44. Chapter 44

**Hey everyone! Glad to see that you're all enjoying the story thus far! ;D I'm a bit distracted right now since I'm listening to music while I write, something I don't usually do. Right now it's Jason Derulo's "Don't Wanna Go Home". For all of you who don't know, I am a HUGE fan of Rap, Hip Hop, and well, all of that type of music. Shocking? Eh, maybe a little, but I grew up with it and that's what I choose to listen to! So before I just begin to break down and dance like there's no tomorrow, let's get the chapter rolling!**

**-EVAN AAML**

The rebels looked at Wallace with relief. They were glad that another van had made it home safely. Odds were that all of them would make it home, but based on their luck they had so far, false hope was a good possibility. Angel slid off of her bed and stood up, holding her ice pack on her head.

"Well what are we waiting for? Let's go see them!", Angel said excited. She took a few steps forward before Wallace rushed up to her, holding his hands out to her.

"Woah, woah, woah! Where do you think you're going? You need your rest Angel!", Wallace said, shocked that she would even consider getting up after what she had been through. He knew that she was tough and determined, but this was more than he anticipated. Any other child at her age would be dead by now. Angel was definitely one of a kind.

"We have to see them Wallace! Please?", Angel asked, holding her hands together in a prayer fashion. Wallace looked at her, unable to decide if he should let her go or not. He bit his lip.

"Uhm...uh...Ohhhh, alright", Wallace said. Angel jumped up and down in happiness. "But you HAVE to keep that ice pack on your head, and you're not going to be doing anything more than seeing them, got it?". Angel nodded.

"Understood!", Angel replied. She then looked to the others. "Are any of you guys coming too?", Angel asked. The majority of the rebels were asleep at the moment, so they were obviously not going anywhere anytime soon. Brock shook his head with a smile.

"I'm good right where I am thank you. I'm sure the others can handle not seeing me for a bit", Brock said. He then leaned back down and rested his head on his pillow. "I think I'm just going to lie here and sleep". The twins both thought about it for a moment, but declined.

"We just got here, so we haven't had time to rest yet", Logan said.

"Sorry, maybe next time", Luke finished. Angel then looked to Aleksi.

"I think I'll let you do this on your own Angel. But...can you let me know who arrives?", Aleksi asked. Angel nodded with a smile. She knew who she wanted to see return safely.

"Sure, no problem", Angel said. Aleksi nodded back in response. She then happily skipped her way to the door, Wallace right behind her. Before she left however, she turned around and looked back to the rebels. "You all rest up now ok?". They all nodded back, Brock held up a thumbs up. She then left the room with Wallace. The two walked down the hall, watching as others ran back and forth with medical supplies. Wallace kept his hands in his pockets as he walked. Angel held onto the ice pack with one hand and the other hung by her side.

"So, do you think we'll have enough room for the injured?", Angel asked.

"Well, despite what it looked like earlier, the majority of the rebels aren't even injured. Others only have minor injuries that aren't a big deal. So yes, we should have more than enough room. If every single person was injured, then no, we wouldn't have nearly enough room for them all", Wallace explained, readjusting the glasses on his head for a moment before returning his hands to his pockets. Angel looked over to him. He still wore his white buttoned shirt, which was covered in blood. If it weren't already dried, she would of sworn it was his own blood. She couldn't decide if knowing that was a good thing or not. Was it the blood of a Rocket, or a PTA rebel? And was that person still alive? She didn't want to know.

"How come you haven't changed yet?", Angel asked. Wallace looked down at her, and then to his own shirt.

"Haven't had the time. I'll take care of the others before I worry about myself. I sustained minimal damage from the fight, so I don't need to worry about myself until everyone is home", Wallace explained. Angel nodded. She had thought about being a doctor when she was younger. Her parents had always supported her in whatever she wanted to do. But it wasn't until she was older that she decided she wanted to continue running the family business. Being a doctor was good and all, but she was afraid of accidentally killing someone.

"I see", Angel said. Wallace nodded.

"I know this seems, well, disgusting and gory, but this is typical for a doctor", Wallace stated.

"I'd imagine", Angel replied. Actually, she couldn't possibly imagine the average doctor being covered in blood that way. One "good" thing about the Rocket takeover was that trips to hospitals were at an all time low. Accidents and injuries were harder to come by now, mostly because Rockets didn't wound their enemies, they killed them. No doctor needed.

Soon they found themselves our of the smaller hall and heading down the big one Angel was escorted through earlier. From here Angel could see more and more people running around and trying to get things prepared for the other rebels. It was then that Angel noticed Dawn and Max. The two were being checked over by medics as they sat on a section of chairs. Max appeared scratch free and Dawn was mostly only tired from the battles. Angel ran over to them.

"You guys made it!", Angel said happily, relief apparent. Dawn and Max smiled.

"Yep, the second van made it safely, the third one is just leaving now", Dawn explained.

"Are you guys all alright?", Angel asked.

"We're just getting minor check ups here so that we don't have to use up valuable space in the emergency rooms. Hunter rode with us and he's getting checked up right now. He lost a lot of blood and needs a transfusion, which I'd imagine a lot of people here do. Trent is also getting checked up, but he should be fine soon enough. The others, as far as I know, are just getting treated for minor injuries", Dawn explained.

"That's good to hear...oh, I was supposed to ask for Aleksi...did, did Evan come with you guys?", Angel asked. Dawn giggled at the question. She did not know as well as Angel about Aleksi and Evan's feelings, but it was a cute question regardless.

"That's sweet...but no, he didn't", Dawn answered. Angel seemed slightly disappointed over this, but shrugged it off, she was sure that he would return safely.

"Ok then. What about the others? Brian, Michael, Emily?", Angel asked.

"Present", a voice said. Angel and Wallace turned around to see Emily standing behind them. She looked tired and worn like the others, but otherwise was fine. Angel smiled and ran towards her. Emily held out her arms just as Angel ran into her for a hug.

"Emily! I'm glad you're safe!", Angel said. Emily giggled.

"And I'm glad _you're_ safe", Emily said. Angel then released the older girl and looked up at her.

"What about Shinx?", Angel asked.

"The Pokemon medics took Shinx to make it feel better. But it should be fine after the Hyper Potion you used", Emily answered. Angel nodded.

"That's good to hear. I feel bad, I completely forgot to have someone check up on Ledyba", Angel said, thinking about it. Wallace shrugged.

"It happens. You were tired, worried about the others, you shouldn't fee bad. I'm sure Ledyba is fine. If it makes you feel any better, I forgot to have someone check on Skorupi. Tell you what, let's go do that right now shall we? Come here soldier", Wallace said. He looked over to a rebel who was standing around, not doing anything in particular. He nodded and ran over to him. "Take our Pokeballs down to the Pokemon medical center". The rebel nodded and Wallace pulled off Skorupi's Pokeball from his belt and handed it to him. The rebel then walked over to Angel and held his hands out.

Angel first pulled off Seviper's Pokeball and handed that to the rebel. Seviper had saved both her and Emily and took a beating for it, she couldn't thank it enough. She hoped that it would be ok. She then reached down her shirt and pulled off her Pokeball necklace. She looked at the Pokeball as it glimmered in the light. Despite how dirty Angel was and what she had been through, the Pokeball somehow managed to keep its shine. Angel knew that inside of the Pokeball, her best friend resided, resting. She hoped that Ledyba would be alright after what it had been through. She nodded, and handed the necklace to the rebel. Angel then turned to Dawn and Max.

"Do you guys have any Pokemon you want to get checked?", Angel asked.

"I already gave them my Pokemon", Dawn replied.

"And mine were never in battle, they're fine", Max stated. The rebel nodded and then ran off with the three Pokeballs, making sure to get them to the medical center as soon as possible. Angel watched as the rebel ran off, worrying about both her and Jonny's Pokemon, but she trusted that they would be well taken cared of. The others around her had also watched as the rebel left, but soon brought their attention back to each other.

"So Angel, how are you feeling?", Emily asked. Angel snapped out of her train of thought and looked up to the girl. She smiled.

"I'm doing fine, just a "headache"", Angel explained, holding her ice pack against her head again. Wallace smirked.

"Oh yeah, a normal person would be concerned about a concussion. To Angel it's just, "Nope, headache"", Wallace said. Emily grew slightly concerned.

"Well you better get your rest then Angel, you don't want it to get worse now!", Emily said. Dawn nodded.

"I agree. You did a lot today sweetie. You deserve it", Dawn stated herself. Just then, Max sat up and stretched. The medic who was looking over him had finished since he had no injuries to him.

"Well, I want to go check up on May. I'm worried about her. Do you know where she is Wallace?", Max asked.

"Actually I don't. And I need to check up on her myself to see how her gunshot wound is. You have a strong sister, you know that Max?", Wallace said. Max nodded.

"Yeah, she can be annoying at times, but she's really strong and protective", Max said. Wallace nodded.

"Right then, we'll see you all later. Angel, be sure to get some rest and not do too much. We'll see you all later!", Wallace said with a final wave goodbye. The two boys then walked off, while the girls waved goodbye.

"Bye!", the three girls said as they walked away. This left the three alone in the hall. Other people walked by, but paid no attention to them. Angel turned to Dawn.

"So Dawn, did Mrs. Ketchum worry a lot over you when you arrived?", Angel asked. Dawn smiled and shook her head.

"Oh, Mrs. Ketchum. Yes, she worried so much. I can't even begin to imagine what she was going through while we were on New Island. She ran up to me and grabbed me, making sure I was alright and everything", Dawn explained. Emily giggled.

"I wish I had someone like that to worry over me. I know how you leaders are all like siblings to each other, I get why Mrs. Ketchum would act that way with you all", Emily explained. Angel looked to Emily and smiled.

"You have people like that Emily, we all worry about you", Angel said. Emily turned to the little girl and smiled. Angel was glad that she was out of her shell, at least with her. She remembered her saying that she put a border up between her and people she didn't know too well; she hoped that that wasn't too many people. After a moment's silence, Dawn's stomach suddenly started to growl. Dawn looked at her stomach wide eyed, as did Angel and Emily. She giggled and sweatdropped.

"I guess I'm pretty hungry", Dawn said. Emily smiled.

"We all are really. How about we go get something to eat?", Emily suggested. The two girls nodded in response. Dawn then got up from her seat and the three girls made their way down the long hall. Angel looked around, not having been this far down the hall yet.

"Do you know where you're going?", Angel asked. Not that she doubted their capabilities of finding food, more out of curiosity.

"Yeah, obviously we don't come down to the medical wing a whole lot, but it does lead eventually to the Kitchen", Dawn said. And so, the three girls talked and laughed and reminisced all the way through the halls, turns, and rooms until they finally reached more familiar grounds. Angel began to recognize a little more the familiarity of the area. Rebels moved back and forth, getting things done so that they can help those who just arrived. There were fewer medics now and more aides and analysts. Eventually, they reached the hall that led to the Kitchen.

The three girls hurried their way down the hall and into the Kitchen. To their surprise, (and joy), they found that it was completely empty. In the situation they were currently in, most people probably didn't think about food. Angel looked around to see if there was anything already out that they could snack on. She noticed the door that led downstairs to the training facility, and the counter where Sawyer and Nick made cupcakes together, but no food out for them. Emily and Dawn began to look around for something.

"I hope they have something here. I would prefer not to have to eat the food they serve to the people staying in the medical center", Dawn said as she opened a pantry to see what was inside. There were plenty of things in it, but everything involved too much work to make something edible out of it, and she was much too tired to go through the effort. She sighed heavily. Emily looked in a separate cabinet on the other side of the Kitchen. Inside was nothing but Pokemon food. Her stomach grumbled and she held it tight, trying to get it to silence. Angel opened the fridge and looked around. There was plenty of food, but it looked to be other people's. Some even had sticker or notes on them saying "Don't Eat!".

She noticed that her cake was not in the fridge, which caused her to sigh. She would of eaten half of the cake in one bite she was so hungry. She wasn't sure where it was, most likely someone else had already eaten it at this point. Had she known that things needed to be marked to be protected she would of done so. Too late now. However, one thing she did spot that wasn't marked was a bowl filled with oddly shaped and colored fruits. Angel's eyes grew wide in excitement.

"YES! THOSE ARE PERFECT!", Angel said happily. Emily and Dawn immediately turned to Angel with hope and anticipation in their eyes.

"What is it?", Emily asked excitedly. Angel grabbed the large bowl and held it up like a trophy to the other two girls.

"BERRIES!", Angel exclaimed. Emily and Dawn sighed dreamily, their stomachs growling and their appetites growing. Although berries were used more for Pokemon, unlike most Pokemon food berries could be eaten by people as well. It was a relatively easy source of food for trainers when they traveled. Now a days it was much harder to get berries because Rockets held a tight grip on berry industries and family businesses; Angel's berry farm was a prime example of this. Those that weren't shut down were taken over by the Rockets themselves, and the prices were jacked up severely. It was hard work to try and find berries out in the wilderness now, though if you did you were considered lucky.

Angel ran over to a table on the other side of the room and placed the bowl down onto it. She took a good look at the berries and tried to see what was in it. Growing up on a berry farm and helping her father with the growing and harvesting, she was considered a berry expert. She knew which ones were rare and which were common, which ones should or should not be eaten, and which ones were perfect for things such as Pokeblock or Poffins. The bowl had a wide variety of berries, to her surprise, as some of them were not common at all in Kanto. Her farm managed to grow every type of berry known, which attributed to their success, but she doubted that these came from her farm.

"Wow, they have quite a variety here!", Angel said. The girls looked over her shoulder, Dawn to her right and Emily to her left. Both of them were salivating at the sight, their eyes wide. Angel looked over both shoulders and sweatdropped. She was just as hungry as them, but at least kept her composure. "You girls hungry?", she asked sarcastically. They both nodded, not taking their eyes off of the berries. Angel giggled. "Alright, but let me check them first to see how they are", Angel said. She picked up one berry that was black and grey and looked at it intently. It looked like a hot air balloon in shape and had a question mark shape going down it on all four sides. She squeezed it in her hands, making sure not to crush it. "Hmm, this is firm, as it should be, I'd imagine that if this one is good then the other ones are too", Angel said.

Before she even realized it however, Emily had grabbed the berry in her hand. She gasped and turned around to see Emily holding it excitedly.

"Well if this one's good then bon apetite!", Emily said. She then opened her mouth and prepared to bite into the berry. Angel held out her hands in a panic and waved them.

"NO, DON'T!", Angel yelled. But it was too late. Emily had eaten the entire berry in one bite. Angel and Dawn both looked at her, Angel with worry and Dawn with more curiosity. Emily smiled as she rubbed her stomach, but then suddenly her eyes grew wide and her face turned red. She began to pant and before she knew it, she was frantically rushing to the sink at the end of the Kitchen and putting her mouth under the faucet as she let all of the cold water pour out of it. She gulped down as much as she could, not daring to stop. Dawn sweatdropped.

"I _tried _to warn you! That was a Enigma berry. They're really rare berries that are known to have the highest concentration of spicy flavor!", Angel explained. Dawn looked at Angel, impressed.

"I forgot, you and your family ran a berry farm! I'm impressed. As a coordinator, I know quite a bit about berries, but I've never heard of that berry before", Dawn said. Angel looked to her and nodded.

"I'm not surprised. There are about sixty four known berries in the Pokemon regions, and a small number of them are so rare that most people have never heard of them", Angel explained. She then turned and looked to the bowl. "This bowl has about twenty of these berries, and some aren't even found in Kanto outside a berry farm like mine". Dawn nodded, looking at the bowl herself.

"Yes, I recognize most of them. But you're the expert here, which one do you think would be best for us?", Dawn asked. She already had a pretty good idea which one would do the job, but she was more than happy to let Angel do it herself. She knew that it would make her happy, which it did. Plus, she was right when she said that she was the expert. Angel happily looked through the berries, feeling them, smelling them, and even being amazed by some that she was surprised to see. Eventually, she picked one up and held it out to Dawn.

"I think this one will suit you just perfectly. It's a Mago berry", Angel said. It was a smaller berry than the Enigma, and was curved greatly. It was pink and faded yellow in color and was hard when Dawn held it in her hand. She bit into it and was hit by a relatively strong taste of sweetness. She smiled and nodded as she swallowed the berry in her mouth.

"You're right! I love sweet berries!", Dawn said, eating the rest of the berry. Angel smiled.

"I thought you would", Angel said.

"What about you? What's your favorite type of berry?", Dawn asked.

"Oh I have a lot, but my favorite one to eat is this one!", Angel said, immediately finding the berry she was referring to. It was a small berry, smaller than the ones that had been eaten thus far, and was entirely bright pink with a green stem. Dawn immediately recognized it.

"Oh, that's a Magost! Yeah, that's a good one, a lot of my Pokemon like that one", Dawn said. Angel nodded.

"Yep, it's just hard enough to not fall apart in your hands or mouth and has a lot of sweetness to it, but also just a touch of bitter so that you have more taste", Angel explained as she pulled off the stem and tossed the entire berry in her mouth. As the two enjoyed their own berries, Emily finally walked over, wiping her mouth off with her sleeve. She was panting heavily, having finally gotten the spicy taste out of her mouth.

"Well I'm glad to see that you're all enjoying your berries. That was a horrible experience for me", Emily said. The two girls giggled. Angel picked up a berry from the bowl and turned to Emily.

"Here, this one should help you", Angel said, tossing the berry to Emily, who barely caught it on short notice. She looked at the berry in her hand. It was blue and freckled with a long leafy stem. "It's a Rawst berry, it should get rid of that spicy after taste for you". Emily popped the stem off and then popped the berry into her mouth. She chewed on the hard berry and took in the flavor.

"Little bit bitter", Emily said with the berry still in her mouth. Angel nodded.

"Yep, that's the point", Angel said. After eating it however, Emily nodded.

"You're right, it's practically gone now!", Emily said. Angel nodded.

"That's good! I wonder what these berries were for though, I hope we aren't eating something that someone was going to cook with", Angel said. The other girls shook their heads.

"Not likely, if they were then someone would of placed a note on it", Dawn said.

"Besides, although those berries are rare, the PTA have a lot of connections in and outside of Kanto, we would be able to replace them easily enough", Emily reassured. Angel nodded.

"That's good to know. This makes me want to go back to my farm...I miss it", Angel said. She began to reflect back to her home town. The small, quaint village with barely any people. The quiet days and starry nights, the hundreds of berry trees swaying in the breeze, the sweet smell and the Pokemon buzzing and moving along, eating some berries and enjoying the day. It was something she hoped she would be able to return to as soon as the war was over...presuming of course that there is still a village there. She had never returned to it after the Rockets attacked, she didn't even know if it was still there or not. It was two years ago, so by now it would either be repaired and back to the way it was, or completely gone. The thought about losing all of that hit her pretty hard. For reasons unknown to her, she didn't think much into it until now.

She was lost in thought the last couple years over her parents. But now that she knew that they were alive, she thought about how their home could now be gone. Angel sighed. It was like everything was going against her. Her parents were captured, her home could possibly be destroyed, and her new found friends were all dying in a war that has been going on for years. It was then that she felt something on her shoulder. Angel turned to see Emily standing over her, her hand on her shoulder. She had a smile on her face.

"Don't worry Angel, I'm sure your home is still there, and you can return to it as soon as the war is over and you saved your parents", Emily said. Angel looked into Emily's eyes. These weren't the same eyes that she made contact with yesterday, these were much friendlier, more caring eyes. They had become friends after their battles, and Angel knew that she could trust these eyes. Angel smiled and nodded.

"Thanks Emily", Angel said. Emily nodded. Dawn did as well.

"Yep, you'll be able to live your life the way you want to once all of this is over, we all will be able to", Dawn said with a smile. "I know that first thing I'm going to do is go back home to Sinnoh and see my mom. And then the two of us will finally be able to return home". Angel smiled.

"I like that plan...what about you Emily?", Angel asked. Emily looked at Angel. Her emotions seemed to suddenly change from happy and smiling to an almost emotionless expression. Angel looked at her with a mixture of confusion and concern. "Emily?". Now even Dawn looked at Emily, wondering why she was this way.

"My family...", Emily said, as if she was zoning out. Both girls looked at Emily with concern. They glanced at each other, wondering what was wrong with her. They then turned back to Emily.

"Em, are you ok?", Dawn asked. Emily looked at the two girls, still in a emotionless state.

"Girls...can I tell you something...something I've kept hidden for a long time?", Emily asked. Angel and Dawn both seemed more concerned now, hoping that what she was going to tell them was not as bad as they feared.

"...sure, you know you can trust us", Dawn said. Angel nodded.

"We can keep it a secret", Angel stated. Emily sighed.

"Thank you, it means a lot to me that you would. You see...I've been hiding something...from the PTA. I never originally meant to, but as time progressed, I felt that it was best for everyone if I just kept it to myself", Emily said. The two girls listened in intently. "My family...both of my parents...are in Team Rocket". Both girl's eyes grew wide in shock. They couldn't believe that Emily was a Rocket child. Everyone knew that Ryoto was from the Rocket group, but he was the only one, or so everyone thought. Emily stepped back and leaned against the wall, then looked up to the ceiling.

"I grew up with Team Rocket. Both of my parents joined a few years before the take over began, that's how they met. One thing that Rocket grunts have the freedom to do is choose their spouses. Giovanni lets them marry who they want...but at a cost", Emily explained. Dawn nodded.

"Any Rocket who has children has to put them through enlistment, it's mandatory", Dawn explained, she knew the rules. Emily nodded.

"Right. For the majority of my youth, I went through Rocket training. Since I turned thirteen I was put through rigorous practice in different fields. That's how I learned my skills. I was exceptionally well with technology and communications. Bomb dismantling, computers, you get the idea. But even though I grew up surrounded by Rockets and learned of the Rocket ways, I always knew that it was an evil corporation", Emily explained.

"That's why you left, you couldn't become a part of it, just like Ryoto", Angel said. Emily nodded.

"My parents, they were loyal Rockets, always had been. I used to tell them how I hated the way Team Rocket was and they would force me to be quiet about it. I used to think it was because they felt it was foolish of me to think it, and they wanted me to grow up like them...but it wasn't until I was older that I realized it was for my own protection. Team Rocket doesn't take kindly to those who stand against their ways, especially people on their own team. My parents, they allowed me to think of what I wanted to about Team Rocket, so long as I did it quietly and not to others. But then, when the time came for me to join the ranks of Rocket grunts...", Emily said. She then stopped. Dawn and Angel looked at her, waiting for the response.

"...you ran...", Angel said. Emily looked down to her and nodded.

"I couldn't become a part of something I stood against. I couldn't figure out why I was the way I was. My parents were loyal, all of my friends growing up were loyal, why was I so different? I didn't know. But I knew that I couldn't be a part of it. So, I ran. It's not exactly rare for people to flee from Team Rocket, it occasionally happens. But they always get captured eventually. Put through "rehabilitation", so that they can see the error of their ways...let's just say after they're done they don't want to run away ever again. I knew the risks, and so did my parents. But they supported me the entire way. They even set it up so I had the chance to flee. They put me on scouting duty with a small group in northern Kanto. I knocked them all out and fled. It was soon after that I learned of the PTA, what they stood for, and knew that it was fate for me to join. I miss my parents, and I worry about them, but I have no regrets in what I did", Emily explained.

"Do you think Team Rocket is still looking for you?", Dawn asked. Emily shrugged.

"I don't know. I'd imagine that by now they think that I'm either dead or they know I joined a rebel force. That's usually what happens to the Rockets who are about to be captured. They die or go through rehabilitation. I don't know of any Rockets looking for me at least, which suits me just fine", Emily said.

"What about your parents?", Angel asked. Emily sighed.

"As far as I know, they're alive. But I haven't heard from them since. Because of their loyalty I'd imagine that Team Rocket wouldn't suspect them of aiding in my escape. But I honestly don't know", Emily said.

"How come you never told Ash or the others about this?", Dawn asked.

"You have to understand, I never wanted to keep it a secret from everyone. Honest. I would of told people...but then...", Emily said. Angel stepped in.

"You were afraid of being betrayed, being left alone again", Angel answered. Emily nodded, tears trying to fight their way through. Emily whimpered, trying to hold them back.

"At first I was afraid of being attacked or killed by the PTA if they found out. Them being kept secret was important, and I understood that. But after Ryoto joined and people found out he was a former Rocket, they still accepted him. After that I was going to tell everyone the truth...but that was when people began to leave me, to abandon me. It was after the failed missions and the hurt and pain I went through that I decided that I had to keep it all a secret, so that people wouldn't have an excuse to leave me...And I've been alone ever since...well, until you came along Angel", Emily explained, now smiling with a few lone tears coming down.

Angel smiled, tears wanting to come down herself. She however managed to hold them back better than Emily did, how she couldn't even imagine. Dawn looked at Emily. She clearly understood what she had been through, but did look disappointed.

"You could of given us a lot of information if you just came clean", Dawn said. Being a region leader and a original PTA, she knew that a lot of good could happen if they had someone from the inside join them. Ryoto gave them tons of information, but what one person could of given, two could of doubled. Emily shook her head.

"No! If I knew anything, I _would _of told you all! I swear! But Team Rocket purposely keeps information out of trainee's hands. They know that they're the ones most likely to run or mess up and talk. They wait until they're sure we can keep a secret. So I knew nothing", Emily said. Dawn nodded, feeling bad for acting the way she did and agreeing with her.

"So...you want us to keep this a secret?", Angel asked. Emily nodded.

"Yes...please. I...I can't risk people finding out. Ryoto is fine with being alienated...but I can't go through that", Emily said. Angel nodded and smiled.

"Then no problem, your secret is safe with me!", Angel said. She understood what it was like to be alone, without parents. She knew the pain, and if she could help it, she wasn't going to let someone else feel the same thing she felt. Emily smiled.

"Thank you Angel", Emily said. The two girls then both turned to Dawn. She looked at them both, but then eventually nodded.

"I won't tell either", Dawn said. Emily smiled.

"Thank you", Emily said. Dawn nodded. She didn't like keeping secrets from her fellow leaders and friends, but she knew that this was important to Emily, and since she didn't know anything anyway, it was safe to keep it a secret.

"It's fine...so then, your parents are Rockets, any other relatives or friends?", Dawn asked. Emily looked down from the girls, as if she instantly thought of someone.

"Yeah...there is _someone _else...but it's not important. You don't need to know who", Emily said. Before the girls could ask what she meant by this, someone walked into the Kitchen. The three girls all turned to see Aleksi standing at the entrance. She looked at the three girls with a smile.

"THERE you are! I was looking for you!", Aleksi said, referring to Angel. She then looked to Emily and Dawn. "And it's great to see you two made it home safely, I trust you're all doing fine". Knowing that they couldn't give anything about Emily away, all three girls smiled and acted as if nothing had happened.

"Yes, they're all doing fine...why were you looking for me?", Angel asked. Aleksi walked into the room and stopped in front of them.

"Well I asked you to tell me who came home and you never came back!", Aleksi said. Angel smirked.

"Oh, my apologies. Well, Evan isn't here", Angel said, making sure to say it out loud to the others. Emily and Dawn giggled.

"Aww, how cute! She's worried about Evan!", Emily said.

"I think it's adorable Aleksi!", Dawn remarked. Aleksi blushed heavily.

"I'M NOT WORRIED ABOUT HIM! I JUST WANTED TO KNOW WHEN HE WAS HOME!", Aleksi yelled at the top of her lungs. This nearly caused all three girls to fall over backwards from the force.

"Well it's clear that you're feeling better", Angel said with a giggle. Aleksi straightened herself up and nodded.

"Yes, much better thank you...what were you girls talking about anyway?", Aleksi asked curiously. Angel smiled.

"Oh nothing, just getting to know each other better", Angel said, turning back to Emily and winking. Emily winked back.

**And here's where I'll stop it! I hope you all liked the chapter! I decided that I was going to dive into the character's back stories more, and with the moment of peace that they all have, I felt that now was a good time. I hope that by the end of the story, you'll understand the characters more and feel like they're real people, not just made up characters for a story. :) Well before I end this chapter entirely, I have a few questions for the authors who have OCs in this story. This question is for ALL authors: How do you feel when you wake up in the morning? I realize I asked this one already awhile back, but since then I've received a lot more OCs. So please let me know. Tell me how YOU are when you wake up, I want the characters to share with the authors. Let me know other things too, like if say you drink coffee, are grumpy, a morning person, what time you usually wake up, anything that might relate. This is of course for the story. I also have a question for the authors WHO HAVE FEMALE OC'S, THIS DOES NOT REFER TO AUTHORS WITH MALE OCS. I don't want to give too much away for the future, but a major scene I intend to do will require dressing up. Now for guys, they pretty much wear the same thing, but girls have fancier dressed and etc. So if you would like, please send me a description of a dress you would wear or would like your OC to wear. Don't make it TOO extravagant, no Lady Gaga here. Just like a prom or ball dress, slim, sexy, bright, whatever you like. Guys, no worries, tuxes are easy to make. And with that, I'll bid you all farewell. Be sure to F.A.R. and also check out the poll that's now on my profile page!**

**sincerely,  
evan, a fan of aaml **

**P.S.- Thank you Lulu Halulu for the info! A great job on it too! :D**

**-EVAN AAML **


	45. Chapter 45

**Welcome back everyone, and I hope you're all enjoying the latest with Angel and the PTA! I realized that the last chapter came a little late, so I intend to make up for it with this update! Something that people have been noticing is that these latest few chapters have been lacking in action and Rocket attacks. As stated previously, there is going to be more work on characterization and plot building for a bit. Although this can get dry quickly, I will do my best to keep you all entertained. Rest assured there will be plenty of Rocket fighting, violence, and battling in the future. But to keep the story strong, I have to build on the many characters I have and I can't merely throw in fights willy nilly. I hope you all understand. Now that that's out of the way, let's begin shall we?**

**-EVAN AAML**

Aleksi looked back and forth between Angel and Emily. It was clear that the three girls were hiding something from her, but what they were hiding she wasn't sure. Although her curiosity was increasing every second, she knew that it wasn't any of her business. She was sure that it wasn't anything to be concerned with. Aleksi shrugged and ignored the winks.

"Alright then, so what have you girls been doing in the Kitchen?", Aleksi asked. Angel turned away from Emily and looked back to Aleksi.

"Oh, we were all hungry, so we came here to find something to eat", Angel explained, pointing to the bowl of berries she had placed on the small table beside them. Aleksi looked at the bowl of berries, and then back to Angel. Her face was filled with shock, bewilderment, and hunger.

"You came down here to eat...AND YOU DIDN'T TELL ME?", Aleksi asked yelling. Angel, Dawn, and Emily all sweatdropped. "Angel! I thought we were best friends! Best friends would tell each other when they were going to eat after a long fought battle!".

"But you said you wanted to sleep!", Angel said, knowing that Aleksi was not really mad and actually smiling while arguing with her. Although she was not used to having "fights" with people, she did find enjoyment in it. It made everything else around them seem more calm and peaceful. She preferred this over living on edge all the time from the battling and violence.

"I did! But I would of post-poned my sleep for a snack!", Aleksi explained. Angel sighed. With a smile on her face, she looked through the berry bowl and picked a berry that was resting on top of the pile. It was blue in color and freckled. She handed it over to Aleksi, who happily accepted it.

"Here, this one will work perfectly for you. It's an Oran berry, really common but really effective", Angel explained. Aleksi nodded with a smile. "But be careful, they're really hard".

"Got it!", Aleksi said. She grasped the berry in her hand and, with care, bit into the berry. Like Angel had warned, it took some effort to bite into the hard fruit. But once she did, her taste buds exploded. She felt the sensation of nearly every flavor imaginable and gasped. "Wow! I don't believe it! This tastes...amazing!", Aleksi said. Angel nodded with a smile.

"Yep, the Oran berry has a mixture of flavors, and it even restores some health for Pokemon. Maybe it will give you enough energy to stay up until Evan returns", Angel explained with a sly smile. Aleksi blushed and looked away from Angel, continuing to bite into her berry.

"I don't know why I would want to even bother! All he does is irritate me!", Aleksi stated, her mouth full. Angel smirked.

"Maybe, but didn't he help you shoot better, and help you when you hurt your wrist...and didn't he save your life when we were escaping the base?", Angel asked. Aleksi sighed.

"Yes, I guess he _did _do that. I suppose the least I can do is wait for him to come home and thank him properly", Aleksi said. She looked away from the girls, making sure to hide her blush that crossed her face. The truth was she had already thanked him for saving her life, though it was not to his face. And she was really hoping to have some more time with him, particularly private time.

Suddenly, the sound of other voices coming towards them echoed down the halls. The four girls turned around and looked, waiting to see who would be coming. They could not immediately pick up the voices and tell who they were coming from, but from the sounds of it they had been talking to each other for awhile. Soon, the voices grew louder, and from a side hall, popped out Tracy and Mathinza.

"So you _were _on the same boat as me! I swear you were missing for like most of the battle, I was wondering where you went to!", Mathinza said. Tracy, who was listening to Mathinza, nodded. But he seemed distracted by something else, something that was bothering him. However, he hid this when he then looked ahead of him, seeing the girls in the Kitchen.

"Oh, hey!", Tracy said. Mathinza turned and looked to see the girls as well. He smiled.

"Hey girls!", Mathinza said. All four girls smiled.

"Tracy! Mathinza! You're home!", Aleksi said, lowering the berry from her mouth and focusing on the new arrivals.

"Yeah, the third bus just made it back. The wounded are being checked up on, but the majority of us were alright", Tracy explained.

"Who came home with you?", Angel asked, partially for Aleksi but also for herself. Tracy thought about it for a moment.

"Uhm, well us obviously, Drew, Gary, Michael, Brian, Darrel, and a bunch of other rebels", Tracy replied. Aleksi seemed slightly disappointed. Had Evan been one of the returning rebels Tracy would of said so. Angel felt bad for Aleksi, knowing how much, (despite her constant denying), she really missed him. "Everyone else is going to return in the last van, including Ash and Misty. They left a bit earlier than the other vans did, so they should be here soon. It's risky though, I hope they'll arrive safely", Tracy said. The way that he said this caught Aleksi's attention. She was smart enough to catch people's hidden emotions, and she could tell that Tracy knew something she didn't.

"I'm sure they'll be fine, Ash wouldn't let anything happen to them", Mathinza said. Angel, Emily, and Dawn nodded, knowing that that would be true. Aleksi nodded as well, ignoring Tracy's weird emotions for now.

"So where is everyone else?", Emily asked.

"Mostly getting checked up. We really didn't need to do one so we came here for food first", Tracy explained. Dawn pointed to the bowl of berries.

"Well there are berries here, but I'm sure that there will be plenty of things to eat later on after everyone's arrived and rested", Dawn stated. Tracy nodded.

"Agreed", Tracy said.

"We might as well go see the others, ready?", Dawn asked the girls. They all nodded. They then began to walk off. As they did however, Tracy stopped Angel. She looked up to him, wondering what he was doing. He got lower to her and looked in her eyes.

"You feeling alright Angel? I know what you've been through, and what you've seen", Tracy said. Angel knew that he was referring to the images she had seen earlier, while they were making their way back to the others when the array was taken down. The images and past scents of the burning corpses brought back painful memories to her. She felt like she was right there once again. The skin that melted off of the bones of their friends, the broken Pokeballs showing no remains of what once filled them. The images were things of nightmares, something she was sure she would have that night, and for nights to come.

"I'm...better. I think after a day or so of rest I'll be fine", Angel explained, mostly lying to even herself. Tracy nodded. Though he very much doubted that she would be fine after only a couple of days, he knew that it was a painful thing to bring up, and left it at that.

"Alright, hopefully you will be. I'll talk to you later", Tracy said. Angel nodded.

"Alright, enjoy the food...oh! And some of those berries are a bit rare, be careful in choosing which ones to eat", Angel warned. Tracy smiled.

"Not to worry, I learned a lot about berries in my travels and research. I'll be fine", Tracy said. Angel nodded and walked off, quickly rejoining the other girls who were waiting for her. Tracy watched as the girls all walked away. He seemed worried over something, and it caused him to grow concern for the females. Just then, Mathinza walked up to his side and Tracy looked at him. His mouth was puckered entirely and his eyes looked like they were in pain. Tracy sweatdropped, hiding his current emotions once again. "You ate a pretty sour berry huh?", Tracy asked. Mathinza merely nodded. Tracy sighed and turned around. "Come on, let's find a berry that'll get rid of the taste".

Meanwhile, the four girls began to make their way back to the others in the medical center, where they would of been dropped off. They walked past more and more medics and rebels, who were still after all of this time running around and getting things done. Watching everyone running here and there was making Angel tired. She still had not gotten any sleep or major rest since she arrived, and seeing everyone moving so quickly made her feel groggy and out of energy. But she knew that she would last a little while longer. If what Tracy had said was true, and the final van had left earlier than the others, then she should be able to see everyone return before she would finally be able to crash.

Aleksi meanwhile seemed to be distracted by something else entirely. She was thinking back to Tracy's concerned looking expression. It was common for her to over-think things and make them look bigger than they really were. But in war, paranoia was common, and for good reason. One of Team Rocket's favorite methods of influence over the people they controlled was paranoia. Often they would purposely leak information to scare rebel forces and the common citizens. Lies of powerful weapons, spying tools, and genetically mutated Pokemon made people grow more concerned and less likely to attack. She wasn't sure what it was that made Tracy act that way, but she knew that he knew something. And she wanted to know what.

"So Aleksi, did you get your Pokemon checked up on?", Dawn asked, noticing that Aleksi seemed deep in thought. Aleksi looked to her, snapping out of her train of thought, and nodded.

"Yeah, after Angel left with Wallace someone came in and took our Pokemon for their own check ups. They're all off to the Pokemon Medical Center", Aleksi explained.

"That's good. I hope they're all alright, all of the Pokemon", Angel said.

"I'm sure they'll be fine, Pokemon are a lot tougher than people let on. They earned their rest", Aleksi explained. Angel agreed. After a little more walking they had finally retraced their steps back to the medical center, where they were immediately greeted by Gary and Michael. Michael seemed rather cheery to be home, although it was clear that the fighting had taken their tolls on him. Gary on the other hand looked different. He wasn't in much fighting, but looked just as worn. Not from the physical battles, but from something else that seemed to be bothering him. Aleksi noticed this immediately. She thought that she might of been wrong about Tracy, but seeing that Gary was acting the same way confirmed her suspicions. Michael turned around, saw the girls, and smiled.

"Hey! Long time no see!", Michael joked.

"How you feeling Michael?", Aleksi asked. Michael shrugged.

"Tired mostly. The battles and running around really took its toll on me. I'm too old for this", Michael said. Gary looked at him with an odd expression. He seemed to be hiding something, as if he was trying too hard to be casual.

"Michael, you're sixteen", Gary said.

"Well then expect an early retirement from me when this is all over with!", Michael responded. The girls all laughed.

"So then, where are the others?", Angel asked, wanting to know if they were alright.

"Drew is, of course, with May", Gary explained.

"Brian is getting checked up, Darrel is already asleep, a few other rebels followed suit and are asleep too. I don't know about the rest, I sort of just went on my own once we arrived", Michael explained.

"And Tracy and Mathinza went off to get something to eat", Gary finished. The girls nodded.

"Yeah, we ran into them already, that's why we knew to come look for you guys", Emily explained. Aleksi then approached Gary. She knew that something was up, and she intended to find out what it was.

"Tracy said that the others left earlier than the other vans, is that right?", Aleksi asked. Gary nodded.

"Yeah, Ash wanted to get everyone home as soon as possible and it's beginning to look like the Rockets are patrolling the area more. We were nearly checked ourselves, it was a miracle that they let us go", Gary explained. This caused the other girls to grow worried. They had returned no problem, it was troubling knowing that the Rockets began searching the area so quickly.

"Do...do you think, that they'll get stopped, or worse?", Aleksi asked. Gary sighed, trying to think of a way to answer. He knew that Aleksi had suspected something, and he knew that there was no point in hiding it anymore.

"Honestly...I don't know. I thought that they would return no problem, but after what nearly happened to us, I'm not so sure anymore. It got to the point where Ash gave me strict orders as to what to do in case they got captured. Gramps stayed with them so as to hopefully get through Rocket security without them searching the vans. They know he's not the most loyal Rocket Prof. but the fact that he works on things for them gives them trust", Gary explained. All of the girls became even more worried, even Michael began to show some concern.

"Ash didn't tell us that he gave you orders", Michael said. Gary glanced over to him.

"You weren't _meant _to know. He only told me and Tracy since we were on our way back to base", Gary explained. Aleksi was worried to ask her next question, but she knew that she had to.

"Gary...what were the orders Ash gave you...in case they got captured?", Aleksi asked. Gary looked at Aleksi intently. Everyone merely stood there, waiting for an answer. The tension was thick and the anticipation was killing them.

"...not to save them if they got captured", Gary answered. The girls and Michael gasped. Aleksi covered her mouth, fearing that that was the answer. Dawn looked saddened, but understood the situation. Being one of the top PTA rebels like Gary and Tracy, she understood why he would make those orders. Emily also understood, like Aleksi and Dawn did, but was acting more like Aleksi. Angel and Michael however were confused.

"Why? Why would Ash give orders like that?", Angel asked, shocked, confused, and concerned.

"Yeah, it doesn't make sense! Why _wouldn't _we save them?", Michael asked.

"Because, it would endanger everything", Dawn answered. Michael and Angel turned to look at her. "The reason for Ash not joining the fight on New Island was to prevent him getting captured should the mission have failed. But likewise, if he IS captured, then we can't save him. He is most wanted on the Rocket hit list, if he was captured, they would have the toughest, most dangerous security they could get around him. It would only cause more casualties for our side. Plus Ash would want us to continue fighting, with or without him". Aleksi and Emily nodded, knowing this to be true.

"Gary...what...what do you think they'll do to the others, if they do stop the van?", Aleksi asked. She feared that she already knew the answer, but wanted to make sure. Gary placed his hands in his pockets, walked over, and leaned against the wall, looking down at the ground in deep thought.

"Well, first thing they would do is search the van. Immediately they would see the others and the van would be marked and surrounded by heavy security. They would have everyone get out and they would find out who they were, see if they were on the Rocket bounty or wanted list. Harboring fugitives is a crime, so odds are they would shoot the driver immediately, bullet to the back of the head. But since Ash is among the captured, the Rockets would hold them until more Rockets came", Gary explained. The description was already causing the group to become more and more worried and scared.

"Ash is priority to them, so they would immediately take him prisoner, take him back to their main base for questioning", Dawn said. Gary nodded.

"Odds are they would take another one or two people, in case Ash doesn't talk, which he wouldn't. In this case, they'd take Misty and Gramps, since Misty is a top member of the PTA and since Gramps would be deemed a traitor", Gary said.

"And...what about the others?", Angel asked, her voice shaking a bit. Aleksi kept her hands over her mouth, wanting to hide the shriek or gasp she knew was bound to happen. Gary closed his eyes and looked down again.

"...depends on how they feel. On an ordinary day they _might _keep them prisoner. Possibly question them for what they know and then send them to labor camps. None would return but at least they'd probably be alive. But, the Rocket by now all know what we did. The base attack won't go by without them exacting revenge...since the others are not highly ranked PTA rebels, odds are...they would assassinate them on the spot. Put them in line, and gun them down", Gary said.

Aleksi did shriek, but she managed to muffle most of it with her hands. She stepped away from the others, trying to hold back the tears that were fighting their way through. The image of Evan and the others, being shot in cold blood and most likely thrown in the ocean or buried in a mass grave clouded her mind. She felt like she was having a panic attack, though she wasn't sure why. She was used to this kind of thing happening in these times. She thought that it might be due to them being so close to being home, the idea that they were metaphorically putting their foot through the door before being pulled away hit hard. Emily sat down on a bench that was aligned against the wall, near Dawn and Gary. She was unable to stand after hearing such news and covered her face with her hands. Michael paced back and forth, trying not to think of it happening. Angel fell to her knees, in complete shock.

It couldn't happen to them...it couldn't. Not when they were so close to home.

Although it wasn't a guarantee that it could happen, the fear was there. There was a chance that the last van would never make it home, their leader would be captured, and their friends would be slaughtered. The number of lives they had lost were unbearable, countless lives were lost in the New Island battle. And yet it was here, back in Kanto where they felt safest, that it seemed most painful. Perhaps it was the supposed peace of mind or the fact that they had completed their mission that made these possible deaths hardest to bare. Angel wasn't sure exactly if it was this or not, but she knew that it no matter what the reason was, she wouldn't be able to handle finding out that they could of been killed.

Gary looked at the group of rebels around him. With the exception of Dawn, who understood the situation best, the others were torn and hurt from the news. He felt bad about telling them the possibility of losing their friends, but that was how he was. He was never exactly known for a lot of compassion. Not that he was a jerk, but he just didn't have as much emotion as the others. The fact that he used facts often didn't help. But regardless, he felt bad for having made the others feel this way. He pulled himself off from the wall and approached the hurting rebels.

"Now look, I know it seems bad, I understand why you're upset. But they're most likely safe. I'm sorry for scaring you, I just said what COULD happen. Odds are they're already on their way here right now. I wouldn't be surprised if they were pulling into the driveway as we speak", Gary explained. The rebels all turned to look at Gary. Angel and Michael began to show small signs of hope. Aleksi, Emily, and Dawn were also hopeful, but still seemed upset. "You all have to have faith, alright? Faith is one of the PTA's strong suits, you're all better than this!", Gary said, somewhat sternly.

There were few requirements to being a PTA rebel soldier. Most people came from many different backgrounds from different regions with different reasons for joining. But one of the things that every PTA rebel had was faith. They believed that they would be able to win in the fight for freedom, and had faith in themselves and their fellow rebels.

Aleksi, still visibly upset, nodded and lowered her hands.

"He's right. We shouldn't be acting this way. We should have faith that they'll return home safely. We shouldn't be giving up hope now, especially when we don't know for certain", Aleksi explained. The others agreed.

"Exactly. Have faith that they'll make it home safe and sound", Dawn said.

"Right now, all we can do is try to get healthy, and wait to see what happens", Gary said. "Quite frankly all of us could use rest, so why don't we go and get some?". Angel nodded and got up.

"Ok, I think I could really use it now more than before anyway", Angel said.

"Good. I have to do some things before I get my rest, so I'll see you all later. We'll have a briefing later today depending on how everyone is doing", Gary stated. The others all nodded. "Ok then, I will see you all later". He then walked off, holding his index and middle finger out and waving it, his "salute" farewell. Everyone watched as he walked away, and then looked to each other.

"So then, what about the rest of you?", Michael asked.

"I'm going to see how the others are doing, afterwards I'll meet up with you all in the rest area", Dawn stated.

"I guess the rest of us are going to the rest area now", Aleksi said. Michael nodded.

"Alright, I'll go with you guys. I need rest BADLY!", Michael said, exhausted. The girls giggled in response.

"Well then, we don't want to hold you off any longer now do we? Let's go", Aleksi said. And with that, the group of rebels walked off and made their way back to the resting area. It took a minute or two to reach the room, but Angel soon found herself back in the room where she would probably spend the night. The same rebels who were there before, including Brock, Logan, and Luke. But now there were more rebels in the room, taking spots on the beds. Angel and Aleksi's beds remained unoccupied, most likely Brock saved them.

Laying on his own bed near the end of the room was Darrel. He relaxed, his hands behind his head and his eyes closed. They guessed he was asleep. He was not wounded, but extremely tired from the fighting. Also in the room was Catie the medic, who was checking on the rebels in the room. Brock turned and looked at the entrance, seeing the girls and Michael. He waved.

"Hey!", Brock said. Several other rebels turned and looked to see them as well, including Darrel, who was not asleep after all. "Glad to see that you guys made it". Brock was referring to Emily and Michael.

"Yeah, the second and third vans arrived safely, and we're waiting for the fourth", Emily explained.

"Everyone else who came back is getting checked up", Michael said. Brock nodded.

"As well they should be", Brock said. Angel walked into the room and to her bed across from Brock's.

"Thank you for saving our beds Brock!", Angel said. Brock smiled.

"No problem", Brock said. Aleksi took her bed next to Angel's while Emily and Michael looked for a bed for themselves. They didn't plan on staying in the room for the night since they didn't need to. This was more for temporary rest. Michael walked to the end of the room and sat on a bed across from Darrel, who gave him a head nod for hello. Michael responded with his own head nod. Emily meanwhile was stopped by Catie, who looked at her.

"Were you checked up on...", Catie said, not knowing Emily's name.

"Emily", Emily responded. "And yes, I was, just some bruising on my chest". She was acting somewhat cold again, but seemed to have toned it down slightly. Probably because Catie was medical and she knew she was just doing her job.

"Ok, be sure to sit up on your bed, laying down might possibly make it painful to breath with that bruising...what about you over there?", Catie asked Michael. Michael looked to her, pointed to himself as if to ask "Me?", and then answered.

"I'm fine, just...really tired", Michael said through a yawn. Catie smiled and shook her head.

"Well then rest is what you need", Catie replied. Michael nodded.

"I hear that!", Michael said, laying down and resting his head on the pillow. Darrel couldn't help but smirk at the younger rebel before him. He then turned and looked over to Emily.

"You said that the fourth van is on the way, do you know who's on it?", Darrel asked. The group tried to think for a bit to see who they knew wasn't home yet.

"Well, Ash and Misty stayed behind, so they're on it", Emily answered.

"Prof. Oak too", Angel said.

"I haven't seen Nick here yet", Michael said, his eyes closed. He was listening to the others.

"Evan, Riles, and...MILO?", Aleksi said, the last name yelled and in a shocked expression. Everyone looked at Aleksi, wondering why she yelled the last name. She was looking at the entrance to the clinic in shock. Everyone turned and gasped. Standing at the door, panting heavily, was Milo. He was hunched over just slightly, trying to catch his breath.

His white T-shirt, covered in red.

"WHAT HAPPENED?", Brock asked, sitting up abruptly in his bed, as did practically everyone else in the room.

"We...we were attacked man...", Milo said, practically out of breath. Everyone in the room seemed to freeze. Their hearts sank deep into their chest and they were covered in goose bumps. Catie ran over to Milo to check him out while Aleksi jumped off of her bed and ran to him as well.

"WHERE ARE THE OTHERS? WHERE'S EVAN? ARE THEY ALRIGHT?", Aleksi asked, worry and fear filling her. Catie checked up on Milo, making sure that she could cover the bleeding spots.

"...It's not pretty Aleksi", Milo said, looking at her. Aleksi grabbed Milo's arms and slightly shook him.

"IS EVAN ALRIGHT?", Aleksi asked again, yelling.

"Yeah, I'm fine", a voice said in a rather confused way. Aleksi and Catie turned to see someone walk into view. The two of them both gasped, Aleksi looking like she had just seen a ghost. It was Evan. He smiled at first, but then when he saw the looks on everyone's faces, seemed bewildered. "...What?", Evan asked. He turned and saw that Milo was standing just in front of him, still being checked up on by Catie. Evan sighed. "You did it didn't you?", Evan asked.

"Wha...what is this?", Catie asked, looking at the wounds. Something about it seemed unnatural. Her hands were covered in the red, but it felt different than typical blood.

"We...we were attacked...by rouge tomatoes...", Milo said, now smirking and stifling a grin. Everyone in the room sighed heavily. Most people, like Angel, Brock, and Darrel, were annoyed by the crude joke. Michael did have a slight chuckle. Logan and Luke seemed more impressed, surprised that Milo was able to pull something like that off. Evan seemed somewhat irritated.

"Milo, didn't we say that you doing that joke would scare everyone? Ash was VERY particular in saying DON'T do it! And on top of that you wasted a lot of Ketchup", Evan said. He was smiling, so he thought it was funny as well, but he also understood that now wasn't the time for jokes that dark. Milo chuckled.

"I COULDN'T HELP IT MAN! IT WAS PERFECT! I MEAN, YOU SHOULD OF SEEN THE LOOK ON THEIR", before Milo could finish, he found himself being punched several times by Aleksi. He tried to cover what he could, but the fists were flying by fast and hard.

"YOU...ARE SUCH...A DUMB ASS! YOU IDIOT! YOU SHOULDN'T MAKE JOKES LIKE THAT! YOU STUPID, LOUSY, MORON!", Aleksi yelled. Soon enough, she stopped punching Milo, panting heavily. Milo was on the ground, in pain, but still smiling.

"Owwwww, ugh, totally...worth it, ehhh", Milo said, aching in pain. Evan sweatdropped at the fight that had just occurred. He then looked at Emily.

"Uhm...I take it you're feeling better?", Evan asked. Aleksi looked at Evan, but it was with a mix of feelings. Evan seemed worried at first, unsure if she was truly mad at him or not. Aleksi slowly approached Evan, until they were only a foot or so apart. Before Evan knew it, Aleksi was pounding her fists onto his chest, one after the other. The punches weren't very hard, though Evan wasn't sure if this was because she was purposely holding back, or she was tired from beating up Milo. She continued to do this for a few seconds before she found herself instead wrapping her arms around Evan, pressing her face into his chest, and...crying.

Do...do you have...any idea, how worried we were...how worried _I _was?", Aleksi asked through tears, looking up at Evan from his chest. Evan felt terrible for causing Aleksi this pain. He sighed.

"I'm sorry Aleksi. I really am. But I did what I promised you. I said that I would wait until everyone else safely made it home. Just like you were going to do. I'm sorry for scaring you, but I intended to keep my word", Evan explained. Aleksi smiled, slightly.

"Well...thank you. But next time, please don't scare me", Aleksi said. Evan nodded with a smile.

"No problem", Evan said. Aleksi then leaned in and nuzzled her head into Evan's chest. She ignored the smiles on Angel and Brock's face. No one said anything, they knew that she needed this. Evan smiled and gave Aleksi a hug back. "I think you might need a nap, you're a bit emotional and moody", Evan said somewhat quietly with a smirk. Aleksi smirked back.

"And you need a shower...you reek of cigarette smoke", Aleksi replied back. Evan chuckled, which caused Aleksi to smile more. She loved the feeling of his laughter on her head coming from the chest she was pressed against.

"We're not interrupting anything are we?", someone asked. Aleksi, Evan, and everyone else in the room turned to look at the source of the voice. Standing at the entrance, a few feet behind Evan, were Ash and Misty. The two smiled at the little embrace they were seeing before them. It was Ash that had asked the question. Evan and Aleksi blushed immensely and released each other, stepping back a few feet away. Evan whistled to himself while Aleksi rubbed the back of her head, both of them avoiding eye contact with everyone in the room and each other.

Ash and Misty both then looked down to see Milo on the ground. He was in pain, but nothing too severe. Catie was looking over him, though the annoyance in her expression was evident. Misty sighed, seeing Milo's shirt and cheeky grin.

"You did it didn't you?", Misty asked. Milo nodded.

"Yeah I did", Milo said without any remorse, even chuckling a bit. Misty shook her head in annoyance. Ash somewhat chuckled, but more at Milo's misfortune than the joke itself.

"I _told _you not to do it, you had this coming", Ash stated. Catie helped Milo sit up, though he remained sitting on the ground and he pressed his back against the bed beside him, (Luke's).

"I regret nothing, completely worth it man", Milo said with a grin. "Besides, I did practically nothing that entire mission amigo, I _deserved _that!". Ash chuckled.

"Yeah, you got that right", Ash said, though he meant the beating more than the joke. "And you know Pikachu's going to kill you when he finds out you wasted _his _Ketchup for this". Milo shrugged. He would manage. Ash then looked back up to everyone else in the room. "But Milo is right about one thing, you all _do _deserve this. All of you. You've done such an amazing job, every single one of you, you all deserve to rest and have fun".

"Ash is right. You have all done something amazing today, something that every innocent person on this planet will appreciate", Misty stated. Brock nodded.

"I agree. You should all be proud of yourselves, you've all brought the PTA one step closer to victory and peace", Brock threw in. Ash nodded.

"Exactly. So, to all of you...from the bottom of my heart. Thank you, for helping in the fight for peace...and welcome back home", Ash said.

**A perfect line to end the chapter! So, how many of you were shocked when I had Milo act that way, and then angry that I would be so mean to Aleksi and the others? MUAHAHAHAHAHAHA! ;) Well regardless, I hope you all liked the chapter update! I wanted to get this one done sooner than the last one, so I hope you all enjoy. I had to add more to the chapter than I originally planned on, because it seemed lacking to me, plain and boring. So I made it a bit more suspenseful, as you can see. Also, as a side note, I notice that some people have been pointing out some mistakes in the typing itself. Thank you for pointing them out. For some reason, my current spell check, (not as good as the other ones I used), points out spelling mistakes, but not grammatical errors. So because of that, if I accidentally type in a word that does not fit, but it technically spelled right, then it will not point it out. So my apologies if you see some. Also, I would like to thank the authors who responded to my questions in my last chapter, I really appreciate it! :) Still waiting for responses from Kefka VI and snappy-salamence. If a author reviewed the last chapter, but missed the questions, then please be sure to look back, read the ending A.N., and respond to the question(s) in this review. Thank you! And as for everyone else, I hope you all enjoyed, please be sure to F.A.R., and I will see you all next time!**

**sincerely,  
****evan, a fan of aaml -EVAN AAML **


	46. Chapter 46

**BOO!...did I scare you? Come on, don't lie, you KNOW I did! ;) Sorry, I'm in the Halloween spirit! I find it funny that Halloween was always my favorite holiday growing up, for really no reason what so ever. I HATE scary things, I don't even watch horror movies, and on top of that I hate chocolate and most candies; plus there's the fact that Halloween, unlike most other holidays, you sort of "stop celebrating" once you get older. Oh well, I've still always liked it. I always liked dressing up in costume for whatever reason, and I liked walking around, seeing other costumes and going door to door. Plus I liked looking at kid's "artwork" of toilet paper or shaving cream pranks, along with doing some of my own. I try to be original, not vandalistic...yeah, that's right, I made up my own word! (I once had a pet Tarantula that I placed on the candy bowl and allowed kids to pick their own candy. The looks on the faces of the older teens and kids alike who found out the spider was real was priceless!...and so was my mother grounding me when she found out. -_-). Still worth it! What are your favorite Halloween stories? I'd like to hear them! **

**-EVAN AAML**

The rebels in the room all cheered and celebrated at their victory. Although this was a small portion of the people who helped bring their victory to life, it was none the less spectacular. Through it all, the journey, the fighting, the violence, the tension, the fear, the deaths, and the tears, they were able to make a huge dent in the Rocket defenses and make themselves that much closer to freedom. People everywhere, once they would find out about the base attack, would certainly grow more faith in the PTA and themselves. Every rebel there felt something inside them, a glimmer of hope. Something that, through the battles and constant set backs, they were beginning to lose. It was an enlightening feeling to them all.

After their applause and chants, Ash hushed the group of rebels down for just a moment so that he could speak again.

"Ok everyone, I hope that you all are able to rest, relax, and get rejuvenated. You've all earned it greatly! Take showers, get something to eat, sleep, and do whatever you want. When everyone is rested the region leaders and a few select others will go over the debriefing and make further plans. Now then, if you'll excuse me...I have to go and get scolded by my mother", Ash said, jokingly at the last bit. Several rebels in the room "Ooooooo"ed while others laughed at Ash's misfortune. Misty giggled and put her hand on Ash's shoulder, mocking sympathy. Angel noticed that she was saying something to him, but she was unable to make out what in the commotion.

With that, Ash left the room, followed by Misty. Angel presumed it was Misty saying that she would be there for him, probably to take some of the blame. She did recall Mrs. Ketchum saying that they were practically her adopted family. She wanted to see if the mission and time spent apart would make it easier for her to get them together, but they were already gone, and she was too tired. She had time.

"Hey, what's the commotion about?", someone asked. When Ash and Misty had left, everyone brought their attention to each other in the room. Now another voice was talking to them. They turned to see Wallace standing at the door with a smile. "Are we celebrating the victory already?". The group of rebels laughed.

"Wallace, how is everyone?", Angel asked. The others, (who were not busy talking to others in the room), listened in to what Wallace had to say. He readjusted the glasses on his head, making a more serious expression.

"Well, Ryoto suffered a major concussion along with twelve broken ribs. He's lucky that his organs weren't pierced. He wouldn't of made it off the island let alone to base. He's still undergoing surgery but it looks good. Ashley suffered internal bleeding and a punctured lung. She's out of surgery now and resting. Hunter had the transfusion and he's resting as well, though his mobility is impaired for awhile. Sawyer is getting the pacemaker placed in now, but that won't be long, she should be out relatively soon. Brian is checked up and he's good to go, as are Nick, Riles, and most of the other rebels in fact", Wallace explained.

"So, no deaths?", Evan asked.

"None, surprising as that is. We took a beating, don't get me wrong. But surprisingly no one has died since we made it back to Kanto", Wallace said.

"What about May? or the others?", Angel asked. Wallace smirked.

"Why don't you ask them yourselves?", Wallace asked. He then stepped aside and in walked May, being supported by Drew. She had new bandages wrapped around her entire stomach and chest, but seemed fine. Max stood right behind her, carrying her bags for her. Behind Max was Trent, who smiled and waved to the others. He had bandages around his head and shoulder. The others smiled and called their names when they walked in. Some rebels walked up to them and gave them pats on the back, others merely said good job.

"How you feeling May?", Brock asked. May smiled.

"Much better now", May said.

"The bullet came out clean and even though she lost a lot of blood it could of been a hell of a lot worse", Wallace stated.

"Good thing too, mom would of killed me if she died", Max said. Everyone laughed. Max did care for his sister and was glad that she was alright. Making jokes was how he dealt with serious issues like that.

"What about you Trent?", Brock asked.

"Well, the bullet wound was small, so I just had to patch it up and get some stitches. And I had a headache from the fighting, but that's mostly gone now. Otherwise I'm fine", Trent explained. He then looked around the room. Nearly every single bed was taken up now by a rebel. He sighed. "Well, looks like I won't be sleeping in here".

"We're short on room, so if anyone is not seriously injured, or not injured at all, you can sleep in your own rooms. We need the space for those who need to be checked up on regularly", Wallace explained. He then turned to Trent. "Your wounds aren't that severe, you can sleep in your own room too".

"Probably for the best, I prefer my own room anyway", Trent said.

"May, you'll have to stay in here though, your wounds could cause more problems. Brock you should stay too, and Aleksi, and Angel. When the others get out of surgery they'll come in here as well", Wallace explained, looking around the room to see who was injured most. Darrel got up from his bed and stretched.

"That's fine by me man, my bed's more comfortable", Darrel said. The rebels then began to pack up their things and prepared to leave. The celebrating would have to wait until everyone was better. Just then, a voice called out to the group.

"Hold it just one minute if you will", the voice said. Everyone turned around to the entrance of the clinic. Standing at the door before them was Prof. Oak, who smiled cheerfully. The others smiled back to him.

"Hey Prof. Oak!", Angel said.

"Hello to you too dear, and all of you. I wanted to come in here to talk to you all", Prof. Oak said. He then ushered outside from the clinic for people to walk in. As he did, Riles, Nick, Brian, and Gary entered the room. Prof. Oak must of found them looking for the others and asked them to join him. "First off, I would like to thank you all for the work you have done in trying to restore peace to the world, everyone is eternally grateful. Many of you have made supreme sacrifices, some even their lives, to return what we once had".

The rebels all reflected back to the mission they had been on. The travel there, the fight on the sea, the journey to the base, the fighting and violence, and their escape. They looked back at the friends and family they had lost on the mission, the ones who gave it their all to make sure we got home safely and would continue the good fight. They looked back at the horrors they witnessed, and the blood they shed. Prof. Oak turned and looked to Wallace.

"Wallace, if you could, I have plenty of special items that could help get everyone back to full strength in a much faster rate than if they were to merely rest. If you could, would you go get them", Prof. Oak said. Wallace seemed shocked that Prof. Oak had such items, and he seemed excited.

"Of course! Where are they?", Wallace asked, already preparing to run off and get them.

"They're in the Pokemon care facility", Prof. Oak said. This seemed to confuse Wallace.

"Sir?", Wallace said, as if he didn't hear him correctly.

"One of the many things Team Rocket has forced me to do for them is to try and create stronger, faster acting Pokemon items for them. Ones that would allow much quicker healing and give their Pokemon much more strength and speed. The items I have made may be for Pokemon, but there are no proven side effects or problems that result from them being used on humans. Some Pokemon items are already known to aide well on humans, such as Burn Heals and Parlyz Heals. The ones I have created will act just like the typical ailment healers, except much faster", Prof. Oak explained.

"That's amazing! Alright, I'll get them immediately!", Wallace said. Prof. Oak side stepped out of the way as Wallace ran out of the room to get the items.

"Hopefully they will cure the majority of your ailments and allow you to recover much quicker. That being said, you all still need your rest, and some of you have injuries that a mere spray or injection won't fix up immediately. So please be careful", Prof. Oak said. "Now then, with that out of the way, I have something else to talk about. What you have done today, as many of you might already be aware of, was the single largest blow that Team Rocket has ever suffered since their take over, and possibly even ever. No other rebel attack, whether by the PTA or by a smaller group, has ever done what you have done today. And so, I have decided, to throw a "celebration" of sorts", Prof. oak explained.

"You mean, like a party?", Milo asked.

"In a way, I was thinking more like...a ball", Prof. Oak said. The rebels in the room lit up at the thought of it. "Back in the day I was known for occasionally throwing balls here at the lab, and may I say they were quite magnificent. Mostly they were for scientists and researchers, but considering the feat you have all done, I don't see why you can't have one".

"So like, we'll be able to dress up and dance? It'll be like a fantasy!", May said dreamily.

"Quite. You kids won't have to worry about much at all. Me and my aides will get the party ready, and order dresses and tuxedos for you all. I still maintain contact with my party planners. If you would like, you can help make food, play instruments for music, whatever your hearts desires!", Prof. Oak said with some excitement in his eyes. Angel smiled at seeing it. She had never seen him this happy before. He was always so down from the Rocket work, it was good to see something cheer him up like this.

"Wow, I haven't been to one of your balls in ages Gramps", Gary said, reflecting back.

"I know, it has been some time! But there is a catch that I must warn you about", Prof. Oak said, now getting more serious. The excited teens calmed down, wondering what this "catch" was. "Now obviously due to the number of people who would be attending this party, the only place I would be able to have it is in the dining hall upstairs. That means that the entire dance will be under Rocket surveillance. So, while you're at the dance, you cannot talk about ANY PTA business. Don't bring up anything that could possibly draw attention", Prof. Oak said. This caused many of the rebels to worry.

"Do you think any Rockets will attend the dance?", Evan asked.

"I have had three balls since the Rocket takeover, and only one of them did Team Rocket send "security" to. The others were only under surveillance. So I would be surprised if they sent anyone. But because of the rarity of the balls, and especially considering the timing, I am all but certain that the dance will be under severe watch through cameras...so then...are you willing to still have one? Or do you find it too dangerous?", Prof. Oak asked. He was leaving the option to have one up to the rebels themselves.

The group all looked at each other, almost uncertain. On one hand, they would have the chance to celebrate their victory, and enjoy themselves for once. Plus many of them loved the idea of dressing up and dancing. But on the other hand, it had a small chance of Team Rocket discovering their base. The group remained silent, thinking of what they should do. Angel looked at the group of teens, and could see their mixed feelings. She could tell that they wanted to be able to have the ball, but weren't sure if the risks were worth it.

Angel always wondered what a ball would of been like. When she was much younger she would dress up in princess dresses and pretend she was throwing her own ball. Her stuffed Pokemon would be the guests, along with her parents occasionally. She always wanted to go to a real ball, and this was her chance. But not just her chance, everyone's chance. She knew that they all wanted to have one, and they deserved to celebrate a victory as big as this one. She looked up to Prof. Oak.

"I think...", Angel said. Everyone turned and looked at the young girl. Their eyes were focused on her. "...we should have the ball. The victory we had here was a milestone, something that should be celebrated". She then slightly chuckled to herself. "Besides, this could be out last chance to have one...why waste it?". The other rebels in the room seemed to grow more and more excited over the idea.

"Angel's right. We should celebrate an important victory like this!", Aleksi said.

"It'll be so much fun!", May stated. The entire room then began to buzz with people's opinions, all of them in support of the ball.

"Well Prof. Oak, looks like it's unanimous", Angel said. Prof. Oak smiled cheerfully.

"I'd say so too. Alright then, I'll be sure to begin with preparations. I want you all to get a lot of rest, eat well, and try to recover so that you can all "shake your money maker", as the kids call it these days", Prof. Oak said with a bit of a chuckle. The entire room sweatdropped, some gave a nervous laugh. None of them had the heart to tell Prof. Oak how outdated he was. As he turned to leave the room, he stopped and looked back to the rebels. "Oh, and one last thing, be sure to get yourselves a date to the ball! You wouldn't want to go alone now would you?". He then laughed as he left the room.

The group of rebels all became silent. They remained still, uncertain of how to react to this. With the Prof. now gone, everyone awkwardly glanced at each other, wondering if the other would say anything. Nothing but complete silence. As to be expected, the teens were nervous over the idea. They remained quiet until someone came running into the room. It was Wallace, back from getting the items Prof. Oak had asked him to get. He carried a large cardboard box in his hands and looked at the rebels.

"I got them!", Wallace exclaimed happily. He then looked at all of their faces. He seemed confused as to the change of personality they had since he was gone. They merely looked at him, some blushing, others sweatdropping. "...uh...did I miss something?".

Meanwhile, in a different section of the base, there was a heated discussion going on. A discussion between mother and son.

"Sweetie do you have any idea how WORRIED I was for you all? You didn't bother to contact me until after the mission was over! And what happened to your arms?", Mrs. Ketchum asked worried. Ash sweatdropped, he was used to these kind of worrisome conversations.

"Mom, we couldn't contact you, we were under attack! That's what happened to my arms, but don't worry, they're fine, it was just a Bubble Beam!", Ash explained. Misty merely looked back and forth between the two. She also sweatdropped, but remained quiet. She knew better than to get in the way of Mrs. Ketchum.

"Well I still want you to get them checked up on! And you could of still checked in after the battle, or at least had someone else do it for you!", Mrs. Ketchum argued. It was typical mother fashion to be so concerned over their child not calling them. Misty would be laughing at the idea if she didn't know any better.

"I'm sorry mom! At least I'm alive!", Ash said.

"That's not something you should be proud about! You know most mothers don't have to worry about their children very much, except to be home by supper and wear clean underwear! I on the other hand have had to worry about you losing your life since you started your Pokemon journey!", Mrs. Ketchum explained.

"She's got a good point", Misty exclaimed. Ash turned to her in annoyance.

"YOU'RE NOT HELPING!", Ash yelled. Misty giggled, knowing that she wasn't. Mrs. Ketchum sighed.

"Well, I should at least be happy that you're safe and sound now. I'm thankful for that much. I'll be happier when all of this is over, I can't take the stress and worry anymore", Mrs. Ketchum decided. Ash felt bad, knowing that for years he has put his mother through the worst kind of worry and even put her own life in danger at times. But he knew that she understood. It was second nature to him, to protect others and save the world.

"I'm sorry mom, you know I don't mean to make you worry", Ash said.

"I know sweetie, I know you don't. Just, next time, could you at least give me a call and let me know how you're doing?", Mrs. Ketchum asked. Ash nodded.

"Alright, promise", Ash said. Mrs. Ketchum nodded in appreciation. Ash then turned to Misty. "Ok, now begins the task of cleaning up after ourselves. We don't know if Team Rocket realizes that the PTA did this, so let's keep it that way. We'll have to go and retrieve the vehicles we took to the coastline last night", Ash said. Mrs. Ketchum, who was rubbing her temples at this point, responded.

"I already had them retrieved. They're back in the garage where they belong", Mrs. Ketchum replied. Ash and Misty both seemed legitimately shocked at this, they were not expecting her to have thought that through. Not that she wasn't smart enough. In fact, Misty always wondered how, if his mom was so smart, that Ash turned out, well, not as bright. Must of been from his father.

"Oh, great! Thanks mom!", Ash said. Mrs. Ketchum nodded, still rubbing her temples.

"What about the boats you all used to get back?", Mrs. Ketchum asked.

"Well, mine is in pieces and at the bottom of the ocean, so I don't think we'll have to worry about that", Misty said casually. This caused Mrs. Ketchum to jump in shock and fear.

"WHAT?", Mrs. Ketchum yelled in shock. Misty sweatdropped. She forgot that she didn't know. Ash quickly brought the subject back to the point in hand.

"We won't be able to get the others, not without getting attention to ourselves. They're too far away and we won't be able to get them back to the lab without having to go through more Rocket check points. They're bound to have set up even more than before now. The boats are well hidden and I doubt the Rockets will find them. They're safe where they are", Ash explained.

"What about...what about those who, didn't make it back?", Mrs. Ketchum asked. She had a tough time even saying it. She knew the dangers of the missions, and she knew that many of them would not be returning, even though she would never admit to it. She hated the idea of just letting kids go out and battle Team Rocket but she knew it had to be done, at whatever the cost.

"We took their belts, they're Pokemon are safe and they won't be able to trace them back to us", Ash explained. This of course worried him more, because he wasn't positive if they had in fact retrieved every single Pokeball belt from every single fallen rebel. Some may have been impossible to retrieve.

Because Pokeballs were always issued by the region's leading Prof. to starting trainers, (or distributed to Marts around the region to be sold there), they could always be traced back to the lab. Since trainers who caught more than six Pokemon had to place their Pokemon somewhere, they would normally be sent to the Professors. This, although at the time made perfect sense and was safe, was nothing more than a hazard now. Though it was doubtful that the Rockets would believe that Prof. Oak had anything to do with the attack on New Island, it was more than enough reason to issue a search of the lab. Misty, who seemed to have become more worried all of a sudden after realizing something, turned to Ash.

"Ash...Butch and Cassidy were there", Misty stated. Ash turned to her in shock. He had not known that they were on the island, none of the information leading to the attack mentioned them.

"What? Butch and Cassidy?", Ash said. Misty nodded.

"Yes, they were there, and they got a lot tougher. They're Commanders now. Their Pokemon were put through a new and improved version of the rage project", Misty explained. This caused Ash to worry. He remembered all to well the rage project from their adventures back in Johto. Though they were able to stop it then, it surely has done nothing but improved.

"Damn! How come you couldn't capture them?", Ash asked, somewhat annoyed. He knew that capturing them would of helped them greatly in getting information. Misty sighed, she felt bad that they couldn't do it for him.

"We tried, but they Teleported out before we could get a hold of them", Misty stated. Ash sighed. He knew that it wasn't their fault that they got away, but it was a good opportunity lost. "And apparently they're the third strongest in all of Team Rocket", Misty went on. Ash looked to her.

"Wait...if Butch and Cassidy were there, does that mean you saw", before Ash could finish, Misty cut him off.

"No, we didn't see _them_, they're probably stationed at Veridian", Misty said. Ash nodded, agreeing with her. He reflected back to the Rockets that he was thinking about, the ones who have caused him more trouble throughout his life than any others. "They did have another Commander there, someone by the name of Calamity Jane. She was lower ranked than them, but she's a Rocket to the core, and powerful too".

"I've never heard of her, but I'm glad you're safe. If they were as dangerous as you said they were then it's a miracle you made it back. But that just means that there's no point in hiding anything", Ash said. Misty nodded. Butch and Cassidy were more than familiar with Ash and the gang from years back, and they would gladly tell Giovanni everything they knew about them. And since they managed to escape, they would be able to tell them that this was a PTA job. As of now, the PTA were priority number one on their list, and everyone in it was in very grave danger.

"We'll have to keep everyone in the base. We don't know if Team Rocket will buff up security around here and for all we know they could start paying attention to the cameras they have upstairs in the lab. No one can leave unless they were already seen going into the lab. We can't cause any suspicion", Ash explained. Upon hearing this, Mrs. Ketchum nervously started to laugh. This caught Ash and Misty's attention, as they both turned to her.

"Well, uhm, it's funny that you mention avoiding suspicion", Mrs. Ketchum said. Ash and Misty looked at her, confused as to why she would act this way.

"Mom, why are you acting this way?", Ash asked confused.

"You see, Prof. Oak and I may have decided to...throw a ball?". Mrs. Ketchum said with a nervous chuckle. Ash and Misty collapsed onto the floor, Mrs. Ketchum sweatdropped and nervously chuckled some more.

"THROW A BALL? WHY WOULD YOU THROW A BALL?", Ash yelled.

"We thought you all deserved it for the hard work and sacrificing you've all done for peace. Plus it's been so long since the lab has had a ball we thought it would be a great idea!", Mrs. Ketchum explained.

"BUT THAT WILL DEFINITELY DRAW ATTENTION! YOU MIGHT AS WELL PUT UP A SIGN OVER THE LAB SAYING "Here's the PTA, come in and kill us"!", Ash yelled.

"Don't worry about that! The lab used to throw balls frequently so it wouldn't gather that much attention. And Prof. Oak already made invites that appeared to have been made months ago, so that will kill any suspicions Team Rocket would have for us! Plus we've already got everything planned out for the food and outfits, you wouldn't have to worry much about anything!", Mrs. Ketchum explained. Ash sighed heavily. This was looking to be nothing but trouble for all of them.

Not only was having a ball dangerous to all of them, but Ash hated balls. Not the idea of them, but he just wasn't a party kind of guy. Plus having to dress up and go with a date, it was something he would very much avoid.

"Actually...I think it's a great idea", Misty said. Ash turned to her in shock.

"WHAT?", Ash asked. Misty looked at him and nodded.

"Yeah. We've all sacrificed so much for this important mission, some even giving their lives for freedom. We should celebrate this victory we had! Plus it boosts morale and makes everyone feel good about themselves, we all deserve some recognition for what we've done after all these years", Misty explained. Mrs. Ketchum nodded with a smile.

"That's the whole reason why we wanted to have one. You're all just kids, you shouldn't be fighting in the first place. You deserve to be spoiled once in awhile after all you've done. This ball is just a way of doing that, especially since many of these kids don't have parents to spoil them anymore. You've all made a name for yourselves in what you do. You're not the only group of rebels fighting, but you are the most righteous and determined for peace", Mrs. Ketchum said.

"We're hardly the only group fighting, but we're made of the youngest people. The other groups are extremely small and only do small, violent jobs to spread the wrong message to the people. We fight for a reason, and a good cause. Most of the people here have never had the pleasure of being thanked for their work, and some may never get the chance. This ball is just a way of telling the rebels that what they're doing is appreciated", Misty explained. Ash sighed.

He still didn't like the idea of putting them all in possible danger, but once Misty had her heart set on something it was pointless to argue with her. She always did have a way with getting what she wanted out of him. Years ago when they were only children Misty would merely make threats or beat Ash into submission. Now that they were older, and mature (for the most part), she would just talk him into it. Misty had a way with words. Ash loved this because she made them seem, beautiful.

"...ohhh, alright. We'll throw the ball", Ash said. This made Misty and Mrs. Ketchum excited as they both smiled and squealed like little girls. "But I want to make sure that it's as safe as possible! We would have to have it upstairs which means we would be under watch the entire time. No one can wear or say anything that could trace us back to the attack", Ash explained.

"Oh you don't have to worry about that. Prof. Oak has already told the others by now about the whole idea so they know. And you would all have your own outfits to wear so you'll be safe. Oh I can't wait to see you two all dressed up and enjoying yourselves!", Mrs. Ketchum said gleefully. This caused the two teens to blush in embarrassment.

"I have a feeling I'm going to regret this, one way or another", Ash said. Misty merely giggled.

"Oh relax, I'm sure it will be fun! Besides, when was the last time we ever got to dress up and celebrate together?", Misty asked. Ash had to think about it, trying to reflect back to when they might of had a party together.

"Uhmm, well we didn't have a celebration party for my Sinnoh League battles because that was the beginning of the takeover, so it must of been when we had the celebration for my Hoenn one...god that was years ago!", Ash recalled.

"Exactly!", Misty said.

"Ohhh we'll have to go and look through possible dress ideas for you sweetie! And Ash of course you'll have to match whatever she wears so hopefully you won't", before she could finish, Mrs. Ketchum was cut off by Ash.

"Wait, why would I have to match hers?", Ash asked. Mrs. Ketchum seemed confused by this statement.

"Well, you would be going together wouldn't you?", Mrs. Ketchum asked. Both of the teens immediately turned red in embarrassment and looked away from each other, their backs to each other. "You can't expect to go to a ball alone now can you? And you two are the perfect little couple!".

"_Mooom_! We've been over this before!", Ash said in a whiny tone.

"We're _just_ best friends Delia", Misty said, still beat red.

"That may be true, but after everything you've both been through, and after the years I've seen you two grow into mature wonderful adults, I know that you have something for each other. Besides, what's wrong with going as just friends?", Mrs. Ketchum asked. The two teens sighed, knowing that there was no way out of this.

"...fine! We can go together!", Ash said, beat red. Mrs. Ketchum shook her head.

"Uh uh uh! You have to ask her like a gentleman! I've taught you better Mr. Ketchum", Mrs. Ketchum said. Ash, still beat red and now more nervous than ever, slowly turned around and faced Misty. She turned around and faced him as well, just as nervous.

"...Uhm, Misty?", Ash asked. Misty gulped.

"Y-yes Ash?", Misty asked. Ash rubbed the back of his head. Having his mom standing right in front of them didn't make matters any better.

"Uh, I was wondering, if you want to that is, if...you would, uhm...g-go to the ball with me, as my date?", Ash asked. Misty blushed even more, her face feeling extremely hot from the question. She knew it was coming but it still made her quiver.

"Uh...why yes Ash...I would love to go to the ball with you", Misty responded. Mrs. Ketchum clapped happily as the two teens slowly turned away from each other. Outside they were both red in embarrassment, inside however, their hearts seemed to be expressing a different opinion, one of pure joy.

"There, now that wasn't so hard now was it?", Mrs. Ketchum asked, knowing very well that the kids suffered through it.

"Mooom!", Ash whined. She merely giggled in response.

"Oh relax, it will be fine! You two will have a..._ball_ together!", Mrs. Ketchum said with a laugh. Ash and Misty sweatdropped. "I'm sure you two will have fun though, you both really deserve this. And you've both been through so much over the years, I think it will do you both some good. You can reflect back to when you were kids and traveling together, I know I certainly love hearing all of your stories!". Ash and Misty nodded. They agreed with her that they would probably be able to reflect on things from the past. Although both of them were secretly yearning for more than that, a truly romantic night between the two. "Besides, after the party maybe you'll finally get together and I can finally have those grandchildren!".

"MOOOOOM/DELIIIIIA!", the two teens yelled in unison. Mrs. Ketchum giggled happily, knowing exactly that it would embarrass them like that. As sighed heavily and turned to walk away from the girls.

"I'm gonna go and check on the others, I'll talk to you later Misty...sheez!", Ash said, his head down and his face redder than a tomato. He speed-walked off, leaving the girls to themselves. Mrs. Ketchum stepped forward a little bit closer to Misty with a smile. She knew what was coming. The second Ash was out of sight and ear-shot from them, Misty turned around and quickly embraced her in a warm, thankful hug. Mrs. Ketchum smiled and hugged the young girl back, knowing what a toll the moment must of had on them both.

"Thank you...Delia", Misty said. She was thankful for making sure that they went to the ball together. Although she had a feeling that Ash would of asked her to it anyway, it was better to be certain. And Mrs. Ketchum knew all along how they truly felt for each other.

"No problem sweetie, you know how much you two mean to me, and I know how much you two mean to each other", Mrs. Ketchum said. She said this with a smile. She had hoped for years that the two would get together, but the Rocket takeover had its priorities. Misty nuzzled her face more into her and gripped her tighter, a few lone tears coming down her face.

"Thank you...mommy", Misty said.

**And that is the end of that! I am SOOOOO sorry for the wait! At the time I began writing this I found myself going on an unexpected family trip and so had to stop writing for awhile. Afterwards I had a TERRIBLE case of writer's block, and that took even MORE time off. But hopefully the end result will make you all happy. I am having trouble trying to figure out what to write about next. I know what I want to happen, and when. But it's really more leading up to those moments that is giving me trouble. But I'll think of something, I've had this problem many times before on this story and it hasn't stopped me yet! Regardless, I hope you all enjoyed! Now, if you'l excuse me, I have to go and find a Mobster costume for tonight...I know, last second, so sue me. I hope you all have a great and safe night, be sure to leave in your review your favorite Halloween memories, and most importantly, HAPPY HALLOWEEN! **

**sincerely,  
evan, a fan of aaml -EVAN AAML **


	47. Chapter 47

**Well Halloween has come and gone, and as much as I miss it, I am already looking forward to the next holidays. I of course LOVE Thanksgiving, (I'm a guy, of COURSE I want to celebrate a holiday about eating! XD Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade is always a plus too, as is football). But the holiday I'm truly looking forward to is Christmas. It's always magical and I find that no matter what's going on in my life I can always have a good Christmas. :) I'm a bit in the holiday mood already, mostly because I am getting into it purposely for my update of "Christmas The Sequel", (which will be out soon!). But, idk, I just always found that time of year to be, magical. As cheesy and movie stereotyped as it is, it's true. Sigh...but oh well, enough of that, it's not for another two months! **

**As another side note, on November the 5th of this year, (so, today!), will mark the 5th anniversary of EVAN AAML on FanFiction . Net! I can't believe it, 5 years ago I began writing AAML and entertaining you all in the process. What started off from a random yet powerful dream at the age of 15 sparked into 5 years of writing and discovering a passion I LOVE. From "The Dare Game" and on through to "R", I have learned so much and gained so many friends in you all. I am actually feeling very nostalgic at the moment, not quite teary eyed, but emotional. It seems, well, dorkish to be so worked up over writing about Pokemon, but it's affected me in a way I never thought imaginable. I've had a great time in writing these stories and I've made some great friends over the years! prettygirl17, AshK, Bittersweet Romanticide, (some of my oldest and most dear friends), and so many more that I cannot even begin to name you all...thank you, so much. I hope that you all continue to do what you love in life and never regret it. And I hope I can write and entertain you all for another 5 years at least! So, from the bottom of my heart, I thank each and every one of you...thank you. :')**

**-EVAN AAML**

Ash walked down the hall, his hands in his pockets and his shoulders slouched as he mumbled to himself. He was still not over the embarrassment that his own mother put him through in front of his crush. He wasn't really upset with her, so much as hoping that he could forget it soon. Although he did not agree with the idea of the ball, due to the increase in danger it would pose on him and his friends, oddly enough, the first thing he thought about once it was in his head was to ask Misty to it. He was happy that he was able to ask her to the ball, (although not in the way he originally expected), and wondered how everyone else would react to the news.

"Jeez, mom can really make me red. I know she can be embarrassing but I was hoping she wouldn't be like that with me and Misty together!...Oh well, it's over now. And at least me and Misty are going together", Ash said to himself. He then looked up and around the hall he was currently going through. He knew he was in the medical section of the base, where the others would surly be. But he was not sure exactly where. He knew his way around the entire base since he was one of the ones who helped renovate it from Prof. Oak's lab, but he was uncertain of where exactly the others were being cared for.

"Hmm...where are they?", Ash asked himself. Just then, he could hear voices coming from one of the rooms down the hall. The first room on the left. The door was open and the light from the room could be seen from the hall. He could not immediately distinguish the voices, though he was able to make out two male voices and one female voice. He approached the room.

"No, it doesn't hurt as much as I thought it would, but it does feel kind of...weird", a voice said. This was the female's voice.

"It will for some time, it takes awhile for your body to get used to it being there", one of the male voices said. Ash by this time was able to tell that this was Wallace speaking. He reached the entrance of the room and looked inside. Sitting up in a bed, wearing a medical gown and feeling her chest was Sawyer. She looked a bit banged up and had smudges of dirt and charcoal on her. Standing beside her, leaning against a counter/cabinet with medical supplies on it was Wallace, who was talking to her. Standing closest to the door with his back to Ash was Nick, who of course was watching over Sawyer. Ash smiled.

"Well I trust you're feeling better", Ash said. Everyone in the room turned around to see Ash. They all smiled.

"Ash! Yes, I am feeling much better than before, although I was just talking to Wallace over how I feel kind of weird with the pacemaker in my chest now", Sawyer explained.

"Well I'm at least glad you're ok. What exactly happened to you that you needed it?", Ash asked.

"When we were down in the basement of the base, looking for the databases, we came under attack by Calamity Jane and a squad of Rocket grunts. During the battle, Jane shot May and, thinking she had died, went after her. She led us to a room, but it was a trap. The room was booby trapped with Voltorb that fell from the ceiling and exploded", Wallace explained, reflecting back to the moments on New Island where they all nearly died.

"While trying to escape the room a Voltorb caught me off guard and exploded right by me. The shockwave of the blast caused me to go into shock and my heart stopped. Although Nick was able to bring me back, I've had an irregular heart beat since", Sawyer explained.

"So you needed a pacemaker to keep your heart in check until you recovered completely", Ash said. He then looked over to Wallace. "How long will she have it in her?". Wallace sighed, trying to think.

"Depends on how her heart goes. Some people could have it in for a few weeks, others months. Most people keep theirs however. I would imagine though that Sawyer's heart will eventually recover and she can get rid of it for good. Only time will tell", Wallace said. Ash nodded.

"Alright. You better take it easy then Sawyer. We're not exactly high in the technology department, things like pacemakers here aren't the most high tech", Ash explained. Sawyer nodded in understanding.

"Right, I understand", Sawyer said. She then chuckled. "Looks like I'll be stuck baking for a bit then huh?". Ash chuckled a bit himself.

"Well, considering what's coming up, you may be doing more baking than you think", Ash said. Sawyer looked confused.

"Why? What's coming up where I would need to bake a lot?", Sawyer asked. Ash looked to Nick and Wallace.

"You haven't told her yet?", Ash asked.

"I was about to get to it after we discussed how she was feeling", Nick answered. Sawyer merely looked at the boys, uncertain of what they were talking about. Nick turned and looked to Sawyer. "Prof. Oak wanted to celebrate the victory we had here, so he planned a ball for everyone". Her eyes gleamed in excitement.

"A BALL? OH MY GOD! THAT'S AN AMAZING IDEA!", Sawyer exclaimed. Nick on the other hand did not seem to share in the enthusiasm.

"I don't think so", Nick said. This seemed to disappoint Sawyer a bit. Nick however did not see this as he turned to Ash, his back still to him. "It's too risky! After everything that went down Team Rocket will surly be on the watch. We throw a ball and they're gonna find us".

"I thought the same thing too. And don't worry, you're not the only one who's concerned. But I thought it through, and I think we should have it", Ash explained. Nick seemed annoyed, thinking that he was being irrational, but was willing to listen to his explanation. Wallace seemed more curious than anything. "Having a ball would give us the break that we all deserve, everyone deserves to have fun; especially after the hell we went through on New Island. Plus I think it will boost morale, help us for the upcoming battle in Veridian. My mom and Prof. Oak already thought everything through and I think we can get away with it, so long as we keep quiet and don't do anything that could get us caught".

"Hmm, I guess if that's the case it isn't that bad of an idea", Wallace said.

"I don't know, I still think we run the risk of getting into a big fight", Nick said. Sawyer waved her hand at Nick, dismissing his comment.

"Oh you're just worrying too much! I think it's a great idea! And for the same reasons Ash does. Everyone needs a little R&R, and this is just the way to get it", Sawyer said. Nick turned to look at her. It was true that he was always a bit on the paranoid side, but for good reason considering what he has been through in his life. But he knew that, once he looked into Sawyer's eyes, that there was nothing to be worried about. He nodded.

"Alright, alright", Nick said. Sawyer smiled happily and suppressed a squeal.

"I can't wait! I'll get to work right away on the baked goods, as soon as I can get moving and Brock is in tip-top shape! Oh this is going to be so exciting! Nick, will you go with me as a date?", Sawyer asked. Nick took this question completely by surprise and looked at her in shock, with a blush across his face.

"Me? Uhm, well...", Nick said. Ash made sure to stay out of it, but inside was laughing. Now it wasn't just him going through the embarrassment he had to endure earlier.

"Sure! Come on, after everything we've been through together, and everything we've accomplished, a ball should be a piece of cake right?", Sawyer said with a sincere smile. Nick began to feel a bit uncomfortable and hot. He pulled at the collar of his blue shirt.

"Yeah, easy for you to say", Nick said. Wallace and Ash merely stood by and enjoyed the conversation going on in front of them. They both smirked and loved the nervousness that Nick was feeling. Sawyer got out from under the sheets and crawled closer to Nick at the end of the bed. She got on her knees once she could go no further and looked deep into Nick's eyes.

"Nick. I know that you're nervous over this whole thing, and I can imagine that being a guy it's not the same thing to you as it is to me or the other girls", Sawyer began. Wallace and Ash looked at each other, they felt the same way Nick did to that sense. They didn't believe that a ball was a HUGE thing to do. "But you don't have to be", Sawyer went on. Nick looked at Sawyer more intently, ignoring his previous shyness. He then noticed that Sawyer was beginning to blush a bit. She was becoming nervous herself.

"Sawyer...are you...alright?", Nick asked, somewhat worried but more confused. Sawyer smiled.

"Nick...you see, mmmm", Sawyer said, rubbing the back of her head and blushing more. Nick couldn't help but smile slightly at the scene before him. She looked so cute acting this way. She wanted to say something, but seemed to have trouble doing so. "...I love you".

Nick gasped slightly, making just the slightest noise. But the shock was none the less overwhelming. It seemed foolish to let three little words affect someone like this, especially after they've already established their new found relationship together. But the words still seemed to penetrate him, like a blow to the chest, only warm and, happy. Nick, not having a family of his own, was not used to people feeling love for him. Ian and his parents were probably the closest thing to this, but it was in a different way. Here, this girl, this gorgeous girl who despite being around for some time he seemed to never know until just recently, was telling him that she loved him.

Sawyer leaned forward and took Nick's hand into hers. She held onto it tightly yet softly and looked into his eyes with a smile, the blush still across her face.

"I love you Nick...and, I know that this ball really isn't that big of a deal, but I just want to be able to spend it...with you", Sawyer explained. She herself was embarrassed to even be saying these things. She did love Nick, but she still felt like what she was saying was cheesy. Somewhat ironic actually, since Nick was feeling the same way just seconds before. Suddenly, Sawyer felt Nick's hands wrap around hers. She looked up to Nick, who was smiling and blushing slightly himself. He nodded.

"Alright then...I will gladly go with you Sawyer...I love you too", Nick replied. Sawyer smiled, her heart beating faster and faster. She could swear that she could hear the pacemaker working into overtime just to make sure her heart worked to these sudden feelings. She was glad that she had it placed in, so that she would be able to experience this wonderful feeling. Nick slowly leaned down to Sawyer, who instinctively leaned towards him. The two closed their eyes, and shared a kiss on the lips.

Wallace was not much of the romantic type, but made sure to say or do nothing to ruin the moment for them. Working on so many people in his young life, he knew that things like this were important. Ash looked on with a smile, knowing that these two would be a happy couple. As Nick wrapped his arms around Sawyer and she did the same, Ash began to daydream, imagining himself and Misty, kissing and sharing this romantic embrace. This was not something rare for him, as he had imagined them together, or at the very least sharing a kiss, numerous times over the years, even when they traveled together. But this feeling he had now, seemed more powerful than normal. It nearly overwhelmed him.

He knew that soon, he would have to tell her, how he truly felt. And perhaps this ball was that moment.

"Well, glad that mission did SOME good for people!", someone called out. Nick and Sawyer pulled away from their kiss and turned to face the door, (but remained holding each other). Wallace and Ash did the same. Standing at the door, using a pair of crutches, was Hunter. Ash moved out of the way for him as he used the crutches to get inside of the room.

"Hey Hunter!", Ash said. Hunter gave a salute to their PTA leader.

"Ash", Hunter merely replied. He then turned back to Nick and Sawyer, who were blushing a bit now after their kiss. "Oh, don't mind me, go back to what you were doing!". Wallace and Ash laughed at this comment. Nick and Sawyer released each other and blushed immensely.

"So Hunter, how is the leg?", Wallace asked. Hunter Pulled himself onto a stool that was in the room and held onto his crutches.

"Well the blood is flowing nice now, so that's something. Not sure when I'll be off these damn things though. I need to keep moving, keep at it! Can't be held back by anything!", Hunter exclaimed. He was not the type of person to sit still, he hated being confined to crutches. Wallace sighed.

"Unfortunately there's no telling when you'll be off of them. You got shot in the upper thigh, that can leave some nasty damage to your muscles. You could have a limp for the rest of your life for all we know", Wallace explained. Hunter did not take this news lightly.

WHAT? YOU'RE TELLING ME I COULD BE WALKING AROUND WITH A LIMP THE REST OF MY LIFE? WHAT THE GOD DAMN ROTTEN", Hunter yelled. He continued to scream profanities as the others in the room sweatdropped. Hunter was not the most subtle of rebels. He went on and on about how he won't be able to "stick it to the Rockets", and "kick their asses". The others began to tune him out, his "vocabulary" being most unpleasant. Sawyer turned to Wallace.

"So Wallace, who do you intend to ask to the ball?", Sawyer asked. Wallace scoffed.

"Ha, I'm not the date kind of guy. I'll go, but I'm going by myself thank you very much", Wallace said.

"Aww, that's too bad. But, to each his own I guess...what about you Ash?", Sawyer asked, turning her attention to the teen by the door. Ash turned to Sawyer, trying his best to hide his blush, which he wasn't even sure he was making or not.

"Oh, I'm uh...going with Misty", Ash said. Sawyer's eyes grew wide and she gasped with a smile.

"AWWWWW! That's so romantic sweetie!", Sawyer said. Nick and Wallace sweatdropped at her reaction. Ash held his hands out and waved to her.

"No! We're just going as friends!", Ash said. Sawyer smirked.

"Suuure you are! Listen sweetie, I've been here long enough to see how you two are around each other, I know you have something special for her", Sawyer said with a smile.

"Noo! No no no! We're JUST friends!", Ash said, denying Sawyer's comments. "We're just going to the ball so that we can talk about stuff".

"A ball? We're having a ball?", Hunter asked. He had finally cooled down somewhat and was listening in to their conversation. Since he was getting the transfusion, he was unaware of the latest news. Sawyer nodded.

"Yes, we're throwing a ball in celebration for our victory", Sawyer answered. Hunter seemed surprisingly excited for the ball.

"Oh baby! I love parties! Gonna get me some nice fireworks and have a reeeeaaaal good time!", Hunter said, getting excited over more explosions. Ash shook his head.

"No, we can't have any of those things. We're running a risk by throwing this ball, we can't have anything that might gain attention to ourselves by Team Rocket", Ash explained.

"Ah dammit! Team Rocket ruins everything...alright, alright. No explosions then...gonna be a pretty boring ball though", Hunter said under his breath.

"So who are you going to ask to the dance?", Nick asked.

"Me? Uh...I dunno. I'll ask around. Hope which ever lucky lady is able to handle me!", Hunter said with a smirk. Nick laughed a bit while Sawyer sweatdropped.

"Haha, well hopefully you won't cause too much trouble for them. Wallace, can I see how Ryoto or Ashley are doing?", Ash asked. Wallace shook his head.

"Unfortunately no. They're still resting. It would probably have to wait until tomorrow for that", Wallace answered. Ash nodded.

"I see...well, if you'll excuse me, I have some...things I need to take care of", Ash said. He turned to face the door but was stopped.

"What do you have to do?", Sawyer asked. Ash remained still for a moment, completely silent. The four teens in the room watched him, waiting for a response. What was a simple question turned into something that made them curious, and slightly worried. Ash slowly turned his head and looked at Sawyer, his expression no longer as cheery as it was before.

"...I have to go through and...update the KIA files", Ash answered before leaving the room without a word more.

The hours passed in the rebel base. Team Rocket did increase security heavily around the Kanto region, though everyone was safe inside the lower levels of Prof. Oak's lab. News of the rebel attack traveled fast throughout the regions. Though Team Rocket did their best to keep the news hidden, they were not very successful. Many smaller rebel groups decided to use this opportunity to begin their own attacks. Thought they were much smaller and scattered throughout the regions, they did their part to help.

The rebels all did their best to rest and recover. Everyone who was able managed to take their showers, eat as much as they could, and were now asleep. Those who were in relatively good condition slept in their own rooms on their own beds, while those who required more medical attention slept in the clinics with the others. Everyone by this time was finally out of intensive care and were resting. In one of the clinics, slept Angel. She had originally wanted to go back to her special room in Mrs. Ketchum's home, but was forced to stay for at least one night. Her concussion was feeling better, though she decided not to argue with the medics. She could not sleep with the ice pack on her head, but it did not bother her.

She stirred in her bed, back and forth. She seemed to be worrying in her sleep. She looked like she was in pain. Angel rolled back and forth, grabbing onto her blankets and sweating. Then, she began to speak in her sleep.

"No...stop!...Please, leave them alone...no...NOOO!", Angel yelled. She shot up from her bed, panting heavily. Her eyes were wide open and she looked terrified. She looked around, everyone was asleep and all was quiet. Aleksi, Brock, Logan, Luke, and the other rebels were all sound asleep. None had heard her. Angel began to feel her body, as if to see if she was actually awake...or alive. Her head began to pound, the concussion was hurting again.

"It was all...just a dream", Angel said to herself quietly. She reflected back to the dreams, or rather nightmares, that she had. She gripped the sheets of her bed tightly, as if letting go would cause her to be lost in her nightmares. She took deep breaths to calm herself as she tried to gather her senses. Her heart rate had increased tremendously and she had trouble focusing. Once she was finally able to calm herself, she looked around the room more.

Part of her hoped that someone would of woken up from hearing her scream in her nightmare. She felt that she needed to talk to someone about it, but did not want to wake anyone up. When she was younger, her mother would come to her and comfort her, staying with her until she fell back to sleep. It had always worked for her. But since her parents were kidnapped and she was alone, she was never able to fully recover. Though her nightmares before were random and often unrelated to what went on in her real life, they were none the less scary and painful.

She looked to her right to see Aleksi, laying in bed and sleeping peacefully. If she were to wake anyone up, it would be Aleksi. In the few days she had known her, she had practically become her older sister. She looked up to her and was given guidance by her, as a older sister would be like. But there she laid, fast asleep and quiet. Angel wondered what she was dreaming about, probably something happy, or at least calming, given her current state. Although tempted, she allowed Aleksi to sleep. She deserved it.

She also had hoped that Mrs. Ketchum would come in and talk to her, since she had taken her temporary mother position. But she knew that she would be sleeping in her own bed in her own house, and even if she was here, she wouldn't wake her either. And so, she slowly lifted her sheets and stepped off of her bed. The other rebels had their own pajamas to wear to sleep, (or, if they were simply too tired to change, slept in their clothes as is). But since Angel was without a pair, she was given some by Mrs. Ketchum. She had on currently a simple light blue nightgown that reached her knees. It had short sleeves and was frilled at the bottom. The material was soft, as it should be. This would of been what she would of slept in the night before, had she decided not to change.

Angel placed her feet into a pair of fuzzy pink slippers, (also given to her by Mrs. Ketchum), and slowly began to walk. Brock laid in bed silently on his back, his burned arm away from his body. Luke and Logan were messily sprawled on their beds. Logan snored out loud with his sheet barely covering his body and his injured leg almost off the bed. His arms were by his head and his other leg simply remained still towards the end of the bed. Luke was on his stomach, drooling heavily on his pillow. His injured arm was on the bed, leaning towards the door while his other arm was off the bed and touching the floor. Angel smiled at the sight, it was funny to see them sleep.

The other rebels in the room were all asleep and quiet, (for the most part), and so she did her best to not make a noise as she walked to the door, opened it carefully, stepped out, and then closed it. Angel walked down the halls, merely passing the time until she found herself sleepy again, or until she found something to take up her time until morning. She was not sure of what time it was, but it probably was getting relatively close to sunrise. As she walked down the halls, she looked around. Everyone was asleep, so the halls were silent and dark. There were a few ceiling lights on to light the way, but otherwise everything was cold and dark. It felt somewhat creepy to her, it being so quiet that all she could hear was the sound of herself and the lights buzzing once in awhile.

She soon found herself in the main hall of the medical wing, where she was originally led down to get to the clinic, and where she ran into Dawn, Max, and Emily, and then later Gary and Michael. The hall, like the others, was dark and cold for the most part. The rooms which would normally have people going in and out of were closed off. The desks where the medics sat at were empty. And scattered around the hall were stretchers and wheelchairs. Angel never understood why people didn't like hospitals, until now. It seemed eery to her to be in this area, though she knew she was safe.

Suddenly, and without warning, she felt a hand on her right shoulder. She jumped in fright and turned around to see who was there. Standing over her, looking somewhat concerned but more curious, was Mathinza. Angel sighed heavily and placed her hand over her chest.

"Are you alright? Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you like that", Mathinza said apologetically. Angel shook it off, though her heart still felt like it would burst out of her chest.

"It's alright, I'm fine. Just didn't expect anyone to be up...or so quiet", Angel said.

"I was thinking the same thing. What are you doing up this late? Couldn't get to sleep?", Mathinza asked. Angel shook her head.

"No, had a...nightmare. What about you?", Angel asked. There was a slight pause in his response.

"I...don't get much sleep anymore...", Mathinza answered.

"Nightmares?", Angel asked. Mathinza looked away from Angel and down a hall. There was nothing there, he was merely thinking of something else.

"Yeah...nightmares", Mathinza responded. After a short pause, (which made Angel curious), Mathinza shook it off and smiled down to the little girl. "Tell you what, let's go and get ourselves a drink aye?". Angel nodded with a smile.

"Sure!", Angel said. Mathinza smiled back and led the young girl down the hall. Before they knew it, they were sitting together on a couch, away from the medical wing and in a separate room near the bedrooms. This was a sort of relax room, with a television, some couches and chairs, things to read, and a large table with some card games. The two had in their hands hot co-co and were drinking it silently. Angel enjoyed her drink, but seemed distracted by something. The way Mathinza had acted to her in the hall continued to make her curious. She had a horrible feeling that she knew why. Hearing the stories of some of the other rebels like Evan and Emily, she knew that many of them did not have very happy lives. But she had to know for sure.

"M-Mathinza?", Angel asked. Mathinza, who had just taken a sip from his cup, glanced over to the young girl who sat to his left.

"Aye?", Mathinza asked. Angel remained silent for a moment, wondering if this was in fact a good idea. Mathinza turned to face the young girl, wondering what was on her mind. Angel eventually turned to face him as well.

"...what are your nightmares about?", Angel asked. There was a long silence between the two as they sat there. Angel immediately regretted asking, realizing in the long silence that it was a touchy subject. "I'm...I'm sorry". Mathinza sighed.

"No...it's alright. I don't mind you asking. Honestly, I'm somewhat glad you did, you'd be surprised how few people seem to care", Mathinza said. Angel seemed confused by this, but allowed him to continue. He looked down into his cup, seeing in the co-co the image of a young child, a girl much like Angel. She smiled with bright blue eyes, white skin, and very long blond hair that was set into two ponytails on either side of her. "I have nightmares...about my sister...and the rest of my family". Angel looked at Mathinza, realizing what his past must of been like. It came to no surprise to her, it was exactly what she was afraid of.

"I...was afraid of that...a lot like the others", Angel said. Mathinza nodded very slightly, but then smiled for some reason.

"You're a lot like her you know", Mathinza said. Angel, confused, looked to him. Mathinza in turn looked at her. "...you're a lot like Serena".

"You're sister?", Angel asked. Mathinza nodded.

"Aye. She was about your age. You look a bit different, especially the hair. She had the blondest hair you'd of ever seen. But personality wise...you're both like the same person", Mathinza said. "She was a young, innocent little girl, never hurt a fly. And she was always this like, pure heart. Heh, my parents and grandparents used to call her the symbol of what their family stood for".

"Really?", Angel asked.

"Mhmm. My family was a long line of warriors. Not like, soldiers like Team Rocket or the PTA, like old school. My grandparents would always go on about how their ancestors fought the evils of Hoenn, that's where I'm from, years ago. My sister, Serena, had no interest in fighting in the least. And that's why she was the symbol. We weren't fighters because we loved to fight, we were fighters because we wanted to protect the ones we loved", Mathinza explained. Angel was liking the story thus far. But she knew that it would not end the way she wanted it to.

"...what happened?", Angel asked. Mathinza sighed heavily.

"...I was with my sister, we were playing, not to far from where we lived. And then Team Rocket showed up. They were just driving by, not exactly doing anything in particular, but they decided that they wanted to cause some trouble. At the time they were going around and collecting Pokemon from trainers for their organization. It was when they first took over Hoenn, so they had few. So they stopped, and tried to force me to give them my Pokemon. Vui and Yuki are like family to me...so I said no", Mathinza explained. He then looked up to the sky, scratching his chin, as if trying to remember what happened. Angel knew though, that he remembered it in vivid detail.

"...that was when things got bad", he said. "They, began to fight me, beat me up, trying to prove a point. I of course fought back, but I was outnumbered, and quite frankly not that big to begin with. Serena...she tried to stop them...tried to tell them that what they were doing was wrong...she, she called them jerks...that was it, nothing more. She never said a word worse than that in her life". Mathinza began to choke up, Angel could see tears coming down his face. "They...they got angry at her. I don't know why, she wasn't doing anything to them. So one of them grabbed her. I tried to fight back, kicked and clawed my way, even managed to make a few of them bleed. But they overpowered me. They were angry...really angry. And so...with me watching, and with Serena in their grasps...they took out large...knives", Mathinza said.

Angel gasped slightly. She nearly dropped her co-co just in hearing these words. She covered her mouth and tears cascaded down her cheeks. She tried to stop, tried to relax herself, but couldn't. How could they? To a little girl...how could they?

"...they looked at me...and they smiled, like, demons. All I could do was watch...and they...they butchered her. She screamed, crying in pain. I pulled with all my might trying to get free, but...I couldn't. She looked at me, tears coming down her face...she said my name...and then they cut her up!", Mathinza said. At this moment, he crushed the cup in his hands. The hot co-co splashed out, covering his hands and falling to the floor. Angel looked at them, she could tell that it was hot and burning his hands, but he didn't even seem to notice. He looked at Angel, the tears pouring down. "How...how could they do that...to a little girl?...How?".

Angel didn't know how to react. She had heard of plenty of tales. Probably thousands of stories, of how brutal Team Rocket was. Most were probably just stories. She had seen some brutal things herself, but most were just fights, which were ended quickly due to their power. But after these last few days...nothing seemed impossible anymore. Her heart wretched, thinking of Serena, this girl who could of been like her long lost sister...being butchered by these Rockets.

"Then...when they were finished, they...they laughed!...They let me go, laughing all the way to their vehicle...and they drove off, leaving me there with her. They didn't even BOTHER with my Pokemon, they were never really interested in it to begin with...they just wanted to...be brutal", Mathinza said. He sniffled, trying to control himself. He found this difficult. "...I looked at her, holding...what was left of her...in my arms. Had I not seen it with my own eyes...I wouldn't of been able to recognize her...there was so much...blood...so much blood".

**As painful as this ending was, I think I will leave it off here for now. I'm sure a lot of you are very sad at what I have written here, I don't blame you. Keep in mind, Mathinza's story continues in the next chapter. Hopefully I wrote this much to his expectations. Please remember, it is just a story. Honestly, I am having a tough time believing that myself. Needed to distract myself a bit while writing it to relax. Phew. Well, I hope you all enjoyed the chapter update! Please be sure to F.A.R.! Also, I would like to give a little memento here for Andy Rooney, a writer whom I mentioned previously in this story for retiring from "60 Minutes". He passed away Friday at the age of 92. He was a writer and an inspiration for many people like us. R.I.P. **

**And as a final note, I would like to thank you all, once again, from the bottom of my heart. For being here with me these past 5 wonderful years. They have been amazing to me! And I loved every second of this writing life. :) I won't dive much into it here, since I already did at the beginning. But just know that each and every one of you are a friend to me, and I honor that. You have all made me the writer I am today, and I have made so many great friends along the way. So, to all of you, readers, writers, friends...I say, thank you. :)**

**sincerely,  
evan, a fan of aaml -EVAN AAML **


	48. Chapter 48

**I know what you're thinking, "These are nice and all, but where's the "Christmas The Sequel" update you promised?". Well I had in all intent and purpose tried to work on the update, however I have been plagued with internet troubles as of late. And for some unknown reason to me, whenever I try to update the Christmas story, (the few times it actually even lets me), it gets deleted after I save! -_- Plus I've been sick lately with splitting headaches, limiting my use of my laptop and making my thinking processes, well, limited at best. So my apologies. Rest assured I will try to resolve the problems and get the update up when I can. And as for "R", I am thankful that, although the last chapter saddened a lot of you, you were pleased with the results. That makes me feel better, since I was worried of upsetting you all with the graphic content. Be prepared however, since this chapter will also have some...unpleasant moments. Let's get to it.**

**-EVAN AAML**

Angel looked at Mathinza, her eyes filled with tears and her heart aching, feeling like it was being wretched right out of her chest. She had felt this feeling countless times since she was rescued by Ash, but despite this, she never got used to the feeling. She had the feeling in fear, shock, devastation, anger, and mourning. Everytime she felt it, she was certain that it was more painful than the last, but everytime she was proven wrong. She figured that if the fighting and injuries didn't eventually kill her, the heart problems would.

Mathinza kept crying, unable to stop at this point. Angel wondered if this was the first time he had ever opened up about what his past was like. He always seemed calm, and even at times sarcastic. Much like Emily in that sense. But little did she knew that also like Emily, he was hiding something from the others. Although it was painful, she felt that this was probably what he needed right now, to open up.

Of course, this would only prove to be worse for her mental state.

"I sat there...for hours. Just holding her, crying, unable to stop. At one point I actually dried myself out from the tears. It, started to rain that night, and the rain managed to bring back the tears. My parents found me that night, still holding her. They had heard nothing from us since we left and had grown concerned...to this day, I'm thankful that it was raining and dark out when they found me...I couldn't bare to imagine their reaction in seeing her entire body like I had. The rain...washed away nearly all the blood. We all held each other, sobbing uncontrollably", Mathinza went on. Though he was still crying his voice seemed calmed. Though Angel doubted that he was at the end of his horrific tale.

"It wasn't until later that night...that my father gained control over his senses. We...picked up her body...piece by piece...and put it into the car. We drove to our home, where my entire family lived. We owned a large section of land in Hoenn, almost like our own little village. We...brought her home, and gave her a proper cremation. My entire family, shocked and angered by this, intended to get revenge. I was in shock, barely able to speak, let alone move. I...I should of tried to stop them...bu-but I couldn't".

"You're family was willing to go against their code for Serena", Angel stated. Mathinza nodded. It seemed that he just realized now what he had done to his hot co-co. He sighed as he shook his hands, causing the liquid to fly off. His hands were burned, but not enough to cause any worry. He got up and walked over to a cabinet, opening it up and pulling out paper towels. As he did so, he continued to talk.

"My grandfather, he was the wisest of us all. He understood the situation, but knew that there would be nothing he could do to stop it. He grabbed me aside and brought me to his home. It was there that he sat me down, and gave me Dreciel", Mathinza explained. Angel seemed confused.

"Dreciel?", Angel asked. Mathinza nodded, walking over to the spot where he spilled and beginning to clean up the mess.

"Yes. It's a Katana. Sort of like Ryoto's. It belonged in my family for generations. It was the last remaining weapon of my ancestors that managed to survive over the years, and so it was handed down from generation to generation. It wasn't so much as a weapon to us as a family heirloom. My grandfather told me, that he wanted me to stay safe, and never go against what my family stood for...it was what Serena would of wanted", Mathinza explained.

"He knew that something bad was going to happen...didn't he?", Angel asked. Mathinza, as he was on his knees padding down the wet spot on the carpet, nodded.

"My aunts and uncles never had children; me and Serena were the only kids. With the youngest gone, I was left. He wanted to make sure that I was safe, that I would live...and so, he gave me Dreciel, told me where to go and what to do, and then sent me off without the rest of the family knowing. He made sure not to get me drawn into what was going to happen", Mathinza explained. Angel continued to listen, although she wanted to cover her ears and ignore the rest. She knew she had to continue, for his sake...and possibly hers.

"The majority of my family, my father, his brothers and brother in laws...they went out in search of the Rockets that killed Serena. The rest of my family stayed home, waiting...waiting for them to come back, revenge in their hands...but they never returned. The Rockets...I don't know how, or when, but...they somehow discovered what my family was trying to do. They gathered a whole squadron of grunts, said it was a "small rebel uprising". They...they attacked my father and the others, shot them down and blew up the cars. I doubt there was anything left of them. Then...they found out where they lived, found my family's property...", Mathinza explained.

Angel had had enough. She didn't care if this would help Mathinza feel better, she didn't care if it taught her what they were fighting for, she didn't care. She covered her ears, mentally blocking out any noises that she could. She pressed to hard against them that she felt like she was trying to crush her own skull, something she wished at the moment she could do. But despite this, she could still hear his voice. His pain.

"They didn't even bother going into the homes, didn't even step onto the property. They just stayed on the outside, and used their Pokemon...to torch the place down. By then, I was already up in the forest, on hills overlooking the entire area. From there, my home seemed like merely a square speck of land...but despite that...despite being so far away, I could still see it...I still have nightmares over it...seeing all of my family's homes on fire, exploding. The screams and shrieks of my family...as they were dying! All I did was stand there...and watch, tears streaming down my face, as I suddenly became the last surviving member of my family!", Mathinza yelled.

Suddenly, Angel fell to her knees on the floor. She slipped off of the couch, her hands still covering her ears and tears pouring down her face. Hearing the stories of Aleksi, and Evan, and Milo; she didn't become emotional or teary eyed. Maybe it was because of the way they explained it, not showing much emotion into their stories. They had coped with their loses, and tragedies, and got over their demons. But then there was Emily, and Mathinza, people who had yet to do so, and told their stories like they had just happened. That, and the mental and physical tolls of the mission put her over the edge.

Mathinza immediately looked up to Angel and gasped. He had not realized how into the story he was. He was lost in it, and failed to see what it was doing to the young girl. He dropped the paper towels and crawled over to the crying child.

"Angel! Are you ok?", Mathinza asked, gently shaking her. Though she was covering her ears, she could hear him.

"Please, no more! No more!", Angel begged. Mathinza sighed and held onto Angel, giving her a hug. He felt awkward in doing so, he barely knew Angel at all. But he would not leave her alone while she was like this.

"Ok, I'll stop...I'm sorry. I didn't mean to haunt you with my past. I...I don't know. I guess I just needed to, get it off my chest", Mathinza explained. Angel slightly calmed down, released her ears, and looked down to the ground.

"No...I'm sorry. I shouldn't of acted that way. I'm just...I can't believe that something like that could happen. The images of Serena, and your family...it was too much for me...when we were on New Island, as he attacked the base, I saw things...terrible things. Things that, that I'm afraid I will never get out of my head. And hearing your story, reminded me of what I saw, and what I went through", Angel explained. Mathinza nodded, understanding her entirely.

"I know what you mean. I understand. You're young, innocent, pure. No one at your age should ever have to witness what you were unfortunate enough to see in the last few days. The rebels here, many of us were just like you...young children thrown into war. Their family and friends murdered, most in front of us. We know what you've been through Angel, we know how you feel. We understand", Mathinza explained. Angel remained on the ground, being held by Mathinza. She kept her eyes on the ground, thinking back to everything she had seen, everything she had heard.

"Do you...do you think we'll end this soon? This fighting, this blood shed? I...I don't like doing what I have to do. I want to save my parents, and then just live in peace", Angel said. Mathinza scratched his chin.

"Honestly I think we all want that. You see, us attacking the base in Veridian is all but certain, but what ISN'T all but certain is our victory there...and for that matter, the war being over even if we do succeed. But I wouldn't be surprised if the PTA had a lot of members "retire" as it were after that battle. Hopefully, it will be the last one for everyone", Mathinza explained. The two remained there for a moment in silence. Mathinza released Angel and the two sat on the ground, their backs against the couch they were sitting on only moments before. Angel wrapped her arms around her legs, but kept her eyes on the ground. Mathinza put his right arm over his right leg and allowed his left leg to fall to the floor while his left hand supported his body on the ground.

"...growing up...I never thought that I would end up killing someone", Angel said suddenly. Mathinza glanced over to the young girl, who's eyes remained on the ground. "I knew what Team Rocket was obviously, and I always kept myself safe and quiet. My parents made sure of that. But despite knowing what evil I was forced to live under, and somewhat understanding what _could _happen, I still never thought that I would kill someone". Mathinza did not say a word, he merely sat there, knowing that Angel was not done.

"When we were getting ready for New Island, I knew that there was a chance that I would have to kill someone. If I could avoid it, I would, but deep down, I had a feeling that I would end someone's life. And then it happened. Me and Emily got separated from the others from an explosion and had to hide from some Rockets. But the Rockets found us. After fighting them, one was about to kill Emily...I didn't have time to even think about it...and so I shot him. It, it was the first time I ever killed someone", Angel explained. Mathinza nodded.

"It's never easy for someone to kill another...well, for someone with a soul at least. A lot of people here have gone through the same thing you have. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if a few of the rebels who made it back from New Island killed their first Rocket there as well. We know that killing someone, even someone as evil as a Rocket, isn't right. But if we didn't, then we wouldn't be able to fight, or protect the ones we love. We kill for peace, nothing more", Mathinza explained.

"...Kill for peace...that seems kind of redundant doesn't it?", Angel asked, though it was more of a rhetorical question. However, before Mathinza could reply, he looked at a clock that was located on the wall on the other side of the room.

"Oh, it's morning...", Mathinza said. He then stood up and turned, holding his hand out to Angel. "...come on, you should get some breakfast. Then it's back to bed for you to rest your injuries". Angel seemed to be lost in her thoughts, but regardless, nodded and took Mathinza's hand in her own. He helped her to her feet and walked her out of the room and to the Kitchen.

Meanwhile, throughout the base, rebels were slowly one by one waking up. Because there were no immediate missions going on, most people decided to sleep in and so it was quiet around the base. Mostly however this was precaution. The PTA made sure to use minimal things around the base such as heating and lighting when the lab upstairs was not operating. This would create less noticeable actions around the base from Team Rocket, whom were known to check over payments made for bills. Since Prof. Oak's lab did not get to work in the early morning, neither did the rebels.

Walking down the medical center hall, yawning and stretching, was Evan. He was on his way to see Aleksi and check up on the other rebels. As he walked by, he stopped when he looked to his left and saw inside a room Brock, making something with a machine. He stepped inside and looked around briefly. It was a small Kitchen for the medical staff and patients. Though lacking heavily compared to the Kitchen in the main section of the base, it had more than enough food and materials. Brock, hearing someone come in, turned around and saw Evan. He then smiled.

"Ah, good morning Evan!", Brock said. Evan smiled and waved back.

"Morning. Can't say I'm shocked to see you up already", Evan said. Brock chuckled slightly.

"Yeah, I've always been a morning person. Usually am one of the first ones awake", Brock said. Evan nodded.

"Yeah, me too. I'm guessing most everyone else is asleep?", Evan asked. Brock nodded.

"Yeah, well, actually Angel wasn't in bed when I woke up, she must already be awake", Brock said. Evan seemed slightly shocked by this. Few kids ever woke up early, especially after going through the ordeal that she went through the day previous.

"Really? Hmm, wonder why. Hope it wasn't nightmares", Evan said. Brock shrugged, uncertain.

"I don't know, but if it was because of nightmares, I hope she can talk to someone about them", Brock said. He then suddenly turned around and handed Evan a mug. Brock had been making coffee this entire time. Evan smiled and accepted the mug.

"Thanks", Evan said.

"No problem. Not sure how you take it though", Brock said. Evan walked over to the counter next to the coffee machine and prepared his drink.

"Eh, I'm not too picky, though I usually make it sweet", Evan said. While he made his drink, he continued to talk. "So, did you try to wake anyone else up yourself?". Brock laughed.

"I learned after awhile that some people should not be bothered. A lot of them are surprisingly not morning people!", Brock joked. Evan scoffed, knowing what he meant.

"I can't imagine why", Evan said. He had finished preparing his coffee and began to take small, careful sips of the hot liquid. "I've learned not to even try, so I have no idea which people are morning persons and which ones aren't".

"And I'm guessing you're going to wake up Aleksi and find out if she's one?", Brock asked. Evan smirked.

"You know it!", Evan said. Brock shook his head with a smile.

"Good luck with that", Brock said. Evan looked to him.

"Is she bad?", Evan asked, taking another sip.

"Not the worst, but I think that just because it's _you _doing it they'll be trouble", Brock joked.

"Well, let's go find out!", Evan said with a mischievous smile on his face. Brock laughed and the two boys left the room and headed towards the clinic. It didn't take them long to reach the room, and when they walked in, they looked around slowly and quietly. As expected, most of the rebels were still asleep. Evan looked and saw that Angel's bed was empty, like Brock had said. He was somewhat concerned for the little girl, wondering where she could of gone off to so early, but figured that she was still in the base and therefore safe. He then glanced over and noticed that Luke and Logan weren't in bed either.

"Where are Luke and Logan?", Evan asked Brock in a whisper.

"Don't know, they were asleep when I got up. Probably off doing some work or something, they're probably used to it on the ranch", Brock guessed. Evan shrugged and quickly dismissed the twin brothers. He then smiled as he slowly made his way over to Aleksi's bed. As expected, she was still fast asleep. Her arms were wrapped around her pillow and she looked cozy and warm. She had a smile on her face as she slept. Evan couldn't help but admire the girl before him, but knew that it wouldn't last. He didn't want to jump on her or hurt her, so he started slow and gently shook the girl.

"Hey, hey Aleksi, wake up!", Evan said. Aleksi mumbled under her breath, though neither Evan nor Brock knew if this was her still sleeping or replying to him. Evan couldn't help but smile as he tried once again. "Aleksi, come on sleeping beauty, wake up". This time Aleksi slowly opened her eyes. She stretched and Evan backed up slightly as she rose from her bed. Her hair was messy and frizzed and her eyes were barely open. She looked at Evan and immediately covered her face and blushed.

"Evan! What are you doing waking me up! I didn't get a lot of sleep last night, and I look like a mess!", Aleksi said quickly taking her bed sheet and covering herself. Evan and Brock laughed. Evan then leaned over and moved the bed sheet off of her with a smile.

"I wanted to hang out with you, and how can we do that if you're asleep half the day? I'm organizing some training today and I want you to be there...besides, you look just fine", Evan said with a smile. Aleksi smiled back, blushing slightly.

"Well...thank you", Aleksi said with a smile. Evan then pulled the sheets off of her completely and Aleksi got out of bed. She was wearing short green shorts and a plain black t-shirt, nothing else. She stretched again and tried to wake herself up more. It was clear that she was still tired and wanted to go back to sleep. Evan and Brock made sure not to bother her too much as she tried to wake herself up more. Aleksi noticed that both Evan and Brock had mugs in their hands. "Coffee?", Aleksi asked. Evan nodded.

"Yep, would you like some?", Evan asked. Aleksi shook her head.

"No, not a coffee drinker, but it sure smells good. I'll just help myself to a smoothie. Then I'm gonna take a shower and OWW!", Aleksi suddenly yelled, holding her arm. Evan immediately placed his mug down on the cart next to her bed and checked on the hurting girl.

"Are you ok?", Evan asked concerned. Aleksi winced, holding her injured arm.

"Yeah, I'll be fine. I forgot about my injury, hehe, still hurts", Aleksi said with one eye closed and her teeth gritted. Evan sighed.

"Please be careful with it ok? I don't want you hurting it anymore", Evan said. Aleksi smiled.

"I won't, but thank you for your concern, it means a lot to me", Aleksi said. Evan smiled back.

"No problem", Evan said. Brock then walked over, taking a close look at her arm. It was bandaged up since yesterday and small traces of blood were noticeable.

"You'll need to get it checked up on again. But I think the Pokemon products that Prof. Oak gave us yesterday will have you feeling good as new by the end of the day. Be careful with it when you take your shower", Brock said. Aleksi nodded, understanding.

"Ok, hopefully it will feel better soon, I don't like waiting around when I could be doing things. When will we have that meeting we talked about yesterday?", Aleksi asked.

"Sometime today. When I'm not sure. But we'll let you know", Brock said.

"Alright, thanks", Aleksi said. She then yawned again. "Ok, I need to go and wake myself up. Evan, could you help me to the Kitchen, and maybe make me a smoothie?", she asked, putting her hands together almost as if she was begging. She smiled and somehow made her eyes sparkle, something that made Evan smile back.

"Sure, I'd be happy to", Evan said. He and Aleksi then began to walk out of the room, but Brock stopped them.

"Oh, before you go, one question", Brock said. Aleksi and Evan turned to look at him. "Do you happen to know where Angel is?". Aleksi looked over to the little girl's bed and noticed that it was empty. She seemed confused.

"No, I thought she was still asleep. I wonder where she went off to", Aleksi said. Brock looked back to the bed as well.

"I don't know either, but she left her ice pack there. I'm sure she's fine though", Brock said. Aleksi nodded. She was clearly concerned about Angel, but knew that she was in a safe place surrounded by trust worthy people. She would be fine. Her and Evan then turned back around and continued on their way, leaving Brock in the clinic. The two teens walked down the hall quietly, not wanting to gather any particular attention to themselves. Although people were beginning to wake up the vast majority of them were either still asleep or just waking up. The halls were empty though the lights were just beginning to turn on themselves. Aleksi was walking slowly, causing Evan, (a naturally fast paced walker), to slow down to stay with her. Aleksi rubbed her eyes to get the tiredness out of them. Evan looked over to her.

"So, I noticed that when we met up on Blaine's ship that you didn't have most of your gear, what happened to it?", Evan asked. It was a random question but casual enough to get a conversation. Aleksi blushed in embarrassment.

"Haha, well, unfortunately I dropped most of it in the ocean. Including the bow and arrows you found for me", Aleksi said. Evan couldn't help but smile at it.

"I see. Is that how you got your injury?", Evan asked, looking at her arm. Aleksi looked at it herself and nodded.

"Yeah. A Rocket speedboat was heading towards us and I tried to hit the gunner, but he got me first. That's how I lost my gear", Aleksi explained. Evan nodded in understanding.

"...That's good", Evan said. Aleksi looked over to him. "It's better to have lost your gear than lose your life. In the grand scheme of things you got away very lucky. I'm glad you did". Aleksi smiled.

"Yeah, I guess so. Thank you Evan. I, I know that I can be hard on you sometimes, and that I can get annoyed by your personality once in awhile, but it really does mean a lot to me, that you care so much", Aleksi said with a smile. Evan smiled back. "I haven't had a guy worry about me so much since...". Aleksi stopped herself, as if she was afraid to finish her own statement. This caught Evan's curiosity.

"...Who?", Evan asked. He had no idea whom she could be referring to and it made him more and more inquisitive.

"...My dad", Aleksi finished. Evan did not even bother to ask her about her father, knowing that it could very well be a emotional topic; especially given her pause in the statement. He had not known Aleksi for very long, and knew very little of her past. Although he was curious, he knew that keeping it under wraps was the best, for now at least. Aleksi looked up from the ground and noticed something down the hall, something that Evan had yet to see since he was looking at her. She smiled. "So _there _you are!", Aleksi said. Evan looked up from his glance and noticed Angel at the end of the hall. She was smiling upon making eye contact with Aleksi and Evan. Standing next to her was Mathinza, fully clothed for the day.

"Hey Aleksi, Evan!", Angel said happily. In the time since her and Mathinza stopped talking, she managed to regain her composure and become happy once again, (though it took some time and some aid from Mathinza). She did not want the others to know of her sadness, nor did she know if Mathinza wanted the others to know; so she kept it to herself. She ran down the hall and ran into Aleksi, who "oof"ed as she collided into her. She was still very tired, and the now fully awake and energetic Angel was proving to be overwhelming for her. Mathinza walked up to the teens and gave a head nod to Evan, who gave one back.

"So where were you this morning? Everyone was worried about you", Aleksi asked.

"Oh, sorry, I didn't know that people were concerned. I couldn't get a lot of sleep so I walked around and ran into Mathinza. We hung out until morning", Angel explained. Evan looked up from Angel and to Mathinza.

"Not much of a sleeper?", Evan asked casually. Mathinza shrugged.

"Not really", Mathinza said. For Angel's sake, he kept the reason why they were awake and their topic of conversation to himself. Aleksi ignored the boys and kept her attention onto Angel.

"We were just about to have breakfast, would you like to join us?", Aleksi asked. Angel seemed excited and smiled greatly.

"YEAH! LET'S GO!", Angel yelled happily. She immediately released Aleksi and began to run down the hallway, filled with energy. Aleksi sweatdropped.

"Did you give her coffee or something?", Aleksi asked Mathinza.

"Hot co-co", Mathinza answered. Aleksi sighed heavily.

"Thanks a lot", Aleksi said sarcastically. Mathinza laughed in a embarrassed way. Evan, also sweatdropping, made sure to keep quiet as he sipped his own coffee. Aleksi sighed again and made her way down the hall as well, still as slow as before. The boys followed closely behind. Angel was by this time at the end of the hall and looking back to the others.

"WHAT'S TAKING YOU SO LONG?", Angel asked. She was on a bit of a sugar high from the hot co-co, although her high strung personality was coming mostly from it being a new day with all of her friends safe and sound. She was happy that they weren't on a mission and were fine, if only for the time being. Aleksi waved her off.

"You can go on ahead, we'll catch up. The medical center Kitchen is down the hall and to the right", Aleksi explained. Angel nodded.

"OK! HURRY UP YOU SLOWPOKES!", Angel yelled before running down the hall. Aleksi sighed. She didn't like the overwhelming feeling of high strung people this early in the morning, not until she herself was awake at least.

"Well, _someone's _certainly high strung today aren't they?", a voice said, referring to Angel. The three older teens turned around to the voice, seeing Nick standing behind them. He was wearing a pair of jeans and a plain blue shirt, the one he wore under his usual white fleece jacket. He smiled and gave a slight wave. "Morning".

"Morning yourself", Mathinza replied.

"Just got up yourself did you?", Evan asked. Nick shook his head.

"Nah, I got up awhile ago, but I usually just relax a bit before I physically get up. I stayed with Sawyer for the night, in case she wasn't feeling well. Her chest still aches a bit", Nick explained. The others nodded, understanding.

"I think it's cute that you did that Nick", Aleksi said with a smile. Nick blushed heavily and looked away. Before he was known as a tough guy with a rough personality. Now he was being known as a softie.

"Where is Sawyer anyway?", Evan asked. Nick sweatdropped.

"Man, she is _not _a morning person. Grumbled nearly the entire time I was talking to her, if I got a response out of her at all that is. She wanted to do a small workout before meeting up with us. But I don't think it's gonna wake her up entirely", Nick said. The boys sweatdropped. What was it with girls not wanting to get up in the morning? "Anyway, mind if I join you for breakfast?". The teens nodded.

"Sure, the more the merrier", Aleksi said. The four teens then made their way down the hall and then reached the main hall of the medical center. A slight handful of medics were up and making their way around as the four rebels approached the Kitchen. The medics ignored them, but did take the time to look at them and see if they were doing alright. When the teens reached the Kitchen, they looked inside. Angel was sitting at a rectangular table with a bowl in front of her. The bowl had cereal and milk inside and she was already beginning to eat. She looked up to the teens and smiled.

"Took you long enough!...Hey Nick!", Angel said, noticing Nick behind the other three Nick smiled and waved while the others approached her. Aleksi sighed.

"There isn't sugar in that cereal is there?", Aleksi asked. Angel seemed confused.

"No, why?", Angel asked. Aleksi chuckled.

"Oh, no reason", Aleksi responded. Evan turned and made his way to the small fridge located under the counter. He opened it and began to pull out fruits, milk, and a carton of yogurt. Aleksi smiled. "Aww, Evan, you don't have to really make it for me". Evan smirked.

"I know", Evan said, not stopping what he was doing. Aleksi blushed slightly and sat down at the table, knowing that he was not going to stop anyway. Nick helped himself to some of the coffee that Brock had made earlier and quickly sat down at the table himself, right next to Angel. Aleksi sat across from Angel. Mathinza sat on the other side of Angel at the table, leaning back into the chair. He was still clearly tired, and not having a lot of sleep last night didn't help. He figured he would make up for it today though and shook it off.

"So Angel, how come you didn't get a lot of sleep? Were you just not tired, or was it something else?", Aleksi asked, showing some signs of concern. Angel stopped eating for a bit and then began playing with her bowl. Most of the cereal was already gone by this point and she merely watched as the little remains that were left danced about her spoon in the milk.

"I...had a nightmare", Angel said. "Actually...a few of them". The others became silent as Aleksi sighed.

"I'm sorry sweetie. What were they about? Do you want to talk about it?", Aleksi asked. It appeared that Angel was about ready to begin her explanation, but then someone called out to them.

"Morning everyone!", someone said. Everyone turned around to see Milo and Hunter at the entrance. Milo smiled to them nicely while Hunter still seemed out of it. It was clear that he was still tired, though the Morphine he was given for his leg could of had something to do with it as well. Angel sighed. She knew that they weren't trying to be rude in entering the room, but she didn't want to talk about it with them there. Nothing against them, but she wanted more privacy. Quite frankly she was uncomfortable around Nick, Mathinza, and Evan.

"I'll tell you later", Angel whispered to Aleksi. Aleksi nodded, understanding why she was this way. Hunter took a seat near Aleksi, making sure to leave the spot right beside her empty. He figured that Evan would be sitting there. Milo meanwhile stood behind Aleksi, hovering over her with a smile.

"So how are you all this morning?", Milo asked. It was clear that he got a lot of sleep last night. Angel yawned. This made Milo chuckle. "Didn't get enough sleep?".

"No, not really", Angel said. Milo then looked down at Aleksi.

"What about you? I'm guessing you didn't either, you seemed to of forgotten to wear your pants this morning...not that I'm complaining", Milo said with a cheeky grin. Aleksi blushed and crossed her arms.

"Oh shut up! I'm still mad at you over yesterday, you jerk!", Aleksi said in a huff. Milo sweatdropped.

"Oh...oh yeah, hehe. Well if it makes you feel any better, I'm sorry", Milo said. Aleksi was still visibly upset, but the apology did help. She knew that despite his jokes and antics with the ladies he was a nice guy...even if it was hidden.

"Well...you just be careful about it next time, got it!", Aleksi warned. Milo chuckled a bit. He began to walk over to the end of the table, not to far from Hunter and Nick.

"No problem there honey, I learned my lesson", Milo said. He then sat down, with his cheeky smile reappearing as he leaned back in his chair. "...so did Evan help you with your pants or..", before he could even finish, Aleksi leaned forward, grabbed Angel's spoon from right out of her hand, and immediately threw it at Milo. It happened so fast that not a single person at the table even saw it happen until it was too late. The spoon smacked Milo right in the forehead. Since he was leaning back when this happened, the hit caused him to lose his balance and he fell backwards onto the ground. The guys and Angel sweatdropped as Aleksi huffed annoyed once more.

"That looked like it hurt", Evan said with a sweatdrop. He had just walked to the table with Aleksi's smoothie in hand. He placed the pink and purple drink onto the table in front of Aleksi. She smiled sweetly at him.

"Thank you so much Evan", Aleksi said. Evan smiled back, blushing ever so slightly.

"No problem", Evan said. He then sat down in-between Aleksi and Hunter as Milo slowly began to sit himself back at the table. Evan then watched as Aleksi slowly grabbed her glass, but then chugged the entire smoothie down in a matter of seconds. All of the guys at the table sweatdropped as she sighed heavily, placing the now empty glass onto the table. With a smile and vigor in her stance, she stood up, stretching.

"That felt good! Alright, I'm gonna get myself ready, Angel, wanna come?", Aleksi asked. Angel smiled greatly and pulled herself away from the table.

"Yeah!", Angel said. The two girls then made their way out of the room. Evan immediately turned back to them.

"Remember, practice later!", Evan said. Aleksi stopped and turned to him with a wink and thumbs up.

"No problem, wouldn't miss it!", Aleksi said. She then turned around and the two girls made their way out of the room. Evan smiled as they left, but couldn't resist but gaze as Aleksi's figure as she walked away, noting that she looked very attractive. He blushed immensely, but hid it as he turned back to the guys once she and Angel were gone. This left Mathinza, Nick, Evan, Hunter, and Milo in the room. Nick casually glanced over to Hunter and smirked. He looked exhausted.

"What's the matter Hunter, didn't get a lot of sleep last night?", Nick asked. Hunter sighed.

"Fuck no. My leg was killing me, and freaken Catie kept giving me Morphine to shut up. I swear she's out to kill me", Hunter said with a heavy sigh. He was clearly not a morning person, or if he was, the injury was worse than expected. Nick smiled.

"I can't blame her, looking at you, it looks like you got beaten to near death by the ugly stick!", Nick said. He then burst into laughter at his joke. Milo and Mathinza stiffled their own grins as well at the joke. Evan ignored it and took a big sip of coffee. Hunter merely looked at Nick deadpan. He then glanced over to Evan, who was right beside him.

"So Evan, did you bone Aleksi yet?", Hunter asked casually. Evan immediately blushed to the extreme and spewed the entire mouth full of coffee forward, which happened to be where Nick was situated. The coffee covered his entire face. When it ended, Evan was trying his best to recover from the extremely blunt question while Nick merely stared at Hunter with the same deadpan expression he had given him. Hunter smirked while Mathinza and Milo burst into laughter.

"...You did that on purpose", Nick said. Hunter smiled.

"Hell yeah I did!", Hunter said. He then burst into laughter himself, joining Mathinza and Milo. Leaving Nick to clean his face and Evan to hide the extreme embarrassment he was feeling.

**And I'll leave it at that! Phew, god this took me FOREVER! I'm so sorry for the long wait, I know it's been awhile, but I already explained my reasons. I hope to update the Christmas sequel VERY SOON, if the internet is working by then. Also I would like to send my DEEPEST apologies to prettygirl17 for the, erm, "inappropriate" conversations involved at the end of the chapter! I'M SORRY! I hope you enjoyed the chapter however, and hope that you all will be patient for my future updates. I won't lie, they'll be slow with the holidays coming round the corner. In case I don't update by next Thursday, I want to wish you all a HAPPY THANKSGIVING! :) For me, please spend it with your loved ones and family and have the time of your life! Also, as a final A.N., I would like to ask you all to please check out "Cat's in the Cradle". It's a story written by my good friend Sally White, (formally RDH on this site). It's a good read and it means a lot to her. Be sure to see for yourself! Anyway, take care everyone!**

**sincerely,  
****evan, a fan of aaml -EVAN AAML**


	49. Chapter 49

**Have you all missed me? I've certainly missed you! I apologize for the long awaited update. I've been sick, dealing with a tweaked leg, (slipped on ice, I'll leave it at that), been EXTREMELY busy, and of course the holidays took up a lot of my time as of late; as to be expected. Now, for the PLUS notes: I intend to finish the Christmas story this time. I know I didn't keep my word by finishing it by the holidays, but I decided it was more important to spend it with my family, and I'm sure you can all agree with that. So regardless of how long it takes me, I intend to finish it and not postpone it this time. Secondly, IT FINALLY SNOWED HERE! :D Not good news for you maybe, but good news for me! But I digress, please enjoy!**

**-EVAN AAML**

The boys kept up their hollering and laughter as Nick began to wipe his face from the coffee that was spewed on it. Luckily it wasn't hot, but it wasn't any less gross. Evan, although sorry that it happened, was not thinking about an apology at all since he was more preoccupied with hiding his embarrassment. He was used to "guy talk" over girls and was not in the least bit shocked that Hunter would say something like that. But the mere idea of it with Aleksi was something that caused his face to turn red and his heart to beat faster than ever before.

To his luck, (or possibly his misfortune), the others all stopped laughing as someone entered the room. The boys all looked at the person and sweatdropped, with the exception of Nick, who blushed. The person who had just walked into the room was Sawyer, who looked as if she had just gotten up mere seconds before. Clearly her morning routine did nothing to wake her up anymore, as Nick was afraid of. She seemed like a zombie, more so than Hunter was, as she shuffled herself over to the counter. The boys were all uncertain of how to approach her, not knowing if she was in the mood for a conversation or not. However, the boys soon worked up the courage.

"Hey Sawyer...how you doing this morning?", Milo asked. She stopped shuffling her feet and slowly turned her head to them. She wore green pajama pants and a spaghetti strap blue shirt with plain pink slippers. Her hair was a frizzled mess and it covered almost her entire face. She however did seem to acknowledge Milo's question.

"Hmmph, mm fne", Sawyer mumbled to them. The boys all looked at her confused. They remained still, completely silent, until Mathinza snapped his fingers.

"I'm fine!", Mathinza exclaimed.

"Ohhhhhh!", the boys replied. Sawyer sighed heavily at their stupidity.

"Hmph, so what were you all laughing about?", Sawyer asked, now easier to understand. Evan blushed heavily and ran to her, shaking his hands in front of her.

"NOTHING! NOTHING! WE WERE LAUGHING ABOUT NOTHING!", Evan exclaimed, making sure that she didn't ask any more questions about the matter. She seemed confused, especially given how tired she was, but disregarded it. She then glanced over to Nick and saw that his face looked brown and the napkin in front of him was wet.

"What happened to you Nick?", Sawyer asked, concerned obviously but more curious.

"Coffee spewed in my face, don't piss off Hunter", Nick said with a sigh as he got up and approached Sawyer. Hunter chuckled to himself, reflecting back to it. Sawyer shrugged and then continued on her way over to the counter where she was going to. Evan and Nick watched as she reached the coffee pot and poured herself a mug. Slowly, she reached for the sugar cup that was next to the coffee and brought it over to her mug. The two boys looked over her shoulder and watched her as she took the spoon, (filled with sugar), and dumped it into the coffee. She then took another and dumped it, and then another. The boys looked on, shocked.

Sawyer stopped for a moment, looked at her mug for a few seconds, and then shrugged. She then picked up the entire sugar cup and began to pour it out into the coffee. Nick and Evan sweatdropped. She stopped with half of the sugar in the cup and then stirred the now sugar filled drink.

"Uhm...would you like some coffee with your sugar?", Evan asked sarcastically. Sawyer mumbled to him in response, although neither him nor Nick could tell what she was saying. After stirring the coffee, she brought the coffee to her lips and began to drink it. She then turned around and smiled, now beginning to wake up more.

"So, what's going on today?", Sawyer asked.

"We're supposed to have a meeting sometime today, although I don't know when, or how many people are required to go to it. It's about our attack on Veridian. We would of had it yesterday if we didn't have so many injured. And I'm going to be having a training session later today too. I'm trying to get everyone in it, but obviously we're limited", Evan explained. Sawyer nodded.

"Alright. I'll join in if you need someone", Sawyer stated. Evan raised an eyebrow.

"Are you sure you're up to it? How are you feeling?", Evan asked.

"Yeah Sawyer, you have that pacemaker in you now, you can't overdo it. Especially since you just got it", Nick warned, concerned for her well being. Sawyer sighed, knowing that he was right.

"Yeah, I suppose so. I'll at least watch then. I want to be able to do something, but I guess I can't afford to put myself out of the biggest fight because of training", Sawyer said. All of the boys nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, I know what you mean. I'll have to do the same thing, this bum leg isn't going to stop me from fighting but I'll have to take it easy for now", Hunter said, somewhat annoyed but understanding.

"The training isn't going to be severe training, more like preparation I guess", Evan said. He then walked back over to the table, with Nick and Sawyer behind him. He leaned back in his chair and reflected back to things. Sawyer sat across from Evan, and Nick to Sawyer's side. Milo leaned forward, folding his hands onto the table.

"When do you think everyone is gonna be better and we'll attack?", Milo asked.

"I don't know when everyone will be better, but I doubt we'll wait for that", Nick said. Mathinza nodded.

"Yeah, we'll give them some time, but I don't think everyone is going to be at one hundred percent when we begin. This is too important for us to risk delaying", Mathinza stated.

"We're going to need everyone for this one, no leaving people at the base, or stationed away from the battle like we here for New Island. This is all or nothing", Milo said. The others nodded.

"Well there's one thing I _do _know", Evan said, still leaning in his chair. The others all looked to him, wondering what it was he meant. He spun his gold holy cross that was around his neck between his fingers, looking out to the other side of the room and away from the others. "...we're going to lose a lot of lives in this fight". The others remained silent. Hunter sighed quietly as Milo leaned forward more, folding his hands as if doing a prayer. Mathinza put his fingers to his eyes, as if he had a headache.

"We lost so many people just taking down New Island. We were going to only bring like thirty people, but we ended up with what seemed like half the PTA. But...so many of us didn't make it home. I...I don't think we'll have enough to take down the entire Rocket organization", Sawyer said. She was not saying this to be pessimistic, but merely pointing out something.

"We won't need everyone, there are plenty of people willing to fight. All we need to do is bring down Giovanni. The other rebel groups and underground forces will probably fight after that", Nick explained. Evan nodded.

"Right. So long as we hold up in Veridian then backup is sure to come from all over...but regardless...I would possibly think about saying your goodbyes to people. Considering the numbers we lost just at New Island...it would be safe to bet that someone in this room won't survive the fight in Veridian", Evan said. The entire room of people then all began to look at each other. As much as they didn't want to think about it, as much as they wanted to pretend that it wasn't going to be that bad, they knew the truth. They knew that Evan was right, and that there was a chance that anyone of them could easily die on this mission...

or possibly, all of them.

As this was going on, away from the others in another section of the base, sitting alone in a bedroom merely waiting for someone, was Angel. Her and Aleksi had gone to Aleksi's actual bedroom so that they could finally take a decent shower and change. Angel, being younger and smaller, took a much faster shower than Aleksi. And so she sat on her bed, wrapped in one towel with another one around her head like a turban. It wasn't until after she was out of the shower and Aleksi stepped into it that she realized that she had no clean clothes to wear. Her sundress was still dirty and torn from the battle and she didn't want to have to put it on again after showering.

Luckily Aleksi's room had its own bathroom inside of it, (which was located by the door to the hall, much like a hotel's room would be like). This included a hot water shower and more than enough cleansing toiletries that allowed Angel to feel clean and soft. This also allowed her to remain hidden from others since she did not have any clothes to wear. The light near the bed was on, this being the only light on in the room other than the sliver of light from the bottom of the bathroom door, and Angel couldn't help but reflect to the night before; when she laid on Aleksi's bed and waited for the mission to start.

She then began to think of the bible, the green felt one sitting in the bed stand right beside her. She imagined that it was still in there, just as it was when she last held it. She imagined the high-lighted proverb in the book that probably had significant meaning to Aleksi. And she imagined the photograph bookmark, the one of Aleksi and her possible father. She remembered how she was afraid to ask her about it the night before, but perhaps now, with the mission over and done with, she would be more willing.

Her train of thought however was snapped when she suddenly began to hear something she wasn't expecting to hear...singing. She looked to the bathroom and could tell quickly that it was Aleksi, while she was in the shower. Angel couldn't help but giggle at it. Aleksi was in fact though a very good singer, something Angel noticed immediately. Her soft yet loud voice echoed from the bathroom and into the bedroom. Angel figured she did this often, since it was just quiet enough to not echo into the hall outside. Angel closed her eyes and tried to listen to the singing. Although the lyrics themselves weren't able to be heard well due to the water running, the voice itself struck her. She had heard a lot of people sing before, but none with a better voice, and none with more feeling in it, even if Aleksi was only just singing in the shower.

Suddenly, the water stopped running and the singing stopped. Aleksi had finally finished with her shower. Angel waited for her until the door finally opened and Aleksi stepped out. Steam left the bathroom and immediately disappeared, not able to survive in the colder bedroom. Like Angel, Aleksi had two towels on her. She looked at Angel, who was sitting on her bed with a smile. Angel decided to keep the fact that she heard her singing to herself, at least for now.

"Sorry it took me awhile, I had to watch my injury", Aleksi said, showing Angel the wound on her arm. She clearly took care in cleaning it out, and it did look a lot better. It had been stitched up before she went to sleep and hopefully with more of the special medication it would be back to normal soon. "I remembered while taking a shower that you don't have any clothes. Luckily I don't get rid of my old clothes and I'm positive I have something that can fit you". Angel smiled.

"Thanks, I appreciate it!", Angel said. She stood up while Aleksi walked over to a dresser and opened one of the drawers. She picked up a few piles of clothes and looked around, until finally finding something. She smiled and pulled out a pair of jeans.

"Here, try these on. They should fit you, I had the same build you have when I was your age", Aleksi explained. She tossed the jeans to Angel and she caught them. Angel unfolded them and looked at the jeans. They were darker than normal, but she didn't mind in the least. "And here are socks for you as well!". Next thing she knew, socks were being thrown at her. She just had time to catch them. They were short and plain white. Angel giggled at Aleksi's actions. She suddenly heard Aleksi again.

"Yes!", Aleksi said. Angel looked at her confused. Aleksi was already looking through another drawer and pulled out undergarments for Angel. "I was hoping I would still have new undergarments. These have never been worn, you can have them", Aleksi said. She tossed the undergarments to her as well and then went through another drawer. She looked through shirts and finally found one that would suit Angel just fine. It was long sleeved, but it wasn't so hot in Pallet that one would be uncomfortable. She tossed this to Angel as well. "Here's a shirt too. Hope you like green", Aleksi said. Angel looked at the shirt. It was typical green with flowers stitched around it.

"That's fine. Thank you so much for these!", Angel said. Aleksi smiled.

"No problem! Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to get changed too, just a minute", Aleksi said, grabbing a pile of clothes and walking back into the bathroom. She closed the door behind her. Angel took off the towels and within minutes was completely changed. She did decide to put her hairband on again, along with the Beautifly ear-rings that she borrowed from Mrs. Ketchum. Before she knew it, Aleksi stepped out of the bathroom completely changed. She wore the same outfit she wore when Angel first met her, the green shirt with mid-riff jacket and light blue jeans. She even had the same choker necklace and leather bracelet on. She was just putting her hair into its usual ponytail as she walked out. She sighed heavily with a smile.

"It feels really good to be this clean after what we've been through", Aleksi said. Angel nodded in agreement. Since she used to always be on the run, cleaning herself up entirely was rare for her. So she always felt rejuvenated after a good cleansing. Aleksi stopped for a moment and just stood there, thinking. Angel sat down on Aleksi's bed and waited for her to say something. Aleksi soon looked to Angel with a smile. "Well, we've eaten, we're clean, we don't know when the meeting will be, and Evan's training won't be till later. What would you like to do?".

The question took Angel by surprise. This was the first time in what felt like forever that she had some freedom to do something. She never really had anytime to do anything she wanted to do, despite living on her own for two years. She was always moving, always making sure she wasn't spotted by Team Rocket. And although she had fun with the PTA, she always considered it work. Now, she could actually do whatever she wanted. She wasn't even sure what to do, until she remembered what she was thinking about just moments ago.

"Actually, is it alright if we just talk...for now at least?", Angel asked. Aleksi seemed somewhat stunned by this, thinking she would want to do something else. But she had no problem with it.

"Sure, no problem. What do you want to talk about?", Aleksi asked. Angel seemed hesitant at first, but gathered her courage. She knew that this could be hard for Aleksi to talk about. But she also felt that this could in fact help her, much like talking to Mathinza helped him. Plus, her curiosity was getting the better of her, and she always eventually gave in to her curiosity.

"Uhm...well, please don't be mad...but the other night, when I was supposed to be in here sleeping before the mission...I couldn't get to sleep. So, I looked through that drawer over there...and I found your bible. Could you tell me about that?", Angel asked, pointing to the bed stand. Aleksi looked to it and her expression changed suddenly. It wasn't anger, or disappointment, but Angel knew that it was something personal to her. She immediately felt bad. "We don't have to if you don't want to. I understand if it's personal", Angel said. Aleksi looked to her and shook her head.

"No, it's alright. I can understand you would be curious. Honestly I was just like you when I was your age, always curious", Aleksi said. Slowly, the older girl walked over to the bed stand and opened the drawer. Angel moved aside as Aleksi sat down on the bed, close to her pillows. Angel sat to her right. She looked at the green book, as if it was the first time she ever really took notice of it. She felt the green fuzzy cover.

"You see...this was my father's bible. It was the bible that was used in his and my mother's wedding. He had asked to keep it as a keepsake. He gave it to me years ago, a year after I joined the PTA", Aleksi explained. Angel looked at Aleksi. Her eyes softened and she seemed to be reflecting back to past memories.

"You said your mother died years ago from a sickness", Angel recalled. Aleksi nodded.

"Yes. When I was little. She got really sick. I remember my dad trying to do everything he could to make her feel better, but there was nothing more he could do. I know now that she had cancer, but at the time I didn't. Her passing was one of the hardest things for me in my life. I was close to both of my parents, but I was around my mother more", Aleksi said. Angel could tell that she was sad, but noticed that she wasn't crying. Unlike Mathinza, she had coped with her mother's death.

"How come? What did your father do that he was gone a lot?", Angel asked.

"He...he was in a rebel force himself", Aleksi said. Angel gasped. Aleksi closed her eyes for a moment. "He used to be a Pokemon trainer, a pretty good one in his day I guess. He never won a championship, but he always made it to the top tiers. Hehe, he was no Ash though. But after he met my mom, he retired from battling. He was a full time dad when I was born. With the winnings he had collected we were pretty well off. But, when Team Rocket took over, he immediately joined a rebel group with a bunch of other older trainers. He felt like he had to do something to stop Team Rocket and protect me and my mom. We always worried about him, and it wasn't until mom got sick that he began to spend more time with us. Mom used to say that he always wanted to spend more time with us, but didn't to protect us, I often had doubts over it".

"...that must of been terrible. I...I never had that problem. My father worked on the berry farm at home, so he was always there, and my mother, working in the Cerulean Gym, was always close by. I can't...imagine, what it would of been like for you Aleksi", Angel said. Aleksi nodded.

"Yeah...it was rough. But, it helped me be strong, if anything came out of it", Aleksi explained.

"So then...what happened afterwards?", Angel asked. Aleksi's personality seemed to change again, but now she seemed a bit more bitter, more annoyed. Not at Angel, but at her father.

"My father watched over me for a bit, although he still would leave often for missions. His rebel group was nothing like the PTA. They were smaller and filled with adults. But they were violent. They would do anything to defeat Team Rocket. I...I used to be afraid that being in this rebel group would change him, make him mean, angry. But, it didn't seem to. He was sad often, but that was because of losing mom. He smiled when he was around me at least, and he even taught me everything I know. Sailing, swimming, and my skills that I use here", Aleksi explained. Angel knew that this wasn't the part of the question that made her annoyed. She knew that there was more to it.

"...but then it all changed...didn't it?", Angel asked. Aleksi nodded. She seemed annoyed now more than ever. She still kept her cool, but Angel knew that this was not something she took lightly. She had never seen her more upset before.

"After a year or so, I thought that everything would be relatively normal. He was gone often, but he always came back for me. Always protected me. But then one day, he comes home, and I run up to him, run into him and give him a hug, telling him that I missed him. I did it everytime he came home. But...this time, he didn't smile, didn't pick me up and hug me back. I looked up at him, and I saw his eyes. He looked down at me, and he said..."Aleksi, it's time for you to leave".", Aleksi explained. Angel gasped.

"Just like that? He made you leave?", Angel said, unable to believe it. Aleksi nodded.

"Yes, just like that. Within a matter of minutes he gave me everything he said I would need, which was really barely anything, told me where to go and what to do, and before I knew it he was driving me away, far away from our home. I kept asking him why, what he was doing, what was going on. But he just told me that everything would work out in the end. He dropped me off at the docks, where the family sailboat was, and then left, without so much as a goodbye. All he said was 'good luck'. I was scared, and angry at him. I couldn't believe that after everything we've been through as a family, after losing mom, he would just kick me out of his life like that. To this day, I still don't completely understand why he did it. Maybe it was to protect me, or so that he could focus on his rebel group, I don't know", Aleksi said. She gripped the bible tighter, as if she was taking out her anger on the book. Angel noticed this. She felt terrible for doing this to her. Just like Emily, just like Mathinza, she would bring out the painful memories in people just because she was curious. She felt terrible, but she couldn't stop herself.

She then remembered the photo in the bible. Maybe this was their last happy memory together? She wanted to find out for sure. She couldn't believe that Aleksi's father would just leave her like that for no good reason.

"What about the photo in the bible? And the proverb?", Angel asked. Aleksi opened the book and looked at the page and the picture. She picked up the photo and looked at it.

"This was, a year after I joined the PTA. Somehow, he found out that I had survived on my own and had joined the group. How he did I still don't know. But he found me, and we took this photo", Aleksi explained.

"But, you're both smiling. Surely that means that he didn't desert you without a good reason", Angel said. Aleksi shook her head.

"No...it can't be seen in this photo, but I was faking this happiness the entire time. I didn't want anything to do with my dad after what he did to me. He acted like nothing bad ever happened, and that's what bothered me the most. But...I guess...part of this smile on here wasn't fake, it was hope. Hope that, he did do what he did for a good reason. He left again soon afterwards, and sent me this with the book. He high-lighted the proverb himself, probably as a little note for me. Honestly, I never really paid much attention to it until now", Aleksi mentioned. She looked over the words and smirked, though it wasn't enough to hide the pain she was feeling.

"Do...do you still talk to him?", Angel asked. She was worried about asking this question, she didn't even know if her father was still alive. This happened years ago, anything could of happened between now and then.

"He still sends me letters, once a year at the most. I wouldn't be surprised if he sent me one soon, he probably found out what we did at New Island. I never respond to them though", Aleksi said. She placed the photo back into the book, closed it, and placed it back into the drawer. "I don't even know why I keep that book". She closed her eyes and slowly, tears began to come down her face. Angel became sad as well, seeing her "sister" cry like this. She slowly looked down to the floor.

"I...I think you do...because deep down, you know that he still loves you", Angel said. Aleksi turned to Angel in shock and confusion. The tears had not stopped going down her face, although they weren't pouring down so much as gently sliding. Angel kept her eyes to the floor. "You can't explain it, but...you know it's there. In your heart...you feel it. You don't know why he did it, but you know that...despite the anger that hides it, that he did it because he loves you", Angel explained.

She couldn't herself understand why she was saying these things. She never grew up the way Aleksi did, she wouldn't know any better. But, it was as if these words just came to her. It's like she knew it all along but didn't realize it. Aleksi couldn't help but smirk a bit at her.

"Maybe...maybe. Regardless, I'm not holding any high hopes for him, not yet...thanks Angel. You know, you remind me more and more about how similar we are", Aleksi said, wiping away her tears and putting her hand on Angel's head. Angel giggled a bit.

"Yeah?", Angel said. Aleksi nodded. This made Angel feel good about herself. She always had severe confidence problems with herself, and it showed especially on the New Island mission. She constantly doubted herself and brought herself down. But, being compared to Aleksi was considered a compliment to her. She felt proud to be like someone so important and liked in the PTA. She hoped that the feeling would stick and she could have that confidence forever, but for some reason, she doubted that it would. Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. The two girls looked to the door. Aleksi quickly turned and closed the drawer with the bible in it and then turned back to the door.

"Come in", Aleksi called out. The door slowly opened and Ash peeked his head through the open door. He looked at the girls on the couch.

"Oh, am I interrupting something?", Ash asked, not wanting to be rude. Aleksi shook her head.

"No, not at all, we were just talking", Aleksi said with a smile. Angel turned to Ash and giggled.

"Did you get enough sleep Ash? Your mom told me how you're not exactly a morning person", Angel said. Ash nodded with a smirk.

"Yes, I got enough, thank you", Ash said with some hint of annoyance but mostly in jest. Aleksi now looked to Ash.

"What's going on?", Aleksi asked.

"...It's time", Ash said.

"The meeting?", Angel asked. Ash nodded solemnly.

"Alright, did you tell the others?", Aleksi asked, standing up and preparing.

"I ran into most of the people in the Kitchen and told them, they're getting ready now. All of the region leaders are preparing as well, and we need you there", Ash explained. Aleksi nodded.

"I know you do", Aleksi said, knowingly. She walked over towards Ash. Angel stood up and looked to Ash.

"Do you need me there Ash?", Angel asked. Ash looked to Angel.

"Sorry Angel, but we need to keep this as private as possible. Nothing personal, but we're only having the leaders and a couple others for this", Ash explained. Angel sighed. As she predicted, she felt her importance to the cause fall. She knew that she was no region leader, or even a very skilled PTA rebel like Aleksi, but that didn't mean that she wasn't important...did it? Maybe what the others were saying to her, the confidence boosters, were merely that, just boosters to make her happy; not even the truth. Regardless, she hid most of her disappointment and nodded.

"Alright, I understand", Angel said.

"I know you're a bit disappointed, which is why I have a task for you to do for me while we're at this meeting", Ash said. Suddenly, Angel felt a sense of importance again. Albeit only slightly.

"Really? What?", Angel asked, trying not to sound excited but curious; she however failed to mislead Ash.

"Because I'm going to be at the meeting, I won't be able to run some of my important errands here. They need to get done, so I would like you do run them for me", Ash explained. He then fully stepped into the room and approached Angel. "First off, I need you to go to the basement and find our quarter master Eli. I need to see the inspections and find out if we're ready for the Veridian attack. Then, go back to the main level of the base and check with Brenna, she's a young girl like you who works in the PTA filing system. She has all of the blue prints, Rocket info, bios, everything written down she knows. Give her the flashdrive May put the Rocket info on back at New Island. Then have her give you the updates and let me know. Can you do that Angel?", Ash asked, tossing her the flashdrive, (which he pulled out from his pocket). Angel caught the flashdrive in her hand and sighed.

She had a feeling that the "errands" Ash would have her run weren't major ones. It was typical for someone older to "pawn" off the smaller, less important jobs to the kids, making it feel like it's a big task when it really wasn't. But regardless, any little thing would help the PTA win, and help her reunite with her parents. So she was glad to do something. She grasped the flashdrive in her hand and looked up to Ash with a nod.

"No problem", Angel responded, putting the flashdrive in her jean pocket. Ash nodded with a smile.

"Good, thank you Angel. There are a few rebels who aren't going to be at the meeting as well, feel free to have them come along to help you, I'm putting you in charge. I know I can count on you. Come on Aleksi, we can't keep them waiting", Ash said. Aleksi turned to him and nodded.

"Right", Aleksi said. Ash nodded and turned to leave the room. Aleksi quickly turned back to Angel with a smile.

"You can do it Angel! Don't worry, I'll be sure to keep the rescue of your parents the top priority at the meeting", Aleksi said with a wink. Angel smiled back.

"Thanks Aleksi, I appreciate it", Angel said. Aleksi nodded and then walked out of the room herself. Angel ran over to shut off the light near the bed, (quickly making sure the drawer was shut entirely), and then ran out of the room with Ash and Aleksi. Aleksi closed the door. Angel stood at the entrance of the bedroom while Aleksi and Ash turned around and made their way to the meeting. Angel watched them as they left, wishing that she could be at the meeting as well, wishing that she could be of more important use to them. But it didn't make a difference.

She was a child, doing child tasks. She may occasionally do a important task here and there, and she definitely aided in the attack on New Island, but the fact of the matter was, she was simply too young, and too inexperienced to be of much help otherwise. She knew it, and obviously they knew it as well. They wanted to get the important stuff done, so they send her off on smaller, less meaningful tasks so that she is out of the way. Deep down, Angel felt what she suspected was there all this time, what Aleksi and others told her wasn't true. That, she was in fact mostly useless to the PTA and their mission.

Angel sighed, knowing that she would have to start her errands sooner or later. She felt the flashdrive in her pocket, knowing that it held extremely important information inside and wanted to make sure it was secure. She then turned around, and made her way down the hall in the opposite direction.

It wasn't like she had anything more important to do anyway.

**And there we go! I apologize for the delay, as usual. School is going to start up again soon and I've been very busy on my end of things. On top of that I've had some weird internet problems that have prevented me from updating for the past like, two weeks. Not sure if it was a subtle sign to enjoy the holidays or not. Well regardless, I hope you liked the chapter update, please be sure to F.A.R., (Favorite, Alert, Review), and I will see you next time! (most likely on the Christmas Sequel update). Take care! And a Happy New Year!**

**sincerely,  
****evan, a fan of aaml -EVAN AAML**


	50. Chapter 50

**Well here we are once again ladies and gentleman! Now I'll keep this brief and just explain what's going to be happening here. ****The next few chapters will have a bit more drama and build up for the ball and the final battle. Expect a lot of characterization and explanation. I will also try to get some romance added to the story, (since I have been lacking heavily in that department), but don't hold your breath. I would expect that more during the ball than the next few chapters. Anyway, enough drabble, let's get to reading!**

**-EVAN AAML**

Angel walked down the halls of the base, avoiding, (although barely), bumping into people passing by. The rebels and scientists whom she almost walked into avoided her; looking at her with annoyance, and some curiosity. She did see them, but her mind was else where. She had been sent on a mission, though the word "mission" did not properly fit what she was working on. It was more like errands, if that. Angel felt like she was demoted, brought from a fighter to a mere messenger.

She had learned a lot since joining the PTA, in terms of fighting, planning, battling, and all around survival. She had found her own ways of doing things, found the courage to face Team Rocket, and put these new lessons to the test on New Island. She had barely made it out alive. Angel was now feeling hurt, feeling like she was unable to do what she had hoped, or anticipated, she would for the PTA. Her confidence was shot, she had caused more trouble for her new friends than aid. Although people like Aleksi would constantly try to bring her up, boost her confidence, it was all in vain.

As a child, she never had a problem with self confidence, for she never had a need to do as much. Her days consisted of living life. The most responsibility she was given came from helping her father work the berry farm, which she did very well. Despite living in a Team Rocket world, she never had to worry about much. Her parents had always protected her, shielded her from what was going on in the world. Then just like that, she was trusted into the real world, came to realize just how bad things were. Joining the PTA was the best decision for her, in more ways than just saving her parents. But now she was beginning to question whether she was ready, or for that matter, if she would _ever _be ready. Many people she had talked to had made good points, children should never have to be put into the position she was in currently. But that didn't change the fact that she _was _in it, and like it or not she had to adapt.

Her train of thought was taken off of her self esteem as she suddenly found herself into the chest of someone walking by. Her heart jumped from the light collision, she had been looking down the entire time and did not see anyone in her path. She immediately looked up but could only see arms wrapping around her body. She panicked; despite the fact that she was protected in the underground base she still felt the immediate sensation of danger. The sound of laughter however soon caused her to relax, although her heart was still racing.

"Woah, someone seems to be a bit distracted, are you alright Angel?", the "attacker" asked. Angel finally managed to get a look at the person she had walked into and met the eyes of Riles. She smiled back, immediately hiding her previous conversation with herself.

"Hey, sorry Riles, just lost in thought is all", Angel stated. Riles nodded.

"I noticed. Good thing I caught you as you walked into me", Riles said, noting how he was currently in a hug position with Angel. He immediately released her and looked into her eyes. "What are you thinking about? Is it something you want to talk about?". Angel debated with herself briefly, wondering if she should in fact tell Riles of her lack of confidence. However, she soon disregarded the notion. There was no point in bringing up a topic where she knew what she would hear.

"No, it's nothing. What are you doing?", Angel asked, changing the topic. Riles quickly dropped the conversation, deciding that it was nothing Angel was concerned with.

"Not much. I heard that a meeting was going on, but only a few people were told to attend. So I guess I'm just resting and preparing for whatever god has in store for us", Riles answered. Riles had been in relatively good shape after the New Island battle, one of the few in fact. Whether it was divine intervention or just dumb luck Angel wasn't sure, but she was thankful that people she became close with were alright.

"Me too. Ash had me go and run some errands for him", Angel explained. Riles nodded.

"I think that's good. We need things to do to keep us active, but safe things at that", Riles stated. Angel shrugged.

"I guess...would you like to come with me and help? Ash told me to get some people to help me, even giving me a "commanding position" in the process", Angel said. Riles chuckled a bit and took a slight bow while tipping his hat.

"Well then, I would be honored to come along", Riles said. Angel smiled.

"Good. We should go and find some others to join us", Angel said. Riles nodded.

"I know of a few people not doing anything, we should go get them", Riles said. Angel nodded with a smile.

"Sounds good to me!", Angel said. As the two rebels began their search for the others, Ash and Aleksi were finally reaching the meeting. The meeting was being held in the same room where the New Island attack meeting was being held. Aleksi was not certain as to who would be at this meeting, but knew that it didn't matter, the discussions would be the same. This was to be the most important meeting the PTA had ever had, and possibly the most important meeting period. The fate of the entire world rested in their hands.

No pressure.

Aleksi looked down on the ground, in deep thought. Ash, who was walking alongside her, glanced over and saw the distracted girl.

"You alright Aleksi?", Ash asked. Aleksi snapped out of her trance and looked up to Ash.

"Yeah, I'm fine, just...distracted", Aleksi said. Ash nodded in understanding.

"I know what you mean. The last few days have been...something", Ash said. Aleksi nodded.

"Exactly. I mean...this meeting could very well decide the future. Not just of us, not even just of Kanto, but the entire world", Aleksi said.

"Which is why we need to make sure we have everything right", Ash said.

"Right...but...do you think we're ready?", Aleksi asked. Ash looked at her. "We've been preparing for this since the PTA was started, we've done everything we could to make sure we could make an attack on Veridian...but New Island was hell. We've lost so many people, so much time and effort was put into the attack. And if we have to attack Veridian this quickly...do you think we're ready?". Ash sighed.

"It doesn't make a difference if we're ready or not. That's the severe downside to this whole thing. We'll never get an opportunity like this again. Taking New Island down was a one and only time deal. Team Rocket is now much more aware of the PTA and our actions, more so than they already were. Once they rebuild that array, it'll be stronger, more heavily protected, and we'll never get to stop it again. If we don't attack them soon, then everything we've done will have been for nothing, and we'll probably never get a chance to bring them down", Ash said.

"Yeah, you're right...which is what's making me even more worried", Aleksi admitted. Aleksi then looked up and saw that they had made it to their destination. She stopped in front of the doors and hesitated opening them. Ash could see her hesitation.

"You ready?", Ash asked, putting a hand on her shoulder for support. Aleksi sighed.

"Ready as I'll ever be", Aleksi responded. She then brought her hands forward and grabbed both door handles. With one pull, she swung both doors wide open and looked into the room. Sitting around the long table were all of the region leaders. Misty, Brock, Tracy, May, Drew, and Dawn. Also at the table was Gary and Max, as was expected. A few other rebels were also at this meeting, which shocked Aleksi, albeit slightly. These included Evan, Nick, Sawyer, Brian, Darrel, Catie, and Emily. Aleksi stepped into the dimly lit room, with Ash right behind her. Aleksi walked around the table and sat at a seat presumably left open for her, beside Evan and May. Ash meanwhile stood at the head of the table right by the door as the doors slowly closed on their own. Ash looked over the table and the faces looking at him.

The table was completely covered with materials. Much more so than it was for New Island. Maps, files, Pokeballs, information, a few weapons, and much more were scattered around the table. Ash then looked at his friends at the table. Many of them looked battered and bruised from fighting. Brock's arm was still in a sling, although it was looking better from Prof. Oak's miracle medicine. May's bandages were almost entirely hidden, but it was clear that her injuries had not healed as well as Brock's. Prof. Oak's medicine wouldn't work for a hole in the chest. Aleksi's arm was not bandaged, although it should of been. It was clearly healing, but not covering it up was risking it. Sawyer seemed to be alright after the surgery, but Ash knew that she had to take it easy for awhile. Everyone else was alright, but clearly they were still tired and worn from the battle. Ash then looked over and saw Catie with the others. He looked at her with a confused expression.

"Where's Wallace?", Ash asked.

"He said he was busy helping the others get better, so he sent me in his place", Catie stated. Ash sighed, he figured Wallace would try to skip out on a meeting, but at least it was for a good reason.

"Alright, not a problem. Now that we're all here, we can begin. With New Island behind us, we can now focus on the main goal, taking down Giovanni. We've tried to get surveillance in on the area, but that's practically impossible. In all honesty it's going to be hard merely to get into the base, let alone the attack itself. Max?", Ash said. Max nodded and stood up from his seat. He leaned forward and grabbed a file on the table. He opened it up and pulled out several papers, which he tossed onto the table. Several rebels grabbed the paper and looked at it.

"It's impossible to get eyes on the inside of the base, we've tried double agents but it always got too risky for them before we could find out anything, they have very strict methods in teaching their new Rockets and it's made that way to make sure there is no one against them. However, since we have Ryoto we can get a basic idea of how the base is designed", Max said.

"Ryoto's still recovering, the surgery he had was extensive. He'll make it out of it, but it's going to be some time", Catie explained. Ash sighed.

"So then we can't get a good lay out of the building until he's recovered, we don't have that kind of time on our hands", Ash said.

"I think I can help with that", Emily said. Everyone looked at her, most with confusion. Ash looked up to her.

"You know how the base looks from the inside? How?", Ash asked. Emily immediately seemed hesitant at first. She had asked Angel and Dawn to keep the fact that she was a Rocket baby a secret, and thus far they had. She knew that it wasn't quite time yet to reveal the truth, but then what should she say? She looked over to Dawn, who was aware of the situation. She gave a slight nod to her, Emily nodded back.

"Well, from the communications. Sometimes I picked up conversations about the building, for construction or newbies getting lost", Emily explained. Everyone seemed to buy into this little lie, and were glad that they had some information they could use at the moment. Emily reached over and grabbed some papers. She then began to draw out, (from her memory) a lay out of the facility. The majority of the base she didn't remember, or was not allowed to see, so it was shaky at best, but she did what she could.

"I don't know a lot about the way the base is, but I _do _know that it consists of a lot of floors. As we all know, it's three stories above ground, but there's also a lot of underground levels. These are filled with levels for research, communications, weaponry, training, barracks, and plenty of other things I can't even begin to list. I also know, that Giovanni's office is on the third floor, at the back of the building. From the conversations, it appears that his room is pretty large and even has large windows, so that he can "oversee his land"", Emily explained. The others seemed somewhat shocked and even excited.

"Really? That's surprising, but also perfect. Give me one shot and I'll take out Giovanni", Evan said with confidence. Gary shook his head.

"Not likely", Gary said. Evan looked to him confused and somewhat insulted. Did Gary doubt he could do it? Drew spoke next.

"There's no way that Giovanni would put his life in danger that easily. I'm sure that the windows are bullet proof, and there's probably loads of security outside, both human and Pokemon. A sniper wouldn't be able to take him out", Drew explained.

"Right, but a sniper _could _add support to the sides", Emily said. The others looked at her. "Giovanni's windows might be bullet proof, but I know the rest aren't. In fact, the second and third floors are filled with windows. I guess it was purposely designed that way, so that people would see them and not grow suspicious, or become scared. The upper three levels look more like offices than anything".

Everyone knew what kind of an organization Team Rocket really was, but that didn't stop them from trying to come off as nice. They would always have commercials, radio ads, movies and shows to talk about Team Rocket and their organization, how they were "for the greater good". Surprisingly, a lot of people bought into this. People were so naive.

"So then Evan, you can be stationed outside and give cover fire for the upper levels. We'll need it since we're going to go after Giovanni", Ash decided. Evan nodded.

"Roger that. Sucks, I was hoping I'd be more part of the action this time", Evan said slightly annoyed. But he was glad that his skills were being used for better use this time.

"Don't worry, you'll get plenty of action from sniping. The area is practically crawling with Rockets. Grunts and higher ranked Rockets are all over the place. And that's not mentioning the number inside, that will probably run into your line of sight when they realize we're there", Emily said. Max then pulled out a map of the area. He opened it and looked at some points around the base.

"There's several small hills surrounding the base, you could lay hidden on anyone of them for awhile", Max said.

"Sounds good to me", Evan said. He then looked over to Aleksi with a smirk. "I'll be sure to keep you protected". Aleksi smiled sincerely.

"Unfortunately, there isn't much more I could tell you", Emily stated. Ash nodded.

"Well thank you Emily, you helped us a lot just now. We'll have to wait for Ryoto to recover before we go over more plans for the lay outs of the base. Now, as for those who are able to participate", Ash started. He then sighed heavily. He leaned forward and held his head with his hand. He was thinking something through, something that he was much more used to doing now a days. However what seemed to get the rebels on edge was not that he was thinking, but that he seemed distraught by it. "...I...went through the new KIA files yesterday. Made checks of who came home from the battle, and who didn't". Everyone in the room remained solemn. Evan immediately glanced over to Nick and Sawyer, who were on the other side of him. This was exactly what they had discussed about earlier at breakfast.

"How many did we lose?...", Misty asked. Ash looked down at the table, as if trying to count. Though they knew he was past that.

"I lost count honestly. Last I remember before losing track it was roughly...seventy", Ash said. The others were all in shock, sadness, and disbelief. Although seventy did not sound like a lot with the consideration of how many Rockets were killed, and how many PTA rebels there were world wide, it was still a heavy blow. This was by far the heaviest loss the PTA had ever suffered, and it all happened within a matter of hours.

"Had we gone with our original plan of thirty", May said, she did not need to finish, but Ash did the honors regardless.

"We wouldn't so much as reached the island", Ash finished.

"And so many of those who returned were injured", Brock said. Catie nodded.

"Roughly three fourths of every rebel who returned had some kind of minor injury, about one third of them severe or critical", Catie stated.

"Which means that we don't have a choice but to wait a little while before we attack", Ash said.

"Are you sure we can risk that? I know we need the rest, but if we wait _too _long, then Team Rocket can regain position", Brian said.

"The array was destroyed yesterday. Team Rocket would of by now reached the island and assessed the damage. We've seen this happen before. Whenever a Rocket base or post was destroyed or damaged by a attack, they would send in groups immediately. Shut down the entire area, and immediately begin construction. Something this big and important would surely get worked on immediately. With the money, equipment, and workers they have, I wouldn't be surprised if they got the array back up within two months. And our counter attack will take some time to plan and prepare for, so half that amount of time, and that's our time frame", Ash explained.

"A month? How could we get this done within a month!", Dawn asked.

"I don't know", Ash responded. The others all sighed. As much as they hated the news, they knew it was true. Most of them were still tired and weak from the battle yesterday. Some nearly fell asleep in the warm, dimly lit room they were currently in. But they knew that now wasn't the time for it. Ash was right, if they wanted peace, they would have to get to work, there would be plenty of time for sleep when there was peace. Immediately, the rebels and region leaders began to look through papers and files, trying to think of strategies. Brock turned and looked to Ash while this was happening.

"Well, let's get as much done now then as possible", Brock said. Ash looked at him and then nodded.

"Agreed", Ash replied. During this, Angel and Riles were beginning their walk to the basement of the base. They had walked around looking for rebels willing to help them. However, the ones who weren't busy or still recovering simply didn't feel like helping out. Angel and Riles were disheartened, but it didn't matter. They would go on themselves. They walked down the halls of the base, trying to find the stairs that Angel had gone down before.

"This base is so big that I still get lost in it", Riles said, looking around the hall and trying to find anything that looked remotely familiar. The base, being underground and formally a barely used extra lab for Prof. Oak, did not have signs or maps dictating the locations of rooms or areas. People merely had to learn the way around the base and memorize it. This came in handy if Rockets ever invaded, but that was not bound to happen, and otherwise it proved to only get rebels lost.

"I haven't been here very long, but I already know that this area is new to me", Angel stated. The two of them sighed heavily. The medical center was a bit away from the main section of the base. The section with the kitchen, bedrooms, main entrance, and computer labs; which Angel had just began to memorize. Had she gone immediately from Aleksi's room to her task at hand she would of found her way no problem. But looking for the others got them lost. Angel knew that she would eventually either find her way around or get directions, but the sooner she could get her "important" mission done the better. The two stopped walking and looked around a bit more. They were still in the medical center, although this was a different part of it.

"Ok, let's just get a understanding of where we are", Riles said. He turned around, saw a chair positioned right against a wall, and sat on it. The soft cushion gave him support and he smiled. Angel remained standing where she stopped.

"We're still in the medical center, but I don't know where exactly", Angel said. She sighed again. "Figures, I get stuck with a small little postal service job and I can't even do that right. I screw up everything". Riles looked up to see the distraught and saddened girl. He shook his head at her.

"Now now, there's no need to belittle yourself like that", Riles said. Angel turned and looked at him.

"But it's true. I mean, we're lost in our own base, that's kind of embarrassing", Angel said. Riles sweatdropped with a chuckle. He had to agree with that.

"Ok, sure, it's a little silly. But that doesn't mean that you're a screw up Angel", Riles replied. Angel walked over and sat in the chair that was right beside Riles' and pouted.

"I think it's because I'm just a kid, well over my head and not prepared for any of this", Angel said. Riles shook his head. He put a hand around Angel's shoulder and smiled.

"Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity. Timothy 4:12", Riles stated. Angel couldn't help but smile. Riles always seemed to be positive about everything. The bible led him to nothing but happiness. Angel and her family had never been extremely religious in any way. They were believers, but they never followed the bible as closely as Riles or others did. Angel still felt that she shouldn't rely solely on god to help her with saving her parents, but she knew that praying couldn't hurt. Aleksi and Evan must of felt the same way, so why not?

"Thanks Riles, I appreciate it", Angel said.

"Nice little scripture there Riles", someone suddenly stated. Riles and Angel turned to their left to see Trent and Michael approaching them. Trent had bandages wrapped around his shoulder and looked pretty banged up from the fighting. But he was smiling, and holding in his hand a red fruit smoothie in a plastic cup. He sucked on the straw. The much younger and shorter Michael walked next to him, his arms crossed behind his head. He looked to be alright, since he got his sleep he desperately needed.

"Hey you two!", Angel said. She jumped up and approached the two teens.

"Hey!", Michael said, since Trent's mouth was full.

"Where are you two heading?", Riles asked, now standing up. Trent swallowed.

"Well I had breakfast, and then Michael asked me if I wanted to come and watch him train with his throwing knives a little bit before Evan's training session", Trent replied.

"Perfect, so you're heading to the basement anyways! Ash asked me to run a few errands for him and I need help, can you come along with us?", Angel asked. Michael seemed slightly annoyed that he would have to post pone his training, but was not extremely disappointed. Trent on the other hand smiled greatly.

"Sure, I'd love to help", Trent said. Angel smiled.

"Yes! Alright, lead the way please!", Angel said. Michael shrugged, knowing that he would just have to wait, and began to walk, with Angel by his side. Riles walked behind them, and beside Trent. Riles smiled and looked over to Trent.

"You seemed eager to help out", Riles stated. He wasn't complaining, just merely bringing up conversation. Trent nodded.

"Yeah. After the array was taken down and we were fleeing, I sort of felt, well, useless. I did my part earlier, but when it came to shooting and helping the others with the wounded, I just couldn't do a whole lot. So, I'm gonna try and practice a lot more, so that I'll be better prepared next time", Trent explained. Riles nodded with a smile.

"Sounds like a good idea. Actually, you're not the only one feeling that way", Riles said, somewhat quieter later on in his comment. Trent seemed curious and raised an eyebrow, taking another sip of his drink. Riles whispered and leaned in closer to Trent. "Angel has had some pretty bad self confidence issues since she left New Island". Trent sighed, understanding and saddened to hear it. Angel was busy chatting with Michael a bit ahead of them, so she could not hear them.

"Poor girl. No one her age should have to deal with that, especially given what she's been through", Trent said. Riles nodded.

"Exactly. I think we should try and help her a bit...by not helping her", Riles said. Trent seemed confused at first, but then caught on.

"Oh, I get it. Have her do all of the work for these errands, boost her confidence with a job well done", Trent said Riles nodded.

"Yes", Riles replied. Trent nodded with a smile.

"No problem", Trent said. Meanwhile, back at the meeting, things were finally beginning to stir up for plans. The group had debated, argued, and reasoned over different things; trying to figure out the best way to attack. They didn't want a repeat of New Island, they knew that it could cost too many lives, and Team Rocket would probably be aware of the strategy by then. Because they knew little of the lay out of the base, they were limited with their ideas.

"What about an aerial assault? Attack it from above and ground it to dust?", Drew suggested. Dawn shook her head.

"That wouldn't work. The array had those missile launchers on top of their roof, I'm willing to bet that they have them too, probably better ones", Dawn said. Drew nodded, recalling Tracy mentioning the missile launchers back on the New Island beach.

"Besides, we can't afford to destroy the base. We don't know where they're keeping the POVs. They're probably somewheres in the basement of the base", Aleksi stated. Ash nodded.

"She's got a point. We need to make sure that we get those prisoners out. Emily, Max, when we first found out that Milo and Angel's parents were alive, I asked you to look into it, what did you find out?", Ash asked.

"The tractor trailer was in fact heading for the main Veridian base. Our spy confirmed it. He couldn't see exactly where they went to though, the truck went into a large garage that was connected to the back of the base", Emily said. Ash nodded.

"I figured as much", Ash said.

"We've been trying to see if they moved anyone out of the base since then, but we haven't seen anything of the like...but we did see more trucks making deliveries", Max stated. Most of the rebels in the room seemed shocked and confused over it.

"They're herding them all together in the main base, how come? Are they going to use them for slave labor inside?", Evan asked.

"Not likely", Darrel said, not believing that to be the cause.

"Then what?", Aleksi asked. The region leaders however, all seemed cautious and concerned. They all looked at each other, seeing that they all had the same suspicions. The rebels all looked at them, wondering what was going on, what did they know about this?

"Ash...you don't think...", Misty said. Ash nodded, putting his fingers to his temple and rubbing it, as if he had a headache.

"I do", Ash said.

"What? What is it?", Aleksi asked. She was growing more and more concerned. She wanted to save them all, wanted to rescue all of the prisoners. Especially Angel's parents. She wanted to make sure that Angel and them were reunited. But the way the region leaders were reacting, it was giving her reason to be concerned.

"Yeah, even I don't know what you guys are worried about", Max said. It was clear that he was in the dark too. May looked at him, with concern in her eyes.

"Max...I don't think you want to know...I didn't want you to find out", May explained. Now everyone was even more concerned.

"What is it? What does it mean?", Brian asked. The older teens looked at each other, wondering if they should explain. They knew that they deserved to know, but the question was...could they handle it? Eventually, Brock sighed and looked at the rebels.

"We're...we're afraid...that they were delivered to the base, to be disposed of", Brock answered. The others all gasped, their eyes widened and their heart rates dropped.

"As region leaders, we've seen it happen", May said, her voice soft and broken; it was hard for her to even talk about the matter.

"As you know, prisoners who aren't tortured for information or publicly executed are sent to work camps. They're forced to build buildings for Team Rocket, against their will. Many people die on the sites, due to over exhaustion or dehydration. But of course, there are people who simply refuse to work, or try to create an uprising", Drew explained.

"Team Rocket doesn't want to just kill them there and then, it could cause a mass riot with the people. So they beat them down and force them, and if they still don't comply, they round them all up. They ship them to the main headquarters of the particular region", Dawn explained.

"For awhile now we knew that they did this, but because we were never able to get eyes into the bases themselves, we never knew what happened to them. This occurrence didn't happen a lot, only once or twice a year at one or two of the region headquarters. But then, one day...", Misty said. She stopped talking and began to choke up a bit. Ash noticed this and was pained himself. He put a hand on Misty's shoulder and she leaned to him. This only made the rebels more and more concerned. Ash held Misty, but looked to the others.

"One day one of our spies in Hoenn who was under orders by May to spy on the Hoenn base caught something. It was a train, a small train, that had stopped at the base. He kept an eye on it, to see what was being dropped off...except, nothing was being delivered, something was being taken away. Large metal crates were being shipped somewheres and the train was delivering them. Something like this never happens, so the spy kept a close eye on the whole thing. Well...one of the tarps covering a crate blew off for a moment..and revealed...", Ash said. Everyone looked at Ash in worry, they had a good feeling they knew what was in it.

"...bodies. Tons of them", Ash said. Aleksi's heart dropped. She knew that that was what was happening, but refused to admit to it, even to herself. The idea that Angel's parents could be killed any day and they wouldn't even know...it was too much to even think about. Angel, poor Angel. How would she react? Finding out her parents were alive, fighting Rockets and internally even herself, to try and rescue them...only to find out they were killed already. She couldn't even bare to think of it.

"We soon found out that at that same time, Team Rocket had some failures occur in the building, something about a furnace breaking down...so then we put two and two together...Team Rocket rounded up the rebellious slaves, the innocent people who Team Rocket captured and forced to work for them. They brought them to their bases, killed them all, and then burned their bodies in the same building. No evidence, no trace. We don't even know where these bodies were shipped, probably to another base with a working furnace, or simply buried in a mass grave somewheres in Hoenn", Ash explained.

Everyone looked around at each other. Max appeared like he would get sick and faint at any second, something May grew more and more concerned about. Darrel and Brian both grew angry, their fists clenching and ready to tear something to pieces. Evan was angered as well, but turned to Aleksi and Emily. Emily in turned looked to Aleksi. All three of them thought of the same thing.

"So...you're saying...if we don't attack the base soon...Angel's parents might get killed?", Aleksi asked, tears beginning to form in her eyes. Ash looked at her solemnly.

"No...there's no _might_about it...for all we know...they could already be gone", Ash said.

**And that will do it for this chapter! Major developments are beginning to unfold and it could mean the life or death of many people! Will Angel be able to see her parents alive ever again? Will the PTA ever even be able to pull off an uprising? You'll have to find out! Now then, as a note, I will be going back to school on the 23rd of January, less than two weeks away. So with that in mind, please bare with me when it comes to updates. They're going to be slow...not that they weren't slow already. -_- But yes, I apologize, but college will take up a lot of my time, especially if I ever plan to transfer to my dream Environmental Science college! I hope you all enjoyed the chapter, please be sure to F.A.R., and I will see you next time on "R"!**

**sincerely,  
****evan, a fan of aaml -EVAN AAML**


	51. Chapter 51

**Welcome back! Not a whole lot to talk about here, but I do have some A.N.s that should be addressed. First off, a few of you noticed grammatical and spelling errors in the last chapter or two. I am aware of this. My current spell check system, (the 4th or 5th I've been through), seems to be missing these things. I do go through and check for some personally, but obviously I miss a lot. I don't have the time tragically to go through every chapter several times for errors, as I barely have the time to write the chapter! So if you see any mistakes, I apologize for them. Also, some people have noted, (and possibly even been upset over), the similarities between Team Rocket and the Nazis of WWII. I do not mean to offend any people out there by doing this. However, I find that the best way to feel and understand the evils of Team Rocket is to show comparisons between them and the most evil of organizations in the real world. Team Rocket originally WAS based off of groups like Nazis to begin with. So if anyone is offended or insulted over the matter, I do apologize. And as a final note, I noticed that much less people are F.A. for the last few chapters, hopefully you're just busy and can't get to it right now, and it's not an issue with alerts. Be sure to check in once in awhile ig it is, I don't know how to fix that! Anyway, let's get going!**

**-EVAN AAML**

Angel sighed in relief when they had reached the familiar halls she had gone through when she first arrived to the base. They had been walking for a few minutes, but luckily Michael and Trent knew where they were going. Now Angel could finally get her errands finished with and she could focus more on rescuing her parents. The four of them all talked with each other and cracked jokes. Whether this was merely living in the moment, or purposely trying to hide the grim fact that they've lost friends and allies, none of them knew.

"Finally, we made it, thank you Michael, Trent, we were lost back there", Riles said to the teens. Trent nodded with a smile while Michael gave a thumbs up.

"No problem!", Michael said.

"So, what are we in charge of doing down in the basement?", Trent asked. He had by now finished his smoothie and walked with his hands in his pockets. Angel turned around while walking, (now walking backwards), and replied.

"Ash said I'm supposed to go down in the basement and find the quarter master. He's supposed to give me information on what we have and if we're ready for an attack on Veridian. Then afterwards I'm supposed to go and look for a girl named Brenna and give her the flashdrive May got from the databases on New Island. She's gonna go through it and see what we can find", Angel explained.

"Sounds simple enough", Michael stated.

"I think so too", Angel said. It was clear that she was disappointed in the simplicity of it all, but she supposed that it was better than nothing. Despite her lack of confidence, at least she was trusted to do something. It was at this point that they had reached a room Angel was familiar with. It was the second computer room located to the left of the main entrance to the base. It was here that she had seen the pictures on the wall, and here where the door to the basement was located. The group continued their walk as they headed over to the door, which was now visible. As they walked, Angel briefly looked to her left. When she did, she stopped walking, ignoring the boys who walked past her.

She had recalled seeing the table twice before, but not once stopping to see what it was. The table with the files on it, with pictures of rebels with bold red letters stamped over it, and Pokeball belts that were left untouched. The two times she had looked at it there were few things on it, but now...

Now it was over-flowing with files and belts.

The paperwork covered every square inch of the table, so much so that it was all in large piles, no organization left. There were so many Pokeball belts that they were placed in large boxes under and near the table. The boxes however were in fact organized in some way, as initials were placed on the boxes they were in. Angel looked at the table, now realizing what in fact the table was used for. She walked over to the table slowly, cautiously, looking at the files scattered all over it. The pictures were much more visible now, and the red letters legible.

K.I.A.

These were all of the people who were killed on New Island, this many people never made it back home with her. She realized then that the files she had seen on the table previously were the "friends lost" Ash had mentioned when she first arrived. This must of been where they placed the deceased information. Probably for others to see, in case they didn't know if their friends were dead. Angel looked over the faces on the files. They were all simple "mug shots", though the people on them were happy, mostly smiling, some giving small poses. Boys and girls of all different ages were spread across the table. However, the happy faces and funny pictures were overshadowed by the large red letters. Somewhat tragically symbolic in a way, the red letters designating the people as killed in action were much like the red letters of Team Rocket.

Most of the people Angel did not recognize, people she had either never seen, or if she had, only briefly. Some of them however Angel did recognize, in one way or another. Some of the people were in her squad, they were victims of the Charizard attack while she was working on taking down the array. Others were on the boat when it was attacked by the Rocket speed boats. She moved some of the files around, making sure not to make a bigger mess than was already there. As she did, something caught her eye. One of the files caused her to gasp quietly and sadly. It was Jonny's file.

The picture, like all of the others, was somewhat cheerful. It was colored and taken with a white background. Jonny had a big smile on his face and gave a wink to the camera. His shoulders looked closer together, as if he was crossing his arms during the shot. The letters K.I.A. were stamped across the picture in a diagonal angle. Angel picked up the file and looked at it more intently. Below the picture was information of Jonny.

Full Name: Jonathan "Jonny" Winters  
Age: 18  
Height: 5'10''  
Weight: 170 lbs  
Blood Type: A  
Birthplace: Mauville City, Hoenn Region  
Family: ?  
Date of Initiation: July 19th, 15th year of Rocket control  
Date of Death: July 30th, 15th year of Rocket control  
Official Cause of Death: Drowning, off coast of New Island during initial siege  
Pokemon Total: Seviper (1)

The rest of the files were merely more background information papers, paperwork that Jonny himself had filled out, and some papers that apparently were owned by Jonny, but were probably not of much importance. Angel sighed heavily. Of all the people that were lost, of all the people she had come to know only to lose them so quickly, Jonny seemed to be the one she always looked back to. She had grown attached to Jonny, seeing him train with Nick, being protected by him when Rocket U.C.s were hiding in Pallet, and when they had ridden together on the way to the shore the night before. She immediately thought back to Seviper, and how she had saved it from the Rockets, and in turn Seviper saved her from the same threat. Poor thing, it had lost its one and only trainer, its family.

She then reflected back to those moments, back in the boiler room of New Island. Where she had a out of body experience with the Pokeball, before throwing it to save Emily. And again, just before returning Seviper to its Pokeball. At first it had scared her, confused her; it wasn't until afterwards that she realized what it was. Jonny had appeared to her, like an apparition, a spirit...a soul. He was there to guide her when she was scared and confused, and gave her a feeling of peace and confidence. It was as if he had become a guardian angel to her. She couldn't help but smile at the thought.

Angel then looked through the other files, keeping sure that Jonny's was still in front of her. She saw some faces she recognized, though not by name. She eventually spotted one that was a bit more recognizable. This was the face of the man she had watch sacrifice himself to save the bus; the one who blew up with the Rocket jeep. She had seen his face previously, though she never really got to know him. His picture was not as cheery as Jonny's or the others, he merely looked at the camera. He had a smile, though it was small, she took him as the shy type, at least at the time of the picture being taken. His name was Jacob, though that was all she had decided to look at. She placed this file to the side and continued to look.

Within a few seconds, she found another one she knew, this was Jeremy's. The communications rebel who was taken out by the sniper just before their return home. She still recalled the horrifying moment. Though Aleksi had made sure to cover her eyes the moment it happened, she still had seen a brief second of it. She had just happened to turn at the precise moment the bullet struck Jeremy's head. She recalled seeing the flash of the bullet as it went through the back of his skull, and through the sides of the walls on the boat. She saw the blood, the brain and skull matter, and immediately turned away. It was then that Aleksi covered her eyes, just seconds too late.

His picture was happy, like Jonny's, though his picture showed more of a slight cocky arrogance. He had a smirk on his face, and he gave a thumb's up to the camera. Jeremy was someone she had gotten to know more than Jonny, since he was in her squad throughout the New Island siege. However, despite that, she didn't seem as attached as she was to Jonny. Regardless, she hoped that he too, like everyone else here, had found peace. She also hoped that Gengar, Jeremy's Pokemon, was coping with the lose. She thought that perhaps, since Gengar was a ghost Pokemon, it could see its trainer and the rest of the deceased PTA in the next life. It was a depressing feeling, but it did seem to make her more confident that they were all in a better place.

Her train of thought was immediately stopped when she heard her name being called out.

"Angel?", someone asked. Angel turned to her right to see the three boys, standing there, wondering what she was doing. Riles was the one who was closest, and was the one who asked for her.

"Yeah, sorry guys, I got...distracted", Angel said, turning back to the files. The boys did not know what they were, and approached the table to see what she was looking at. When they had reached it, and saw what she was looking through, all of their expressions changed. Michael had a tough time looking at the table, he was not one who coped with death well, especially after what had happened to his squad on New Island, and then when Jacob had died saving him and the others. Trent looked down, in silence. He was more used to death, but it still took its toll on the young rebel. Riles immediately grabbed his cross from his shirt and began to mumble prayers to the table. None of the people near him dared to stop him.

"This is...everyone we lost?", Michael asked in shock, disturbed and saddened. Angel nodded somberly.

"Yes...everyone who didn't make it home", Angel said. Trent looked over the files more intently, making sure to give Riles his space for his prayers.

"We sure lost a lot of friends...didn't we?", Trent asked. Angel nodded.

"Too many", Angel responded. Trent nodded in agreement.

"This is why we're going to bring Team Rocket down. We can't let them do this to any more innocent people. These were our allies, our friends, our family. We're going to stop them, and save everyone", Trent said. Angel was shocked at the confidence and pride that Trent showed in these words. He was a quiet individual who didn't seem to express his true feelings much, at least Angel saw it that way. But clearly he had more passion in his actions. Riles had finished his prayers and had just made a holy cross symbol with his hands before looking to the others. Michael, who was uncomfortable with the situation, tried to change the subject.

"So then, should we get going?", Michael asked. Angel turned to him, and could see how uncomfortable he was with the situation. She always forgets, that despite him being older than her, and him having such skills in the PTA, he was in fact just a kid. Not even an adult in legal standards. He still found it difficult to talk about things like death, especially the deaths of those who were so close to all of them. Angel understood this entirely, and nodded.

"Yeah, let's go", Angel said. Meanwhile, in another section of the base, tensions were growing higher and emotions were tight as the important meeting of the final attack on Team Rocket was still underway. With the idea of Angel's parents possibly being dead, Aleksi had become emotionally distraught. Evan tried his best to calm her, but found it difficult. He himself was also extremely concerned, which didn't help matters any. Ash was well aware of what the conversation started, and as much as he regretted bringing it up, he knew that it was important they knew. They deserved to know.

The region leaders were also concerned over the matter as well. They were aware of the possibilities in that those they were going to save could already be gone. They had seen it before, and they would never put something as evil and demonic as this past Team Rocket. They wanted to save them all just as much as everyone else, but they didn't want to be entirely optimistic in the situation.

"I know that this is hard to take in, it took me awhile to accept the fact that this could happen. But rest assured, we're going to do everything we can to make sure we rescue them in time", Ash said. Darrel turned to look to Ash. He was angered by the whole conversation, but tried to stay on topic.

"How...how do we know that they're not already gone?", Darrel asked.

"We've still got a couple spies keeping an eye on the base there. We've noticed that there is always a sequence of events that goes on before we suspect that they exterminate the prisoners. So far, we've yet to see any of those events take place", Brock explained. Emily nodded.

"He's right. None of the spies have reported anything out of the usual, so it's safe to say that they're still alive. In fact, there's reports that another shipment or two will arrive to the base within the next month, and there's a good chance that these shipments are more prisoners coming in. We've found that there are usually about ten shipments of these kind before the sequences begin, and so far they've only had five", Emily explained. The rebels and region leaders all had a slight sigh of relief, and their hearts seemed to calm down.

"Ok then, with that in mind, let's hurry up and get this planned out as much as we can then", Evan said, holding Aleksi's hand in reassurance. Aleksi nodded in agreement.

"Good", Ash said. He then stood up and leaned over the table, looking over the paperwork. He pointed to one in particular, the rough sketch map that Emily drew of the base, to her knowledge. "If the base is designed like Emily said it is, then a full forced attack on one side is out of the question. We won't be able to save the prisoners or take Giovanni without problems. We'll have to pull off sequential assaults in different spots one after another if we're going to get this done right", Ash explained.

"Like on New Island?", Dawn asked. Ash looked to her briefly and nodded.

"Right, like on New Island", Ash said.

"Getting there will be a bit easier and quicker since Veridian City is so much closer than New Island. But that doesn't mean this is going to be any easier", Brock explained.

"How are we going to get inside the base?", Nick asked. Misty turned and looked to Brian.

"Brian? What can you do for us?", Misty asked. Brian gleamed and tried to think of an idea. He loved his explosives.

"Well, it depends on what you're looking for. I mean, I can make something to take the entire base off of the map", Brian said.

"Obviously that's not what we want", Gary said. "We can't afford to sacrifice the prisoners and it would be impossible to I.D. Giovanni's body in the wreckage", Gary explained. Brian nodded.

"Clearly. I lost a lot of my equipment in the New Island mission, and it could take me awhile to get the supplies for more D-5 explosives", Brian stated.

"What do you have on you?", Ash asked. Brian smiled some more and pulled up a backpack from the floor. Carefully, he pulled out explosive after explosive and placed them on the table. Most of them were relatively small, all of them being handheld at least. When he finished, he placed the backpack on the table and showed off the bombs.

"I have a lot more of these Pokeball bombs, although I don't know how effective these will be in the attack. Then there's my collection of pipe bombs, they're small and have a impressive kick, plus I added shrapnel into them for extra damage. Unfortunately, I only have a few of these right now, but they're quick and easy to make. Then there are these Thermobaric explosives, which I normally put into our RPGs or Bazookas. I'm extremely low on these since I lost materials with Misty's boat. Plus I have small grenades and about, two or three plastic devices here", Brian explained in detail, holding and showing each explosive as he mentioned it.

"A nice collection", Max said in shock and awe. As a kid, he naturally loved explosions, regardless of what type they were. The others on the other hand seemed less impressed.

"They're nice and all, but those are relatively small", Emily said. Brian was aware that she had a brief knowledge in bombs, though how she knew about them he didn't know. He was insulted in her comment, but didn't let it get to him.

"I'm aware of that, thank you", Brian stated with some distaste. Emily didn't seemed bothered by this at all, despite making new friends during the battle, she was still cold towards those she did not know well. Brian then looked to Ash. "I can make more, but I don't think I could make much bigger than these in time...unless". This caught the attention of the others.

"Unless?", Drew asked. Brian seemed to be in deep thought over the idea going through his head. He tapped his fingers on the table, one after the other, until he stopped in mid motion, and looked to the others.

"...I, do have this, other bomb", Brian said. The others listened in to what he was going to say. "It's a special bomb, one that I've been saving for just such an occasion. It's an EMP bomb. It releases a electromagnetic pulse in the form of a burst from a bomb. But, unlike say, the D-5, this explosion isn't very big, in fact, it'll barely cause much damage physically". The others listened in intently. Some of them were aware of what a electromagnetic pulse was, but they wanted to know the details. "If I use the EMP bomb, I could probably shut down the entire Rocket base, and for that matter, the entire town of Veridian and the surrounding areas".

"Shit man!", Nick said.

"Why didn't you use that on the array then dog?", Darrel asked. Brian looked to him.

"Unfortunately, there are some drawbacks to this thing. For one thing, it's extremely sensitive. It's a lot of hardware to it and one little thing can cause it to malfunction. On top of that, the thing is bulky and heavy as hell. The sucker's impossible to move without like, a massive truck. Not exactly the most discrete of deployments now is it? And unlike my other bombs, which I can make plenty of, this thing's a one time deal. I don't think I would be able to make another one like this, most of the parts came from Rocket technology we swiped awhile back", Brian explained.

"How would it work?", Ash asked, interested.

"Well, all I need to do is set it in a good location and press a button. Or for that matter, I could just use a timer. It's all one big machine with all of the components needed to run it built in. What it does is, it sets off a triggering mechanism that'll set off two separate components of the machine, both at the same time and within milliseconds of each other. I placed inside of the machine some basic C-4, which will cause the explosion. A decent bomb but nothing that will make of much use to the base. But electromagnetic pulses are faster than explosions. Just before the bomb itself goes off, the EMP will, shutting down all of the electronics of the base and surrounding area", Brian described.

"Wouldn't that shut off power here at the base too? We can't afford that", Drew said. May nodded in agreement. Brian however shook his head.

"Nah, it shouldn't anyway, Pallet should be out of range", Brian said.

"What about back up generators? The Rocket base is bound to have the best back ups money can buy. Will the EMP shut them down too?", Ash asked.

"If they were small then I'd say so, but they won't be. I doubt the EMP would break them too, but it shouldn't matter, the base running on back ups will cause faults in their systems, they'll probably shut off a lot of stuff just to conserve energy", Brian said.

"How long will it last?", Misty asked. Brian shrugged.

"Depends on where I detonate it. If I do it just outside of Veridian, which would be safest, then it should last for like, an hour? But that's an awful bad guess, I honestly don't know the details", Brian said. The others all shuddered. They couldn't run based on "guesses". They needed to make sure that the EMP bomb would be at it's most efficient. Brock thought for a moment, and then came to a suggestion.

"How about...if you did it in the base?", Brock asked. Brian scoffed.

"If I did that they'd never get their main power back, not while we're attacking it. We'd either be victorious or dead by the time it'd wear off. But there's no way we're gonna get that thing through their doors!", Brian said. Brock grinned slightly, something that Ash couldn't help but smile at. Brock was one of the smartest people he knew, not just with Pokemon, but with everything. That's why he made him his second in command, he was his best friend, and a damn good general.

"What if we didn't need to bring it in through the doors...why not...from the ground?", Brock asked. The others all seemed confused.

"Like, with a Pokemon?", Sawyer asked. "Dig it through to their lowest basement level?".

"Sure, why not? A big enough Pokemon would be able to move it easily, and it could place it right under the base", Evan explained.

"I guess my Onix Tremor could do that", Brian said while thinking.

"But wait, that might not go as easily as expected", Max said. The others all looked to him. Gary, knowing what he was going to say, went on.

"He's right. Team Rocket has several seismographs set up around the area, used in case anyone would use a massive Pokemon or massive attack like Earthquake to attack the base. It would detect Brian's Pokemon moving underground", Gary said.

"Maybe not", Evan said. Everyone looked to Evan, wondering what he meant by this. "Onix are made of rock and can move through dirt very easily. They eat rock and dirt for nutrients by breaking it down through their incredibly rough digestive system. So long as Tremor could move through slowly it shouldn't be a problem", Evan explained. Everyone looked to him, somewhat shocked and impressed. Evan sweatdropped. "I told you guys before I was a Pokemon Biologist before the war". Aleksi smiled at this.

"Wow, that's really impressive that you know so much Evan. You should battle with me when we train, put that knowledge to the test!", Aleksi said with a smile. Evan smiled back at her. He blushed slightly, but tried to hide it by grabbing a cigarette from his chest pocket and putting it in his mouth. He clicked open his lighter and soon lit the cigarette.

"I'd love to", Evan said. Aleksi giggled a bit.

"Ok, can we put the little romantic feelings away for now, we're trying to work here", Nick said. Aleksi grew bright red while Evan looked away from the others. This caused a stifle of laughter from the group. While this was going on, Angel and the others were just now going through the basement levels of the base. They had already passed by the Pokemon training grounds and the smaller storage rooms where she had run into Evan. Now they were going by more and more closed doors, uncertain of which one led to what they were looking for. Angel looked at each door, but not one of them had a sign saying what was behind it.

"There's so many doors to choose from!", Angel said in disbelief.

"I know, what do we do, keep choosing doors and hope we find what we're looking for?", Riles asked.

"Hmm, well, the biggest storage room out of all of these is right down here, so I would imagine that that's where we need to go. But if not, then...yeah, we'll have to look through all the doors", Michael said matter of factly. He clearly had no problem with the idea of looking through all of them. Most likely because he knew that it would mean not doing other work. Angel however hoped that this quarter master Eli was in the large room they were heading for.

Within a few seconds they had stopped and Michael turned to face a door. This door was no different than any of the other white doors in the hall, how he knew this was it was beyond her.

"Here we are!", Michael said.

"Have you ever met this guy before Michael?", Trent asked. He seemed just as curious as everyone else. Michael shook his head.

"No, in fact, I've never even been inside before. I just happen to know that this is where it is", Michael said. Angel stepped forward and turned the knob on the door. As expected, it was unlocked. She opened the door and the four of them stepped inside. To their shock, the room was enormous, it seemed to be endless. Large boxes of different shapes and sizes covered the room, stacked on top of each other. A few of the boxes were open, showing paper like material for package protection. To their left was a large desk covered in papers and pencils, along with a large lamp and a old looking rocking chair.

"HELLO?", Angel yelled out. her voice echoed all the way down the room. From the distance, a voice called back.

"YES, JUST A MINUTE!", someone called out. It sounded like the voice came from a mile away. Angel was relieved that someone was here. All they had to do was wait. Michael approached one of the open boxes that was situated not to far away from them. He walked up to it and looked inside, nothing was in it. He sighed.

"I can't imagine looking through all of these boxes for stuff", Michael said. He noticed that the cover to the crate was laying against the side of the box, to the right of him. Michael picked it up and placed it haphazardly on the crate. Once he did, he gasped. Everyone turned to him.

"What?", Angel asked. Michael lifted up the end of the crate cover, showing it off to the others.

"Does this look familiar to you?", Michael asked. On top of the crate cover, painted with detail, was a large letter "R". The others gasped as well.

"Yep, a lot of these items are really from Team Rocket", a voice called out. Michael in shock dropped the cover of the crate, letting it land back on top of the box. Everyone looked over to their front, opposite the entrance. Standing a few feet away from them, with a smile on his face, was an older male. He slowly approached them, taking off his glasses and wiping them with his shirt. He was very old, possibly even older than Prof. Oak, though it was hard to tell for certain. His face was wrinkled and worn, but it held a sense of happiness and tranquility. He wore a pencil in his ear, which stuck through his gray hair. He had a big white mustache and bright blue eyes. This man wore dark blue worn jeans and a long sleeve black shirt with a brown vest over it, and dark brown boots that made a loud noise when he stepped on them due to the silence of the large room. He stood tall and proud, almost like a general looking over his soldiers, but also had with him a air of calm, like a grandfather. Angel couldn't help but smile at him.

This man walked up to Michael and lifted the cover to the crate. He held it up and looked at it intently.

"Yep, a good portion of the crates and items in here are things the PTA stole from Team Rocket. Trains, trucks, small pit stops, anywhere Team Rocket was foolish enough to leave them really", the old man said with a chuckle. He looked into the box, seeing that it was empty, and nodded. He put the cover on top of the crate, making sure it was on entirely, and grabbed his pencil. He made a mark on the box and stepped away from it and towards the others. He smiled as he looked at Angel. "So then, what could I do for you my dear?". Angel stepped forward, but seemed uncertain.

"Uhm, are you...Eli?", Angel asked. The older man smiled.

"Yes my dear, I'm Eli, pleased to meet you", Eli said. Angel sighed, relieved that they had found him.

"Good. So you're the quarter master...what _is _a quarter master anyway?", Angel asked. Ash had called him a quarter master, but had not known what it meant. Eli chuckled heavily.

"A quarter master is the person in charge of supplies. I receive, inspect, and hold onto all packages and items that the PTA receives", Eli explained.

"Oh, I see. Thank you. Ash sent me down here", Angel said. Eli nodded, knowingly.

"Yes, I figured he did. He must be running his meeting up there", Eli said, looking up to the ceiling. Riles nodded.

"Yes, he wasn't able to come, so he asked Angel to run his important errands. She asked us to help", Riles said. Eli turned to them all and nodded.

"Well, pleased to meet you all, what are your names by chance?", Eli asked.

"I'm Riles", Riles said introducing himself. Trent stepped forward.

"I'm Trent, pleased to meet you", Trent said.

"I'm Michael, sorry about messing with your crate", Michael said. Eli then turned and looked down to Angel, who stood in front of him.

"And I'm Angel", Angel said. Eli smiled.

"A beautiful name to be sure. Well, I'm glad to meet you all!", Eli said. He then turned back to Angel. "So then, what can I do for you?".

"Ash wanted me to see if you had everything ready", Angel asked. Eli sort of lost his smile and nodded.

"I see. Yes, for the attack. I was going through them myself before you came in, so, let's go see then shall we?", Eli said. He then turned around, but as he did, he noticed the crate that he had marked, and stopped mid-step. "Oh yes, I almost forgot". Everyone watched as he reached down and grabbed two Pokeballs from his belt. With one in each hand, he expanded them and then gently tossed them forward. The two Pokeballs opened up and out came two menacing and powerful looking Pokemon, a Aggron and a Magcargo. The two Pokemon looked strong, incredibly strong. They were also older, but not nearly as much as Eli. "If you will, I have a box that needs to be tended to", Eli said to the Pokemon.

The two Pokemon nodded and brought their attention to the crate that he had marked earlier. Aggron approached it first. It reached the box and raised one of its fists up high. With one mighty blow, it leveled the box and insides. The remains of the crate were now in one large pile. Magcargo then approached the box with surprising speed for the slug Pokemon and then released a flame to it. Instantly, the remains of the box caught fire with intensity. Everyone watched as these two Pokemon tag-teamed to destroy every bit of this empty crate. Within a matter of seconds, all that was left of the crate was a smolder of ashes and some charred wood, which Aggron stepped on and smothered into oblivion.

Angel turned and looked at Eli, who watched almost with boredom. Just what was Eli like? Eli noticed Angel's curious and somewhat scared expression. He smiled gently once again.

"We're limited with space obviously. Once a crate has been used, I dispose of it", Eli explained. He then looked and saw that Aggron and Magcargo were both finished with the small job and seemed ready for more. Eli smiled. "Thank you both, if you don't mind, you can come with us and help me see if we're ready for the Rocket attack". Both Pokemon nodded and, with their trainer, walked down the large hall with crates stacked up on both sides to the ceiling. Angel, Riles, Trent, and Michael looked at him with some wonder. Soon however, they snapped out of it and ran up to catch him.

"Hey! Wait up!", Angel called out.

**I know that some of you might not of expected me to update this so quickly, especially after I said that my school would be starting back up soon. But luckily I had some extra time on my hands, and so, here we are! I hope you liked the update, and please be sure to F.A.R.! I enjoy them! There's going to be a bit more jumping back and forth in the next few chapters or so as a warning, to get things wrapped up. Hopefully I'll get the ball to come up soon as well, as I know a lot of you are excited about that part! As an ending A.N., how about those New York Giants? :D Goodbye everyone! Favorite, Alert, Review!**

**sincerely,  
evan, a fan of aaml -EVAN AAML **


	52. Chapter 52

**I am on a ROLL with these updates! So many things are going through my head that I have to write them down quickly before I forget them all! (which has happened plenty of times in the past mind you). Well, first off, I'd like to thank KrazyKat101 for the typo catch in the last chapter, I accidentally said POV instead of POW, (something I did because I was talking to someone at the same time, and inadvertently typed it since I said it). Unfortunately, for some reason, I am unable to go back to chapters and fix mistakes that either I or readers catch after they're posted. This is why no mistakes have been corrected in the older chapters. Figures. -_- But at least you're aware of it now, so my apologies to them. Anyway, let's continue!**

**-EVAN AAML**

Eli walked with a slow pace, yet with long strides. He stood tall, despite his age and apparent struggles with moving. He seemed to be suffering from some kind of arthritis, since he would occasionally rub his hands or mumble to himself over pain. Yet despite this, he refused to let it stop him. He was a man who didn't like to stop, didn't like resting. Eli had to be always doing something. His Pokemon walked by his side, but gave him space. They respected the man, much like any Pokemon did their trainers. But these Pokemon had been his partners for many years, longer than the Rocket takeover, and longer than most of them had even been around. They were family.

Angel looked on with admiration. She had never had a chance to meet her grandparents, all of them had been deceased since before she was born. Unfortunately Angel was part of a very small family. Her parents had no siblings, and so she had no aunts, uncles, or cousins to hang out with. Her parents were also unfamiliar with their own cousins, and so she didn't know them. However, Angel would often come to work with her mother, and Celadon, being a female only gym, had a lot of young girls who were friends with her. Angel got to know them as if they were her own aunts, some would even visit their home or give her gifts on holidays. She also got to hang out with their children, although this was a rare occurrence. And she had not seen nor heard from either her mom's friends or their children since she left home.

But seeing Eli, for the few minutes she had known him, reminded her of what it would be like to have a grandfather. She wondered if Riles, Trent, or Michael saw him in this way as well; probably not.

"So Eli, what's your story? How did you come to get in the PTA as their quarter master?", Riles asked causally. Angel listened in, curious as well.

"Yeah, and how come barely anyone here ever sees you?", Michael threw in. He was less interested than the others, but his curiosity got the better of him. He walked with his arms crossed behind his head, as usual. Eli chuckled a bit, not turning his head to glance at them.

"Well, it's not as glamorous as your stories are I'm sure, but I'll fill you in. Years ago I used to run the Mart here in Pallet Town. It was a lot smaller than the Marts you see around Kanto, since beginner trainers didn't need as many Pokemon supplies, and as you could imagine Pallet Town gets few visitors. But I had run that store for many many years. Well, when Team Rocket took over, I knew that we were all in for some tough times ahead. They came to town during the initial takeover and started running things. Prof. Oak took the worst of it, but the other store owners around here weren't sparred. They saw me as too old and decided to kick me out of my own store", ELi explained. The others seemed shocked and annoyed.

"How could they?", Angel asked, disappointed.

"Pft, figures, damn Rockets", Michael said agitated at them. Eli nodded.

"Exactly. Well luckily I had a young intern at the time, so he took over and still runs the place. Well anyway, I was left without a job, and as you can imagine, I didn't have a lot of money to begin with. Ash was a kid who grew up here in Pallet Town, so as to be expected, I knew him for a long time. He and Gary, Prof. Oak's grandson, gave me a job here as their quarter master, since I was familiar with the trade anyway. And, I've been here ever since", Eli explained.

"But that doesn't explain why no one ever sees you around", Trent said.

"Well, it's not like I live down here in this old warehouse now is it?", Eli asked, with a chuckle. "I go outside a lot actually, take nice walks around town, say hello to the people around here I've lived with for years. But obviously with the way things are around here, there's a need for secrecy and privacy. So I make sure I'm not seen a lot. I'm not as young as I used to be, harder for me to run and hide or defend myself".

"Doesn't seem like it, you seem to be a very good Pokemon trainer", Riles said, noting his two Pokemon with him. They seemed pleased with the compliment. Eli nodded with approval, looking at his old friends.

"Yes, I've been with these guys for, my goodness I can't even keep track anymore. They're not my only Pokemon of course, I've been a trainer for many, many years. In fact, I used to travel with the Professor back in the day!", Eli said. This seemed to catch the group's attention even more so.

"Really? What was it like back then?", Angel asked. Her curiosity over the past seemed overwhelming, especially over the days before Team Rocket. People now a days, even though they knew well enough what it was like before Team Rocket, were afraid of talking about it. Team Rocket taught their own things in the schools, things that involved how they came to power in a legal and desired way by the masses. They taught everything they wanted them to know, and made sure no one decided any different. Scholars, doctors, teachers, trainers, historians. Anyone with knowledge of the past and loose lips tended to disappear rather quickly and effectively. This also silenced those who would think otherwise.

"It was a much different time my dear, even compared to the peaceful times we once had. My, I don't think I would live long enough to tell you about it all!", Eli joked with a chuckle. This made the others a bit nervous. They felt awkward over the discussion of death, especially knowing that so many of their much younger friends had not had the chance to experience their lives as long as Eli had. "Things were older, people were older, it was old school really. There wasn't such advanced technology as there is today, there were much less Pokemon known to us in those times. Things like space travel, flying without Pokemon...war. They weren't possible in our minds. My, if we had just a _glimpse _of what the future was like back then".

Eli seemed to like reminiscing over the past, as he smiled greatly and almost seemed sad that those days were over. As many older people were, they loved to talk about the past, especially since Team Rocket seemed to take away their right to speak about it. It made them want to more. It was apparent that Eli didn't have a family, and being hidden from everyone gave him even less people to talk to.

"Were they a lot more peaceful?", Angel asked. Eli smiled, glancing back to her finally.

"Oh yes dear...much more peaceful. Back then, our biggest arguments were over who would win in the different Pokemon Leagues that year. Pokemon battles were much bigger back then. Obviously we didn't have television to watch it at home, everyone had to come and see it, or hear about the results afterwards in the news. Back then they didn't have the big stadiums they have now. They held them in the open in the biggest cities at the time. Saffron, Celadon, and Vermilion were popular choices. It wasn't until years later, when I was an adult, that they made the Indigo Plateau. But as for peace...yes, they were peaceful times. No one ever fought in violence. People everywhere were kind, they helped one another in anyway they could. Much like the people here in Pallet do", Eli explained with vivid detail.

Angel immediately reflected back to when she had first arrived in Pallet, with Ash at her side. The people were so kind to her, waving, smiling, as if nothing bad was going on. Pallet Town was an "old school" town. She could see why Eli stayed here all his life.

"But yes, me and the Professor traveled together back then. We had left together with a group of friends actually. Pallet Town didn't have a lot of children, as to be expected. The people here were older, as they are now. Kids moved and grew their families elsewhere. But it just so happened at my time that most of the kids all turned ten at the same time. And so, we all had our own Pokemon to choose from, we weren't limited to just a mere Bulbasaur, Charmander, or Squirtle in those times, and we all set off on our journeys. We were all friends then, and we had decided to travel together as a group. And boy, did we have our fair share of adventures", Eli said with a smile.

"How many were there, with you and the professor?", Michael asked.

"Oh, about six or seven of us. Let's see, there was me of course, the professor, Samuel is his name, he was like, the leader of the group really, intelligent too as you can imagine. Then there was this girl named Claire; she was a beautiful young blonde haired girl. She could have a fiery temper, but helped us when she could. Then there was Tyson, he was a big kid, could be rough at times but he always meant well. There was also a kid named Fred, he was the son of the professor at the time, Cypress. Now Cypress was a nice man, but stern, and believed that Fred should take over the lab when he was done. Fred however had no interest, which is why he joined us. And of course there was Vail, he was the loudmouth of the group, impatient at times too. He was always worth a laugh though, and he was smart too, good doctor. Uhm, let's see...there was also another girl named Erin, really shy girl, but god she had the greatest heart of us all, always full of spirit and virtue. She did the right thing every time, and went out of her way to protect and help everyone. Much like Ash. But that's no surprise, since she was Ash's grandmother. That made, seven of us, correct?", Eli explained. This stunned the others greatly. They all stopped walking in shock.

"ASH'S GRANDMOTHER?", they all exclaimed. Eli stopped walking, as did his Pokemon, and turned to face them. He nodded.

"Yes, Ash's grandmother, his mother's mother", Eli stated, as if it wasn't as shocking as they made it out to be.

"Ash never really talked about his grandmother", Angel said.

"I'd imagine so, he didn't really know her well", Eli said.

"And you all traveled together when you were younger?", Trent asked. Eli nodded.

"Yes, for awhile at least. We all went to the gyms, defeated the leaders, and all of us made it to the Pokemon League that very same year in fact! All of us did well in our own right. We were all extremely skilled and powerful trainers, but caring to our Pokemon. But, in the end, we all ended up getting defeated one by one. None of us made it to the final eight. We were all saddened, but our families and friends told us we did our best, and that we shouldn't let it stop us. We were inspired, and continued our journey", Eli said.

"Did you always stay together? Until you stopped traveling?", Angel asked. She was loving the conversation.

"No, unfortunately not. As we got older, we felt that our destinies were changing, and that we should go on our own. Oh dear, the day when we all said our goodbyes, it still brings me to tears...forgive me", Eli said. He was clearly having difficulty discussing over the matter. He pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and dabbed at his eyes. Angel felt terrible, once again her curiosity caused pain to someone. "But yes, we all went our separate ways, deciding that we would _always _be friends, and that we would always be in each other's hearts. We went to the different regions at the same time, and occasionally we ran into each other one way or another, but we didn't travel in a big group like that again. Not until our final horah anyway". He laughed at this statement with a smile on his face.

"We were getting older, and we knew that we couldn't do this forever. And so, we met back up in Pallet, where our journey began. We were all in our twenties by then. And we decided, to have one last journey together, just like when we started. We went through the same gyms again, fought the same leaders, and once again, made it to that year's Pokemon League. Only this time, things turned out much differently".

"What happened?", Michael asked. Eli gleamed.

"Us seven made it to the top eight, all of us. We were so far superior to the other trainers, my goodness. We were all favorites", Eli said with laughter. He enjoyed the story even more than the others were. "But, due to the few numbers, it meant that we had no choice but to battle each other. We knew that it would happen eventually. We were prepared for it. And so, one by one again, we were knocked off".

"How did you do Eli? Did you win?", Angel asked with excitement. Eli laughed.

"Haha, goodness no. I wasn't as good back then as I am now. But, I did make it to the final four. Samuel took me out of the tournament. He was the one who won it all in the end", Eli exclaimed. He then seemed to halt his story. It was as if he had just remembered something, and it seemed to change the personality of the story. "Then, of course, afterwards we all went on with our lives". The way he said this however scared the others.

"Why...what happened to everyone Eli?", Riles asked. He seemed cautious to ask. If times were truly as peaceful as he said, then they should of been safe, unless time took them from this world. But he wanted to make certain. Eli sighed and looked of to the ceiling, as if he was looking through it and to the sunny, cloud filled sky.

"Well, we had all decided to retire after that get together, something we planned from the beginning. Claire and Tyson ended up getting married, they always had something between them, even when we first traveled. We all knew it. Well they moved to Vermilion and raised a family. They both passed on years back, before the takeover fortunately. Not sure how their kids and grandchildren are, I've lost touch with them. Vail got a job at Saffron as a Pokemon trainer commentator for the tournaments and league battles they had there. He eventually worked at the Indigo Plateau when it was built. He was finally able to put his loud mouth and funny skills to use. But, not surprisingly, he lost his job when Team Rocket took over the league. He wasn't happy about it, but he was too old to do much. He retired here in Pallet and died a few years ago", Eli explained.

The kids listened on. They were saddened to hear that all of his childhood friends were long gone, but they remained quiet as he continued.

"Fred, now he didn't do as his father wanted, he had no interest in being a Pokemon professor. Him and his dad got into some heated arguments over it, but they settled their differences over the years. He became a teacher at the Pokemon Academy, taught Pokemon fighting and proper training. He never considered it teaching really. He was doing what he loved. He retired just before the Rocket takeover, but he didn't know what would come next, with the schools being taken over. He unfortunately had a heart attack just a year later. And so, that left the three of us. Samuel, Erin, and myself. We all returned to Pallet Town and stayed there for our lives. As you know, Samuel became the next professor here in Pallet, and I took over the Mart", Eli explained.

"And Erin? What about Ash's grandmother?", Angel asked.

"Well, as to be expected, she met someone, fell in love, got married, and had Ash's mother; Delia. Delia grew up in the house they live in now, although it looked a bit different back then. As a favor, Professor Oak allowed her to be an intern at his lab. But she always stayed close by Delia. Her parents were getting older and having trouble taking care of themselves, so Delia was always there to lend a hand. Her parents both passed away peacefully just before Delia found her husband. And so, that left me, and Samuel, the professor", Eli explained.

Eli then stopped walking and looked around. He chuckled slightly. The others, who were unaware of why he was chuckling, looked around as well. They had made it all the way to the end of the warehouse by the time he had finished his story. The boxes here were not stacked up nearly as high as they were in the front of the room. The majority of these crates, like the one Michael looked through earlier, were Rocket crates. Most weren't open. Eli turned around and looked at the kids.

"Well, in all the fun we were having, we didn't realize that we reached the crates I need to look through. Why don't you help me go through these, and we'll see what we have for the attack", Eli said. The others all nodded in agreement.

As Angel and the others began to look through the crates, back in the meeting room, things were finally beginning to fall in place. Although limited in what they could plan, they were setting things up for the attack. With the EMP bomb a major possibility now, they were beginning to decide what to do once the base was running on backup power.

"Alright, so we have to have Onix place the bomb under the Rocket base for it to be the most effective. And according to Evan, it shouldn't sound off the seismographs", Brock said. The others nodded.

"I can already see a problem with that", Dawn said. Everyone looked to her. "The EMP bomb, will it be able to work if it's entirely underground?". Brian seemed a bit shocked at the question. He actually did not even know. There was no record of an EMP burst working from underground, but that's because no one had tried it. He tried to think it through his head.

"I...I don't know. It's never been done before from underground. There's no telling if it will work", Brian said. The others sighed heavily. They thought they had something going with the bomb, now there's a chance that it might not even work the way they had hoped it to.

"Then there's nothing we can do, we have to make sure the bomb has access to the base physically", Ash said.

"Then there's the chance of them seeing the bomb!", Brian remarked.

"He's right. If they get their hands on it they could dismantle it before it can go off", Drew said.

"Maybe...", May said. Drew looked to her, wondering what she was going to say. "Maybe, all we need is a distraction", May said.

"Like what? I don't see what could distract them more than a giant hole in the ground, kind of hard to miss", Nick said.

"I think I know what she means", Sawyer said. Nick seemed skeptical over it all, but listened regardless. "May...do you mean, have someone intentionally get caught by Team Rocket?".

Everyone in the room became uneasy over the idea. They knew that, especially after the New Island attack, Team Rocket would not be so caring if they captured a PTA rebel. More than likely, whomever was this "distraction" would not come out alive. May looked to Sawyer and nodded slowly, she was right.

"You know, that if someone were to do that, they would probably die, right?", Darrel said. May looked to Darrel now, with a serious expression.

"...I know", May said. She looked down at the table. "When we were on New Island, we...lost a lot of lives. Despite our efforts, despite us trying as hard as we could to save everyone, we couldn't. I myself, almost didn't make it back alive". She looked at her chest, looking at the gun wound she had endured. She knew what it was like to have a close call. But even she didn't know what it would be like to lose a life. "We're so close to victory, we can literally taste it. We're already talking about what we're going to do once all of this is over. So that brings up the question...can we afford not to do something like this?". The others were silent.

"...She may have a point", Catie stated. She had been relatively quiet throughout the entire meeting. She was merely filling in for Wallace, she didn't have much experience in battle plans or anything of the like. She was only there to talk about the injured and when they would be active again. But even she knew the desperation they were in. "I refuse to accept the idea that we should sacrifice our allies for our cause...but when it comes right down to it, will that be our only option?".

"...I'll do it", Brian stated. Everyone looked to him with shock. He was in serious thought the entire time they were discussing the topic. He knew more than anyone how the bomb would work, and when it would go off. He knew what needed to be done to allow it time to detonate. Who better than him then to distract the Rockets in just the right amount of time? He looked up to the others, who all stared at him with shock. "Yeah, I'll do it. I have an idea of how to distract the Rockets. I don't intend to just let them kill me after all. But, if you guys need a distraction, I can do it", Brian said.

"What's your idea to distract them?", Ash asked. It was clear he did not support anyone in sacrificing themselves. He had always opposed that idea, and never wanted to see it happen. But he was still curious as to what Brian was thinking of.

"Well, when they catch me, if they don't kill me instantly that is, I can make like I know things. You know as well as I do that Team Rocket will do anything to get information on us. It's obvious they don't have a lot, otherwise we wouldn't all be here right now would we? So, if I act like I know a lot about the PTA, they won't kill me. They'll just question me. If that happens, then it should be a good enough distraction to allow the bomb to go off. All you guys have to do then is find me and get me out of there in time", Brian said.

"Ash...what do you think?", Misty asked. She knew that Ash would not like the idea very well, she knew Ash better than anyone, and knew that he would not go for this without thinking it through well. Ash sat there in silence. He was thinking it through. The rebels, not knowing Ash before the Rocket takeover, thought that this was Ash's personality. This was who he was. But the region leaders, the people who had been friends with Ash for nearly all of their lives, they knew better. They knew that Ash was not the thinking type. He acted on instinct, on principle. He always knew in his heart was what right. If he was thinking something through, then it was serious. Ash eventually looked up.

"...I think there should be at least two others with you", Ash finally said. This caused even more shock from the group.

"What? You want to endanger even more people?", Nick asked, somewhat angrily. Sawyer tried to calm him down. She knew how into this Nick could get. "Why would you want to risk even more lives than we need to? I don't even want to risk one, let alone three!". Ash could tell that Nick was angry. He was not someone to always be this way, but he believed strongly in the PTA, and after Ian's death, he was extremely protective of other people's lives. Ash knew this, but also knew what was at stake.

"I know Nick. I'm not taking this lightly, believe me. But if one person can distract Team Rocket for a little bit, three people should be able to do it even longer. If there's a way that all three people can pretend that they have information, then Team Rocket will keep them all alive for questioning. The more people there are, the longer they can distract them, and the easier it will be to allow the EMP bomb to detonate before they find it. I know that their lives are at stake Nick. I don't intend to let them, or anyone get killed", Ash said. Nick sighed. He knew that it wasn't a promise that he could keep, no one in their right mind would keep a promise like that for something this big. But at least Ash was thinking it out. And, despite not wanting to admit to it, he knew that Ash had a point. Ash then turned and looked to Darrel.

"Darrel?", Ash said. Darrel looked to Ash and nodded.

"Yeah sir?", Darrel said.

"You took command of the distraction unit back on New Island correct?", Ash said. Darrel nodded.

"Yes sir, after the two previous commanders were killed", Darrel said. He at first thought that Ash would want him to accompany Brian with the EMP bomb. Him being in the distraction unit however did not make him good at being a distraction. He was a fighter, not a talker. Ash nodded.

"Good, then I'm promoting you to field general. You're going to lead the main charge when we attack the base", Ash said. This took the others, but Darrel mostly, by shock.

"Sir?", Darrel asked, as if making sure he knew what he was talking about.

"Brock told me how you managed the entire squadron when you were under attack, and how you helped them out when they needed it most. Plus you were a great help in the escape. I know you're up to the task Darrel, don't let me down", Ash said. Darrel didn't know what to say. He had never anticipated to become a leader in any sense of the word. When he joined the PTA, he did so to fight for peace. He never considered himself a leader, but Ash however saw him as one, and he wasn't going to let him down. Darrel nodded.

"Alright, you got it dog", Darrel said. He was honored. Brian gave Darrel a high five in congratulations while Catie gave him a pat on the back.

"So, we have Evan on the hill side giving cover fire when needed, we have Brian with two others delivering the EMP bomb and distracting the Rockets long enough to allow it to go off. Darrel will lead the main assault on the base, which will be a frontal assault once the power is gone. Then, what we'll do is have a group come down from the ceiling. I don't think there will be nearly as much resistance from the upper three levels, if they're more for show like Emily said. However, if Giovanni's office is really there, then that's what we'll go for. I'll be in charge of this group myself, with Misty of course. We'll take down Giovanni and then help with the fight. Aleksi", Ash said. Aleksi looked to him. "You're coming with me. Milo will too, I told him that I'd bring him along on the next mission and I intend to keep my word. Angel can as well. Once Giovanni is gone we'll head down to the lower levels and free the captured. I'm sure Milo and Angel will love that". Aleksi smiled. She was glad to be able to physically help save the prisoners. Being with Angel when she saved her parents was also a major plus.

"Catie, you said Ryoto would make it out of recovery no problem, but when will that be exactly?", Ash asked. Catie thought for a bit. She did not personally work on Ryoto, she had been instructed by Wallace to focus more on the other rebels and let the surgeons work on the critically injured. She was however told most everything she needed to know for the meeting by Wallace himself.

"It depends on how he's feeling. You know he's stubborn. He could be walking around later today. But he's not supposed to be moving until at least tomorrow, or the day after", Catie said. Ash nodded.

"Alright. But how will he be for the attack?", Ash asked.

"He should be fine. Still achy I'm sure, but he should be good to go", Catie explained. Ash nodded.

"Good, he'll join me too. He should know his way around the base well, and we could use his skills. When the power is out and Darrel leads the frontal assault, we'll use a flying Pokemon to get to the roof of the building and then head straight to Giovanni's office. Evan, you have to stay on the hillside and give us cover. If you see anything coming towards us, take care of the problem", Ash said. Evan nodded.

"No problem. I'll clear the path for you", Evan said. Ash nodded.

"What about Mathinza? He's a sniper too", Dawn said. Ash looked to Dawn.

"No, I already have a plan with Mathinza. He's going to join you and your own group on a different assault", Ash said. Dawn seemed confused. Ash leaned over and pointed to the map Emily drew. "We're going to go from the top, Brian and his small group from the bottom, and Darrel will lead the assault at the front. Dawn, what I want you to do is go from the side here. Our spies have found a heavily guarded door here that leads to the lower levels. When the attack begins, the guards will surely leave their posts to defend the base. I want you to go down these levels and look for the prisoners. You'll be the closest to them, and I want you to ensure that they're safe", Ash said.

"Understood. But what would this have to do with Mathinza?", Dawn asked.

"His Pokemon. This is going to be stealth here. your group will be small, and will sneak through the base without being noticed. His Umbreon and Espeon are good with hiding him, they can hide your entire group and get you through the base", Ash said. Dawn nodded.

"Alright, we'll do that", Dawn said with confidence. Ash nodded.

"Good. However, you need to be careful", Ash said. Dawn knew this, but there seemed to be more to this than he let on.

"Why?", Dawn asked.

"Misty told me that Butch, Cassidy, and this other Rocket leader Calamity Jane escaped New Island. They're sure to be stationed at the base since Giovanni will certainly be more cautious. Not to mention the other Rocket commanders that will surely be there. If you see them...take them out", Ash said. Dawn nodded. Her small group was more than just a small rescue party. They were going to be an assassination group. That's why the secrecy was so important to their group. Ryoto was needed for capturing Giovanni, otherwise he would be with her as well.

"Brock, you, May, and Drew will take the back here, where they drop off the deliveries. That way, we'll have the base surrounded. We'll all work on the upper levels first, and then work our way down. Brian, we'll be sure to get you and the others out of there as quickly as we can", Ash reassured Brian. He nodded, understanding.

"What about the base?", Gary asked. "Who's going to stay behnd and watch over it?".

"My mom and your grandpa did a good job of it while we were gone, so they could possibly do it again. If not, then you, Tracy, or even Max could watch over it", Ash decided. Although Gary was more than willing, Max seemed to be less enthused.

"Aww! But I want to go on the mission with you guys!", Max said. May shook her head.

"No Max, it's too dangerous. You almost got killed when you were just on a boat miles away from danger, god knows what could happen if you went on this attack", May said, showing obvious concern for her little brother. Max was still however annoyed. He crossed his arms.

"Hmph, you guys never let me go on any missions", Max said. Gary sighed.

"Don't worry Max, you'll still be helping out from here. Giving aid through communication and making sure everything is going according to plan. People can help without having to fight", Gary explained. Ash nodded.

"He's right", Ash said. Max sighed, defeated. He knew that, despite being a Pokemon trainer now, he still was not ready to take on Rockets. He was still learning what it meant to be a trainer. Unlike Angel, who had been on the run for years and learned how to battle to survive, Max had always been in the PTA. Although he occasionally trained, him and his Pokemon never got the real experience that they needed to battle. He was always working in the lab and never saw much action. The close call on Blaine's boat was the furthest he's ever gotten to a real fight in the war.

"What about equipment? What do we have to use for the fight?", Evan asked. Ash looked over to him.

"I was going to check on that myself, but we had the meeting earlier than anticipated. So I asked Angel to run that errand for me. A few days ago another one of our bases captured a entire shipment of supplies headed for Team Rocket base. It was just delivered here a few days before the New Island attack. Angel will see what we got and report back to me. It could be anything from weapons to food to medical aid. I also had her go and deliver the flashdrive May got on New Island to our data keeper. When she's finished, we'll know what Team Rocket had on us, and what we can get on them", Ash explained.

**Three chapters done within less than two weeks! Wow! Well anyway, not much to report here. I do hope you all enjoyed the frequent updates! Once again, I apologize if there are any mistakes, I tried all of my older equipment to see if they were working again, and unfortunately they're not. I wish this site kept the spell check that was programmed into it. (sigh). But, I can't do anything about that. Please be sure to F.A.R.! Oh, and I will also be updating "The Alphabet Game" and POSSIBLY "Christmas The Sequel" soon, so keep an eye out for those as well! Farewell!**

**sincerely,  
evan, a fan of aaml -EVAN AAML **


	53. Chapter 53

**Welcome back everyone! I apologize for the long wait. School started back up for me, and with this being college, it takes up more time than I wish it did. And since I'm working on transferring to one of the best colleges for my major, I can't afford to get distracted and slack off! I'll try to update stories as soon as I can, but mostly for now, expect updates to be slow and mostly on weekends. Also, I understand that a lot of you have real life to deal with. Clearly I do as well. So if these updates come faster than you can read and F.A.R. for them, then don't worry about it. I am patient, I will not be disappointed if it takes you awhile to get to them. (some people haven't read the last ten or so chapters!). Be sure to get your real life things dealt with first, I'll still be here when you're done. Now then, with that out of the way, let's get going on "R"!**

**-EVAN AAML**

The crates seemed to be endless. No matter how many they opened, looked through, and destroyed, more and more seem to be there. It was as if every time one was removed, another one took it's place. Angel sighed at the hard work. All of the crates required tools and a lot of manual labor to open up. She was shocked that Eli was as small as he was, he should of been built like a body builder if he had to open these all the time.

Most of the crates were filled with typical supplies. Canned goods, some medical supplies, mechanical parts for machines and repairs, tools, and weapons. Some crates were even empty, (Eli figured this was possibly in case supplies were captured, they would lose less than it seemed). As they opened the crates, they would write down what was inside, place the supplies in a location accordingly, and then dispose of the empty crates. It was tedious work, but simple enough. And they were getting through a lot of crates. Angel hoped that they would be finished soon.

"Another set of guns in this one, what a shocker", Michael said as he peered inside one of the many crates. Eli walked over and examined the weapons. They were larger than the typical Rocket brand Uzis, but smaller than normal machine guns. Eli was not an expert on weapons, and these were new to him regardless.

"Eh, probably just another restocking shipment. Every once in awhile new weapons are sent to the main Rocket bases to be tested. If they do well, then they're distributed to the other bases, if not, then they return them", Eli said. Michael shrugged.

"Oh well, doesn't matter since they're ours now huh?", Michael said, holding up one of the guns from the crate in his hands. Eli however shook his head.

"Doesn't matter if it's ours if we don't know what it is or how it's used. Check the shipment log", Eli said. Michael seemed lost.

"The wha?", Michael asked. Eli chuckled slightly.

"Inside each crate that has Rocket items is a shipment log, it tells of what the item is, how many there are, their serial numbers, and sometimes even how they're used", Eli explained. Michael nodded with a smile.

"Oh, I see! Alright, let's see here...", Michael said, placing the gun down by his side on the floor and looking into the crate once more. After some brief searching, he found what he was looking for, papers which were laminated and stapled together; stuck to the box by string. He pulled the papers off and looked at them, then at the gun by his side.

"It's called an FN P90. Eighteen hundred meter range with a fifty round detachable box magazine", Michael explained. Eli nodded.

"I'm not surprised. Team Rocket really has nearly every gun imaginable. Things like Uzis and M-16s are just commonly distributed. I'm more than sure that when you're on the attack at the Veridian base you'll have to face against this gun, along with possibly hundreds of others", Eli explained. Michael seemed shocked and scared at the same time. Angel, listening to their conversation, sighed heavily. She didn't want to have to think about what they would face at the base. She didn't want to scare the others, or put doubt into their minds. And so, she tried to change the subject quickly.

"So Eli, are you excited about the ball?", Angel asked. This seemed to do the trick, as Michael and Eli turned around to reply. Eli however, seemed confused.

"A ball?", Eli asked. Michael nodded.

"Yeah, the Professor and Mrs. Ketchum decided to throw a ball in honor of our victory at New Island", Michael said.

"It's gonna be a blast!", Trent threw in. He was a few feet away from them, moving items from one crate and putting them over near items similar to them. Eli smiled.

"My, the Professor hasn't thrown one of his famous balls in ages! You kids wouldn't know this, but the Professor used to be famous for throwing little dances like this together. Despite being such a quiet kid, he did enjoy celebrating when the time called for it. More than the rest of us did at least", Eli explained. The other kids laughed.

"So are you going to come then?", Angel asked, with some hope in her eyes. Eli thought for a moment.

"Well, it's not like there's anything else to do. And I really did enjoy going to those balls back in the day. I supposed I could dust off my old outfit and see if it still fits", Eli said with a smile. Angel smiled back with some excitement.

"Yey!", Angel cheered. Michael and Trent merely smiled back in response. Angel then ran up to Eli and stopped right in front of him. "We'll have to find you a date for the dance!", Angel said. This seemed to catch him off guard.

"A date? Are they mandatory?", Eli asked, somewhat worried. Trent shook his head.

"No, they're not mandatory. But the Professor suggested we find one", Trent said. He then spaced out for a moment. "Which reminds me, I need to find one!". Michael spaced out as well, realizing that he too hadn't found a date. Angel brought the conversation back to Eli.

"So, is there someone you'd like to go with? I bet if you asked her she would come!", Angel said. Eli couldn't help but laugh, but it seemed like the laugh was not for the same reasons she thought.

"Well, I don't think that's going to be an issue my dear", Eli said. Angel seemed confused by this.

"What do you mean? You don't think she would come?", Angel asked.

"No, not that. I don't even have a girl you see. It's...well...", Eli started off. Michael seemed to understand.

"Oh, I get it, you're afraid to ask a girl out huh?", Michael asked. Eli laughed at this.

"Oh no, it's not that. You see, I'm gay", Eli said. Michael seemed confused. "What? You thought that someone as "rough and tough" as me couldn't be gay?". He then chuckled out loud. Michael sweatdropped, embarrassed at himself for not realizing it. Angel cautiously looked over to Riles, who was away from them, looking through his own crate. Angel was raised to love everyone, no matter their personalities or preferences. She truly believed that everyone was equal. However, she did realize that often the religious type would show resentment towards something like this. As it was, Riles seemed to not hear anything they were saying. He was completely lost in his work. Angel was sure that Riles wouldn't care, but people arguing over things like race, sex, and sexual preference made her feel awkward. She couldn't understand why people would argue over things like that, it didn't matter. Trent and Michael at least didn't seem to care at all.

"So, needless to say, I don't think you'll be finding a date for me anytime soon. Besides, I'm too old. The last time I went to one of the Professor's balls was...oh my goodness, going on ten years ago I think. My goodness, has it really been that long?", Eli asked himself in shock.

"Well, the important thing is you go and have fun. A date isn't needed for that", Angel said. Eli seemed somewhat shocked by Angel's response. He looked at her quizzically. "...yes?". Angel was becoming nervous herself.

"You mean...you're not bothered by me being gay?", Eli asked. He seemed stunned that she wasn't.

"No, I'm not bothered. Why would I be? You're no different than anyone else, it doesn't matter who you like", Angel said. This seemed to touch Eli. He smiled, his old weathered eyes seeming to get wet from tears of happiness. Angel seemed confused by this. "Why are you sad Eli?", Angel asked.

"Well, you see my dear, in these times, people tend to be...well, kind of rude to others. Let's put it that way", Eli explained.

"I know what you mean", Trent said. He understood what Eli was getting at.

"Right. And I'm just glad that you're not one of those people", Eli said. Angel smiled.

"Oh, I get it. No, I'm not like that. My parents always taught me to be nice to everyone, no matter what they're like", Angel said. Eli smiled.

"And that's exactly as it should be", Eli said. Just then, Riles walked over to the group of people. He had wiped the sweat off of his forehead, taking his hat off in the process.

"Well, I just finished going through those crates over there. Just more weapons and explosives. It's sad that all of this is directed towards destruction...what are you all talking about?", Riles asked. Angel was still uncertain if Riles would react in a positive or negative way towards Eli, and it appeared to her that Trent and Michael were worried over the same thing.

"We were just, talking about the ball coming up", Angel said. Riles nodded, understanding.

"I almost forgot about that ball. I should get a date for that huh?", Riles said. Trent and Michael laughed, seeing that he was in the same boat as them. Eli stood up straight and cracked his back, sighing as he did so.

"Ugh, I'm getting too old for this...alright then. We've gone through all of the latest crates and sorted them out. Me and the Pokemon can put everything where it needs to go, you kids have more tasks to run", Eli explained. He then walked over to a clip board that he had placed on one of the crates previously before the others arrived. He looked it over, took his pencil from behind his ear and wrote some more things on it, and then handed the clipboard to Angel. "Here's the entire list of things that we looked through, along with everything that we've received in the last month. Have Ash look it over and see what he thinks. If he wants to learn more, have him come down and let me know".

Angel looked over the list quickly. Everything was neatly organized and written. Weapons, medical supplies, machine parts, food and drink, and miscellaneous. It listed what these things were, when they were shipped into the base, how many of these items, and some more minor details to them. Angel removed the papers from the clip board, folded them up, and put them in her jean pocket. She then handed Eli back his clip board and nodded with a smile.

"Thank you for everything Eli, we couldn't of done it without you", Angel said. Eli smiled and placed his hand on Angel's head, messing up her hair.

"Not a problem little one. Glad to be able to help. Now you all run along", Eli said. Angel nodded with a smile.

"Alright", Angel said.

"Thank you once again Eli for everything", Riles threw in. Eli nodded to the boy.

"Be sure to come to the ball!", Angel threw in. The four of them then began to walk off, waving goodbye to Eli. Eli and his two Pokemon looked on as they left.

"I will, take care now!", Eli said. The four of them then walked down the long isle to the front of the store. It appeared to them that the walk back to the entrance was shorter than the walk to the end of the room. But they didn't have Eli telling them past stories on the way back, and that made all the difference. Angel was glad to have met someone like Eli, but she knew that she had to move on from it. There was still work to be done, and all of it would lead up to the final battle, for her friends, for her parents, and for peace.

As this was going on, everyone back in the meeting room were putting together what they could for the final details on the attack. Although a basic idea over the assault was constructed, there was more that was needed to be done in order to prepare for the attack. Even the smallest of details had to be thought of before anything like an attack was possible. They would only have one shot at this, and they could not afford to screw it up, too much was at stake.

"What about if we had a group attack from the back end here, and push them through to the other side here?", Nick asked, pointing to different parts of the map, trying to set up a place of attack. Darrel shook his head.

"No, if this map is right then they have barracks set up here and here. We would be wasting lives trying to get to an area that can be taken better from this place here", Darrel said, pointing to a separate part of the map.

"The base was designed to withstand attacks like this, so knowing where to attack is important. The base itself is heavily fortified and probably has secret passageways and tons of weapons we don't even know about", Emily explained.

"Then we're going to need everything we can and more to even get into the base. How are all of the Pokemon Catie?", Ash asked.

"I'm not positive. I'm not in charge of caring for the Pokemon. Well wait...maybe Wallace gave me the paperwork explaining their progress", Catie said, looking through the files that Wallace had given her. Mostly they were medical files on all of the injured, but perhaps there was more inside than she expected. Brock turned and looked to Ash.

"I'll stop by after the meeting and see for myself. I haven't been able to help out the Pokemon as much as I had wanted to yet anyway. Hopefully they're fully prepared by the time the battle comes", Brock said. Ash nodded.

"I hope so too. We depend on them just as much as any one of our rebels", Ash said.

"If not, then we'll have to use the back up Pokemon that we give to the Pokemon-less rebels", Misty stated.

"Unfortunately, we have to limit ourselves in how many Pokemon we have, we can't afford to lose any lives, rebels or Pokemon", Ash said. Suddenly, Catie gasped.

"Aha! Here! Wallace did have something", Catie exclaimed as she held up the paper. She then quickly looked it over, moving her white headband on her head as she did so; like a nervous twitch in a way. "Ok, on the plus side, we didn't have one Pokemon casualty since we returned to base. In fact, every person who returned had all of their Pokemon in check", Catie said.

"I went through the K.I.A. files myself, and from what I can gather from the background files we had on the rebels, most every belt was returned home after the siege", Ash explained.

"So then our Pokemon losses are extremely small. And plus we have all of the Pokemon we have on reserve, so I'd say we're pretty set on those standards", Catie said. She then looked back to the paper. "...and I was right. By the looks of this, most of the Pokemon are already on the path to a full recovery. Most injuries were due to the Pokemon battles, not from gunfire".

"That's good to hear", Ash said. Although he was happy that they finally had some decent good news, he was still on edge. As was everyone else in the room. The room was now a bit smoky, as Evan had gone through a few cigarettes in this time, (more so than he normally does). He had also lent some to Darrel, who also smoked. An ashtray was filled with ashes and cigarette butts. No one however made a comment on the smell or smoke, they didn't seemed bothered by it. Mostly because the room had very good ventilation shafts and the smoke and stench was sucked out quickly, but also because they had other things on their minds.

"Do you think that this attack will be almost entirely on Pokemon Ash?", Aleksi asked. She was concerned over the lives of the Pokemon. Although it was standard for rebels and Rockets to use Pokemon to fight, the difference between them is that, to the rebels, the Pokemon weren't weapons, they were friends, family. They were as much part of the PTA as any of the humans were, and they didn't want them to be hurt or worse. Whereas Team Rocket used them as weapons, and treated them as such. They were expendable. Aleksi knew, that if Pokemon were going to be used a lot in this fight, there would be plenty of casualties. Team Rocket tried often to keep their enemies' Pokemon alive, so they could acquire them. However, since Pokemon to them were expendable, they would have no qualms in simply shooting down the PTA's Pokemon.

"Honestly, I think so. Even more so than New Island did", Ash said, knowing that she wouldn't like the answer anymore than he did. "This base isn't like New Island, it's fortified. And we can only do so much with the equipment we have. Our Pokemon are going to be our greatest weapon in this fight. We can't afford to not use them", Ash explained. Aleksi looked worried and disappointed. She had become friends with her Pokemon over the years. They were more than just friends, they were the family that watched over her and protected her when her father left her. She never wanted to put them in danger's way. Ash could tell that this was the case as well. He could relate to her, he was forced to do the same thing countless times over the years with his Pokemon; much to his dismay.

"Listen, Aleksi. I know that this isn't the best thing for them. But, we can't afford to miss this opportunity. Once this is all over, if we're victorious, then they'll never have to fight again, they'll finally live a life of peace. We'll do the best we can to protect them and make sure that they're not put in harm's way...but if we expect to win this thing...we're going to need them fighting along side us", Ash explained. Aleksi listened to his entire speech, and then nodded. She knew that he was right, although she didn't want to admit to it herself.

The others were apprehensive as well, and did not want to have to put their Pokemon into the fight, but they knew that they would have to. They all prepared for it. Ash tried to think of more things to cover for the battle. He was always very skilled in thinking through battles, coming up with strategies, discovering weaknesses, and getting victory. But these skills were always used for Pokemon battling. But for many years now, he's been using them in war, and it was not something he was proud of. Although his skills as a Pokemon trainer made him a good battle tactician, he had never wanted to use it in a way that would result in death, to anyone. But he knew the day that he created the PTA that this would have to happen, and he was prepared to do whatever he could to get peace. He was not proud of it, but he had sacrificed most of his morals years ago.

He now focused on finding where the Rocket weaknesses were, and what exactly they should do to have the best chance of victory. He was aware that people were going to die in this fight, on both sides of the battle. Men and women, young and old, human and Pokemon, good and evil. It was going to be a blood bath. The best he could do, was figure out which path to take to create the least amount of casualties.

"Ok...how about this. After Brian and his crew places the EMP below the base and creates the distraction, we'll send a squad down through the same hole his Onix makes. Team Rocket will be bound to eventually look down the hole and see what's down there, but so long as the EMP goes off before then, it won't matter. Once it's off, we'll send a squad down through the hole and they can attack from the ground up. That way, they could get a better chance at saving the hostages and rescuing Brian and the others if they're in danger", Ash explained.

The others tried to think of the situation. They ran it through their heads over and over again, seeing if problems came up with it. Of course, no plan was perfect; every single idea they had had problems with them. But they didn't have the time, nor the ability, to think of anything better.

"I guess that could work. If we send down a large enough group of people to go through it, then we could bypass all of their heavy security. We'll be at the heart of their base. And most of the Rockets will be focused on the forces above ground, so it will be easier for them below. That should work", Brock said. The others nodded. Ash then turned to Gary.

"Gary?", Ash said. Gary sighed. He knew what he was going to say.

"Yeah, no problem", Gary said.

"We all know you're one of the strongest trainers we have here, you'd be a great help in leading them", Ash said. The region leaders were well aware of how skilled Gary was as a Pokemon trainer. They knew of his and Ash's rivalry when they were kids, and how well he could battle with his Pokemon. In fact, the only reasons why he was not in the field more often was because he no longer liked Pokemon battling, and his smarts couldn't be wasted. He _was _Prof. Oak's grandson after all.

"Yeah, I can lead the assault", Gary said. It was clear that he was not overly excited over the idea, but then again, who would be?

"I can go to", Tracy said. Everyone looked to the region leader with some shock. He had not said a word since he arrived. He was the biggest pacifist out of all the region leaders, he hated fighting with a passion. And despite being skilled at what he did, he never saw himself as a major ally to their cause. As such, people rarely seemed to notice him.

"Tracy?", Misty said, somewhat shocked.

"I haven't spoken up over one thing since this meeting's started, I think I can talk about something. I want to fight as well", Tracy said.

"Are you sure? We know how you hate fighting", May said. May had no doubt that Tracy could be a great ally to the fight. He was also a skilled Pokemon trainer, and extremely intelligent at that. Despite being in a region where there was very little action, he had plenty of experience. However, she knew that Tracy was not the type to volunteer for something like this.

"Yes, I'm sure. I wasn't as much help as I should of been on New Island. I'm a region leader, just like most of you here. I should be in the front of the battle, not behind it. Ash...let me help Gary", Tracy said. Ash looked at Tracy for a moment. Eventually, he nodded with a smile.

"Alright, no problem. Glad to have you along Tracy", Ash said. Tracy smiled. Now winded, he sat down and huffed, causing the girls to giggle and him to blush.

As this was going on, Angel and the others had just finally made it out of the basement and back to the halls where they had originally entered. They were relieved that they had finally finished. They were sore and tired from opening all of the crates and moving the heavy equipment around, but the job was now done. Angel turned around and looked at the boys.

"Alright, now we need to go and find a girl named Brenna, and give her the flashdrive", Angel said. The guys all sighed heavily.

"Not me, thanks. I'm too tired to move around anymore, and god knows how much work we'll have to do once we find Brenna. I'm gonna need a nap before we train now", Michael explained. Angel seemed disappointed.

"Sorry Angel, me too. I can't afford to be tired when we practice later. I'm gonna have to sit this one out too", Trent said. Angel then turned to Riles.

"I'm sure you'll be able to find more people to help you Angel. Don't worry, you won't be in this alone", Riles explained. Angel seemed downcast, she should of figured that they wouldn't want to help her again. But, she couldn't complain. They weren't charged with running these errands, and the work they had done was very tiring. She should be thankful that they even helped at all. So with that in her mind, she nodded with a smile.

"I understand guys. Really, I do. Thank you all for helping me", Angel said. The guys at first felt bad, they knew that she was disappointed in that they were too tired to help. But the training was important, and they couldn't miss out on it. Suddenly, a voice called out to them.

"Hey, what's going on guys?", someone said. Angel turned around, (the voice came from behind her), and the guys looked up to see Luke and Logan walking up to them. They both looked refreshed, as if they had just taken a shower. They were fully dressed in their usual cowboy attire and approached the gang. Logan was walking with a slight limp, but it was not nearly as bad as it was the day before. Luke's arm seemed fine, although it was hard to tell since he was not using it. The two stopped in front of Angel. "Looks like you all just finished doing a lot of work", Logan said.

"Yeah, Ash asked me to run some errands for him while he and the others were running the important meeting. We just finished doing some work with the quarter master here at the base", Angel explained. The boys nodded.

"Haha, I'd have to say that you all need more exercise if you're this tired already! Me and Logan woke up early, had breakfast, and went straight to workout. Then we took a shower and now we're ready for the day!", Luke explained. The other boys seemed somewhat insulted over this comment, although they knew that the twins didn't mean them in spite. Most guys didn't appreciate being hinted at being weak.

"Yeah, well we're gonna be training later, we need to conserve our energy", Michael explained. The twins seemed somewhat confused.

"There's going to be some training today?", Logan asked. The boys nodded.

"Great, we could use some training. We were pretty confused during the New Island battle", Luke stated. The boys then looked down to Angel. "Is that what you're going to do too Angel?". Angel shook her head.

"No, not yet at least. I'm going to train, but I need to run another errand before I do...say...are you guys doing anything right now?", Angel asked. The boys seemed somewhat confused by the question.

"No, not really. We finished our normal morning routines, so until training starts I'd say we aren't going to be doing anything...why?", Logan asked. Angel approached the boys and put her hands together, as if in a prayer.

"Could you PLEASE help me with my errands? These guys are tired and want to rest, and I don't know if I can do it on my own! Please?", Angel asked. The boys both looked at Angel, then at each other. They stared for a few seconds, before they both shrugged in unison and turned back to Angel with a smile.

"Sure", Logan said.

"We don't see why not", Luke finished. Angel smiled and nodded.

"Ok, great! Thank you so much!", Angel said. The other boys seemed much more relaxed now. With Luke and Logan going to help Angel, they would be able to get their rest without having to worry over the twelve year old. However, Riles was still concerned over Angel's low confidence in herself. He knew that he would have to let Luke and Logan know what was going on with her, just in case. Angel turned around and immediately began to walk towards their next destination, going past Riles, Trent, and Michael. "Come on then, let's go!", Angel called out. The boys couldn't help but laugh at her enthusiasm, now that she had help. As Luke and Logan walked to her, Riles stopped them by gently grabbing onto Luke's good arm.

The twins both stopped walking and looked to Riles, wondering what it was that he had to say. Angel continued to walk, not noticing the hold up. Riles leaned in towards the twins and began to whisper to them quietly.

"Listen, ever since Angel came back from New Island, she's had some self confidence issues. She thinks that she's worthless and unfortunately she has it pretty bad", Riles explained. The twins seemed confused and concerned.

"Really? I can't imagine why", Logan said, clearly worried over the young girl.

"Yeah, anything we can do to help?", Luke asked. Riles nodded.

"Yes. When you're helping her, make sure to let her do most of the work, and compliment her whenever you can. Unfortunately we weren't able to do a whole lot of it ourselves with the last errand, hopefully this one will involve more work from her", Riles said. The twins both nodded.

"No problem Riles", Logan stated.

"We'll make sure she's full of confidence!", Luke finished. Riles nodded thankfully.

"Alright, thank you", Riles said. He then released Luke's arm. Angel, who had just stopped walking and turned around, saw that Riles and the twins were talking.

"Are you guys alright?", Angel asked, wondering what they had been talking about. Riles smiled and shook his head.

"Yep, we're fine, I was just letting them know more details about the next errand!", Riles explained. The twins both nodded in agreement. They then walked off towards Angel.

"You three have fun now!", Michael called out to them, somewhat jokingly. Angel waved goodbye to them and the three were off, leaving the tired boys to themselves. They all sighed in relief once they were out of sight. Angel and the twins meanwhile continued on their walk, looking for where Brenna would be.

"So Angel, do you know exactly where this person is?", Logan asked. Angel sighed.

"I sort of do. I know that she's apparently in charge of all the databases and information of the PTA. She's in a upper level of the base from what Ash explained to me", Angel explained. The twins seemed to realize something just then.

"Oh wait, I think I know where this place is. It's like a big library in the base...yeah, is the girl you're looking for like, about your age, little bit older?", Luke asked. Angel's eyes lit up a bit, excited that they seemed to know where this place was.

"Yeah!", Angel said. Luke nodded.

"Alright, I think I know where to go then. It's down here and up the stairs", Luke explained, pointing to a hall that was coming up to their left. Angel was excited. Hopefully they would be able to get this errand done much faster than the previous one.

"Great!", Angel said. She then immediately ran ahead. The twin boys looked at Angel in shock, both sweatdropping. They then glanced at each other, and then immediately back to her.

"HEY!", Luke yelled.

"WAIT UP!", Logan yelled as well. The boys held onto their hats tightly as they hurried off after the little girl, who had already turned down the hall and was sprinting towards the stars ahead of her.

**And that should do it for here! I am so sorry for the delay ladies and gentleman! As to be expected, a lot of school work takes up my time now, along with some personal things I'm dealing with, I'm sure you all can relate. But anyway, here's the update! I was supposed to have "The Alphabet Game" updated before this one, and rest assured I am working on it. But unfortunately, I'm having some writer's block with it at the moment, and so it'll be a little bit longer before that's updated. But keep an eye out for it regardless! Also, I would like to give another shout out to my good friend Miya Toriaka on deviantart, who has just finished her work on her popular "Faith" art project! For those of you who do not know Miya, she is an EXTREMELY talented artist on the site who does tons of AAML pieces. Be sure to check her work out! (which reminds me, I am uncertain of the status of the "R" drawings, so please do not ask. I am sure that they will be amazing when they come out!). Also, for those of who you watch the NFL...MY FAVORITE TEAM THE NEW YORK GIANTS WON THE SUPERBOWL! WOOHOO! :D I was so psyched about them defeating the New England Patriots for a second time in the SuperBowl, you have no idea! Man, I only wish that football wasn't over with. :( I only watch so much Basketball, pro and college, and Baseball won't start for a bit yet. Oh well. Anyway, enough babble! Please everyone, be sure to F.A.R.! And if I don't update anytime soon, (more than likely won't), then I will wish you all a Happy Valentine's Day to you now! Be sure to spend it with the one you love! ;) Until next time my friends!**

**sincerely,  
****evan, a fan of aaml -EVAN AAML**


	54. Chapter 54

**I hope you all enjoyed your Saint Valentine's day! I unfortunately couldn't spend a lot of time with my love, for she got sick. :( But she's better now, and actually on the very same charity trip I took to New Orleans a few years ago. I'm proud of her, but I'll miss her for the week. But hey, at least I have...school...and work to do...yikes. -_- But oh well, what are you gonna do? Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed the updates to "R" and "The Alphabet Game", (I am NOT sure when I will update "Christmas The Sequel", since it's not in high demand right now. Rest assured I will think things through for it and see what comes up). I would also like to bring up that people have not been F.A.R. as of late! So please be sure to do so! And lastly, I understand that the last ten or so chapters have been very slow and boring. I am well aware of that. I am trying to quicken the pace, and bring in more action and violence. Expect to have some more OC friends appear who have not lately, and once the ball is over, (which will be soon!), prepare for some good ole' fashioned PTA butt kicking!**

**-EVAN AAML**

Angel's heart was racing, faster and faster, as she hurried herself up the stairs. She knew that she was fit for a twelve year old, probably in better fit than a lot of the rebels in the base. But she was still twelve after all, and she couldn't strain her body too much. As soon as she rounded the corner and reached the top of the stairs, she stopped, panted heavily, and leaned against the right side of the hall.

The hall upstairs was empty, as to be expected. Angel was not sure where everyone was. Probably getting the Professor's lab ready for the ball. She hoped that them going back and forth through the bookcase and whatever else way to the outside world didn't arouse suspicion from the Rocket cameras. Still panting, she turned her head to her left and looked down the stairs. She could only see a few of them, for the rest were around the corner. She was able to hear the sounds of Luke and Logan running up them to her, but they seemed to be farther behind. She guessed that she should of waited for them.

Angel took the opportunity to look down the hall and see what she could see. As the other halls were, this one was plain and white. Angel figured there was not much options for decor. Prof. Oak did design the base to be an extension of his lab. And I'm sure decorating wasn't on the major "to do list" of the PTA. One thing she did notice however was that there was much less up here than down stairs. She hadn't even known that the underground base had an upper level like this. She figured that the communications room was the only one that was so close to the outside. She looked up and imagined someone merely digging a hole in the ground above and accidentally uncovering the base.

The hall did branch off to other sections, though what these sections were she did not know. She hoped that they didn't go far. Running around looking for Brenna was the last thing she wanted to do. By this time, the sounds of the twins was getting louder. Having recovered most of her energy, Angel turned back to the stairs just in time to see Luke and Logan round the corner. They were panting as well, although not as much as Angel was earlier.

"Phew, you know, for a ten year old, you sure are quick on your feet!", Logan said, trying to catch his breath. He put his hands to his sides and looked up to the ceiling. Angel stood up, but used the wall as support as she did so.

"I'm twelve", Angel said, with some annoyance in her voice. Luke looked at her with some shock, although most of it was merely from him being tired.

"Damn girl, you don't look it!", Luke said. Angel shook her head. It seemed that there was no point in arguing over the matter. Everyone thought she was ten anyway. She then took a step away from the wall and looked down the other end of the hall.

"So do you know where the room is from here?", Angel asked the twins, not looking back to them. Luke nodded and pointed ahead of them.

"Yeah, it's down the hall and to the left a bit", Luke said, still trying to catch his breath. Angel nodded.

"Alright, let's get going then", Angel said. She was about to run off again when Logan called out to her.

"Woah! Hold you're Rapidashes there little one! We're not in a major hurry here. We're close to it, I think we can walk and save some energy. If we're going to train later we'll need it", Logan stated. Angel sighed. She wanted to get this errand done with, but she knew that he was right. No point in wasting energy when they were so close anyway.

"Ok then", Angel said. Her and the twins then began to make their walk down the hall. As they did, they looked to their left and right, seeing where the branching off halls led to. Oddly enough, most of them led to dead ends. Some boxes and crates were stashed at the ends of the halls, but nothing more. Occasionally they would spot a hall that led to a closed door, though what was beyond them they did not know.

"How come some of these halls are empty?", Angel asked.

"I don't know, maybe this was the section of the base that was under construction when Prof. Oak decided to stop it", Logan suggested.

"I'm guessing the few rooms that are in here aren't even finished, they're probably just for storage", Luke stated. Within a minute or two, they came to the hall that Luke had mentioned. Angel was the first to reach the hall and turned to her left. When she did, she gasped. The twins appeared right behind her, recognizing what was before them.

Ahead of them was a large room which housed what appeared to be a mini library suspended in the air. It was being supported by large brackets that were connected to the room's floor. Large windows surrounded the entire library, showing from Angel's level towers and cases of books, some computers, and other things she could not make out from their current location. There was a small flight of stairs that led to the entrance of the library several feet away from them.

"Yep, that's it. Not sure why they designed this room like this, but oh well", Luke stated.

"Yeah, here's where that girl Brenna is. I'm sure she's in there somewhere", Logan said. Angel nodded and then began to walk towards the library, Logan and Luke right behind her. She approached the stairs and placed her hand on the rails as she walked up them. The sound of her boots clicking against the metal grated stairs echoed throughout the large room. Despite the suspended library, the room gave off an echo, making it sound bare and empty. The twin's boots made a much louder noise, they were not the most discrete of people.

When Angel reached the library's entrance she peeked inside. There were book shelves everywhere in the room, covered head to tail in every kind of book imaginable. They must of been older books that the Professor no longer read, but didn't want to throw away; or possibly extra copies. The library was more like one large room with a upper and lower level. It was also extremely messy. The few tables in the room were completely covered in paperwork, maps, files, books, and garbage. The computers looked old and large, Angel wouldn't of even guessed that they worked had some not been on. There were a couple sliding ladders that were positioned against the book shelves, and another metal grated staircase that led to the upper level across the room.

Angel and the twins stepped inside, their feet connecting with the hardwood floor of the library. Angel was amazed at what the room looked like. Plenty of times her mother and father would take her to the public library in Celadon City, where she would rent and read many books. Angel was not a heavy reader, and most of her books consisted of picture books of Pokemon. But as she got older, she found herself liking them more and more. Although this library was nothing compared to the one she had always gone to, it was still cool to see. The twins seemed to be in shock as well. Angel wondered if they ever even had time to read books working on the farm. She presumed not.

"Hello? Is anyone here?", Angel called out. No sooner did she yell this than the sound of a scream followed by a crash echoed throughout the library. Angel and the twins gasped, hoping that whomever screamed was alright. "Are you ok?", Angel asked in concern.

"Yes! I'm ok! I'll be down in a second!", a female voice called out. It was a young voice like Angel's, although she sounded like she was in minor pain. Angel figured this was Brenna. After a few seconds, they could see the body of a young girl standing over the second level railing, looking down to the entrance of the library. She waved to them, letting Angel and the boys know that she could see them. She then began to run down the stairs, rather loudly at that. As soon as she reached the bottom floor she ran to the entrance. She huffed and puffed as she tried to make her way through the mess. Some books in tall piles were in her way and she tried her best to get around them without knocking them over. Angel couldn't help but sweatdrop at the scene. Eventually, the girl made her way to them.

She was a young girl, about fifteen or sixteen, though Angel doubted she was older than Michael. She had blonde hair that was put in a ponytail, much like Aleksi's though not as tight. She was also about Aleksi's height. Freckles dotted her face, just below her bright blue eyes. Surprisingly, she was strong and built well; despite her young age and skinny appearance. Angel couldn't help but think back only moments before where she felt that she was well built. She had nothing on this girl. She wore a Orange v-neck shirt with blue skinny jeans and purple low top shoes. The girl approached Angel and the boys quickly at first, but then slowed her pace down considerably, as if she had just realized that she didn't want to meet them. Angel seemed taken aback by this. She must of been shy.

"Hey, I'm sorry about the noise, I wasn't expecting company. I hardly ever get any up here. I'm Brenna", the young girl said, introducing herself. Angel smiled and stepped forward, her hand out.

"I'm Angel, pleased to meet you!", Angel said. Brenna, upon hearing the name, smiled. She took Angel's hand in hers and shook it.

"Oh, so _you're _the girl I've heard so much about!", Brenna stated. Angel seemed confused, and shocked even more so.

"You've heard about me?", Angel asked. Brenna nodded with a smile, still shaking Angel's hand.

"Yep! I've heard all about you! Caused quite a bit of commotion on New Island huh?", Brenna said with a laugh, now releasing Angel's hand. Angel sweatdropped.

"Oh yeah, I guess so", Angel said. Truth be told, she was not sure if this was a good thing or not. She knew that she caused a lot of problems for the PTA while on New Island. She hoped that the "commotion" she caused that Brenna heard about wasn't from rebels talking about her.

"Actually, it's a good thing you came by, I needed to take your picture anyway!", Brenna stated. This random comment snapped Angel out of her train of thought. She looked at Brenna quizzically.

"My picture? How come?", Angel asked.

"Because it's my job to make files on the PTA rebels. When someone new joins, I have to make a file for them, and part of that involves a picture for I.D. Normally someone else takes the picture, but since no one has taken yours, I'll do it myself", Brenna stated.

"Oh, so you're the one who makes the files. I just looked through a bunch on...", Angel started. She soon however stopped her conversation mid speech. Her doing so caused Brenna to become curious.

"Looked through a bunch where?", Brenna asked. Angel looked down onto the ground.

"...on the table...near the base's entrance", Angel stated. Logan and Luke seemed confused by Angel's sudden expression change. They were not with Angel when she had looked at the files. Brenna on the other hand seemed to catch onto what she meant, and looked down solemnly.

"Oh...the K.I.A. files. Actually no, Ash did those himself...he chooses to purposely. One last thing he can do for the deceased", Brenna stated. There was a moment of silence between the two girls before Brenna changed the subject. She smiled and looked back to Angel. "So then, let's get to that picture huh? This way please!". Brenna turned around and made her way to the far right of the room, not too far from where the library entrance was. Angel, still confused over the whole matter, quickly followed. Luke and Logan followed as well, but took their time as they looked around the room.

"So Brenna, what exactly is it that you do here? I can't imagine that you stay up here all by yourself all the time!", Angel said, as she cautiously moved through the room, trying to catch up to Brenna. Brenna chuckled a bit as she tried to move around a large table that was covered in papers and water bottles.

"Well, to answer your question, I'm the PTA data keeper. I am in charge of holding and securing every little bit of information about the PTA. Battle plans, base locations, history, lists of members and Pokemon, I know it all. Bet Team Rocket would love to get their hands on me!", Brenna said with a laugh. Angel seemed very surprised by this. A young girl, only a few years older than her, was in charge of all PTA information. Her knowledge alone could be the difference between victory and defeat, should Team Rocket ever get their hands on her. "And no, I don't usually stay up here. Although this is my main job, it's not my only one. I'm also a computer nerd, so I work with Gary a lot downstairs. But, it does tend to get a bit...lonely up here".

"I'd imagine...I'm sorry to hear that Brenna", Angel said, slowly side-stepping around the same table Brenna had moved past already. Brenna smiled.

"It's alright. At least I have company now!", Brenna stated. She then reached the far end of the room. This must of been her little office space. This area, while still messy, was cleaner and more organized than the rest of the library. She had her own desk with computer and a few large filing cabinets. Across from her desk was another table with a couple chairs and documents and maps spread out onto the table. Next to this table was a blank wall, where Brenna pointed to. "Now then, if you could just stand there, I'll take your picture", Brenna stated. Angel seemed confused, but did as she was told. She walked over to the plain white all, and turned around to face Brenna.

However, Brenna's back was to Angel, as she was looking around on her desk for something. It took some time, but eventually, she gave a "aha!", and turned around with a fancy looking camera in hand. She then walked over to the side of her desk, near the wall, and pulled out a camera stand that was leaning against it. She began to set up the stand in front of Angel.

"So Angel, what brings you up here anyway? I'm guessing that you didn't come up here for your picture, judging by your confusion over it", Brenna asked. Angel nodded.

"Yeah, you're right. I came up here under instructions from Ash. He wanted me to give you this", Angel said, reaching into her pocket and pulling out the flashdrive. She showed it to Brenna. She looked at it carefully and then nodded.

"Oh! The New Island database flashdrive? Yeah, he mentioned to me before you left for your mission that you were all going to try and get that information for me", Brenna explained.

"Ash was going to give it to you himself, but he had to have his meeting with the others, so he had me do it for him", Angel said.

"I see. Well thank you for taking the time to do so, it's important that we go through that", Brenna said. She then smiled as she finished messing with the camera stand. She placed the camera on the stand and began to work with it. Angel placed the flashdrive back in her pocket and prepared for the picture. "Ok Angel, I'm not picky with how you pose for the picture, I'm sure you saw that other people did their own thing for their file picture. Just be sure to look into the camera", Brenna explained. Angel nodded. The data keeper then got behind the camera and looked through the lens. "Ok...smile!". Angel put her hands behind her and interlocked her fingers. She gave an innocent smile to the camera, not showing her teeth, but merely smirking happily. Within seconds, the camera flashed. Angel blinked repeatedly as her eyes were blinded from the light.

"That it?", Angel asked, trying to readjust her eyes. Brenna looked at the picture on the digital camera's screen and smiled.

"Yep! This will do nicely! Thank you!", Brenna said. She then took the camera off the stand, set the stand back over to its spot in the corner, and placed the camera on the table. "I'll make two prints of the picture and put them on your files. We always have two copies of PTA rebel files. One for storage and membership history, and one for...". She stopped herself immediately, knowing that she shouldn't be saying anything. Angel however knew what she was going to say.

The second copy was for those who died.

As the girls kept quiet over the solemn discussion, the twins Logan and Luke tried to make their way over to them. Unlike Angel and Brenna, whom were both small young girls, the large heavily built twins had a lot of difficulty moving through the mess of books, tables, papers, and garbage. They tried to twist and turn their bodies to best fit through the small tight spaces, but barely managed to do so. The boys looked to Brenna in shock.

"How in the hell do you manage to move around in this kind of mess?", Luke asked.

"It's messier than our bedrooms, and that's saying something", Logan threw in. Brenna sweatdropped.

"Yeah, I know it's a mess. But everything is in a place where I can get easy access to it. I've been working none stop the last few days, writing things down and getting information organized. I know it doesn't look it, but I'm extremely picky with the way things are set up", Brenna said. The boys continued to make their way over to the girls. Luke, who was just ahead of Logan, turned his body to go between a table and a computer. However, he tripped over a cord that was on the ground and went plummeting to the floor. He crashed with a bang, and let out a "Uff!". Logan burst into laughter, seeing his brother crash onto the ground. Brenna and Angel looked more concerned.

"Are you ok?", Angel asked. Luke, still laying on the ground, gave a thumb's up.

"Yep, I'm fine", Luke said. He then raised his hand and placed it on the small table holding the computer for support as he tried to lift himself off of the ground. As he did so, he glanced under the table, and caught eye of something unusual. There were small wires that went across the underside of the table. They seemed out of place, as the wires weren't the same type of electrical wires that connected to the computers. "Huh, hey Brenna, what are these wires under here for?", Luke asked as he tried to touch them. Brenna, without any hesitation, immediately ran forward and held her hand out.

"NO! DON'T TOUCH THEM!", Brenna yelled at the top of her voice. In shock, Luke pulled away from the wires. Him, Logan, and Angel all looked at Brenna with confusion and shock.

"Why? What are they connected to?", Logan asked.

"They're connected to C-4, if you touch them, they could detonate!", Brenna explained. Luke looked down to where the wires led to and, to his surprise, connected to a explosive that was tapped to the underside of the table. Luke panicked and stood up quickly, jumping away from the computer and crashing onto the table behind him.

"WHY THE HELL IS THIS PLACE RIGGED?", Luke asked in fear.

"Because, of the importance of everything in this room", Brenna answered, calmer now that Luke was away from the explosives. Angel walked over to her.

"Oh, because this room has all the information on the PTA!", Angel stated. Brenna turned around to look at her and nodded.

"Exactly. This library, as messy as it is, has everything Team Rocket would need to take down the PTA. If they ever attacked the base and found this room, we'd all be in some real trouble. And so, the entire room is rigged to explode. If they try to hack the computer, or if I simply press a button, the library will go up in smoke, and with it, everything Team Rocket could possibly get on us", Brenna explained.

"So it's like a last resort security policy", Logan said.

"Well hopefully then Team Rocket won't get their hands on you either", Luke threw in. Brenna nodded with a smile.

"I certainly hope not either!", Brenna joked. She then turned back to Angel, who looked at her. "So then, let's have a look at that flashdrive huh?". Angel nodded with a smile. She reached back into her pocket and grabbed the drive, then tossed it gently to Brenna. She caught it with both hands, and immediately walked past Angel and to her personal computer. Logan helped up Luke from the table and the two walked over to the computer with Angel.

Brenna sat down on her black wheeled computer chair and immediately began typing away on her keyboard. Angel walked over, squeezing between Brenna and her filing cabinet. Luke and Logan stood by Brenna's right, slightly further away, but close enough where they could see the computer screen. Brenna then placed the flashdrive into the computer tower, which stood separate from the monitor a foot away to the right of her. She then went back to the keyboard and typed away. Angel was a bit amazed at her work ethic with the computer. She was clearly very intelligent, a lot like Max, but had much more determination in the work she did.

"So what do you think is on that drive anyway?", Logan asked, tipping his hat slightly up so as to get it out of his line of sight.

"I'm not sure. Could be a map of their bases, could be lists of Rockets, shipment orders maybe...heck, it could be everything we thought they didn't have on us", Brenna explained, clearly concerned but more curious. A small black screen then popped up on the monitor, along with many numbers and letters. Brenna looked to the screen and sighed. Angel and the boys however, looked on with nothing but confusion.

"What's that?", Angel asked. Brenna did not look at her, but began typing away madly.

"It's a security pop up. I can't believe that they have this kind of programming", Brenna said.

"What do you mean?", Angel asked. Brenna stopped typing and turned the chair to face her. She brought her right leg up and placed her right foot on her left leg.

"A database like the one on New Island had a lot of security. However, Sawyer was able to hack at the computers of the databases and get the information down on the flashdrive. But Team Rocket has a lot more money and technology than people let on. They developed a security program that is transferred like data, so when we downloaded the database information, we also downloaded a security virus", Brenna explained. Luke whistled in awe.

"Man, this technology stuff really confuses me. I have a hard enough time trying to get our DVD player to work", Luke said. Brenna spun back to the computer and continued typing.

"Do you think you can hack it?", Angel asked.

"Well, odds are the security program that Sawyer hacked was harder than this one, that is a pretty safe bet. So if I work on it a bit then I should...", Brenna started before trailing off. Suddenly the screen blinked and a large red R appeared, covering all of the mini screen that had popped up with the drive. Brenna sighed. "Shoot, this is harder than I thought. It's got a hacking prevention on it. I can get around it, but I have to figure out how". Angel seemed disheartened. She did not doubt Brenna's skills in the least, but Team Rocket were extremely tricky and powerful. It would take some time. Luke and Logan seemed completely lost however. Clearly technology was not their strong suit.

Luke glanced back to Logan for a brief moment. In this brief moment, Logan nodded. It was as if they both had the same thought going across their minds. Luke then turned back to the computer, raised his hand to it, and with one might swing, threw his fist down onto the large monitor. Angel gasped slightly in shock, not expecting the sudden hit. Brenna's eyes grew wide in shock and fear. She turned to Luke.

"WHY'D YOU DO THAT?", Brenna asked. Luke looked to her, confused as to why she was angry.

"...I thought it would work?", Luke said, as if unsure himself.

"Works all the time for us when our milking machines get buggy", Logan threw in. Brenna looked at them, completely dumbfounded. Suddenly, a beeping noise came from the computer. Everyone turned to the screen to see the red R glitch a couple of times, before disappearing all together, showing the security screen once more. Brenna collapsed onto the ground while Angel giggled. The boys merely shrugged, as if nothing surprising happened.

"Told you it'd work", Luke said.

"If it doesn't seem to function, give it a good smack!", Logan said with a smirk. Brenna sat herself back up on her chair, using the table for support.

"I'll remember that", Brenna said, although with more sarcasm than anything. She then went back to work on the computer. She looked at the screen, and then occasionally at the keyboard. She nodded once in awhile, and at other times said things such as "I see", or "Ah!". Angel watched on, not saying a word. She knew that Brenna knew what she was doing, and didn't want to interrupt. Seeing people like Emily work with computers and technology made Angel realize just how much time and effort was needed to accomplish anything on them. She didn't want to hinder Brenna's work, especially with something as important as this.

Within a minute, she smiled and threw a fist in the air. She seemed to have hacked the security. The pop-up disappeared, and immediately, several others, some large some small, completely covered the monitor's screen. Each screen was different. Some were colored slightly, and had lists on them. Others were bare and had little information. Brenna's mouth hung open for a bit as she watched the many screens appear.

"How...how much is there on this?", Angel asked, shocked herself at the multiple pop ups.

"Its almost like...everything!", Brenna said, her hanging mouth forming a smile. She looked at Angel, and then to the twins, and back to the screen, her smile getting wider and larger. She began to type away, and the pop ups were immediately beginning to be separated. Several files were placed on the screen, and with great speed, the pop ups were shrinking and going into different files. "There's so much on here, I have to separate them and look through them all individually...actually". Brenna then kicked off of the ground with her feet, causing her chair to slide clear across the area. Logan just managed to get out of the way as the chair flew by. Angel and the boys watched as she went over to the table that Luke had jumped on earlier.

She looked on it and immediately began tossing things this way and that, looking for something. Papers flew by and slowly descended down onto the floor, garbage was flung several feet away, probably not to be touched again for who knew how long. The twins sweatdropped as Brenna smiled and grabbed something. She spun the chair around, revealing that what she had grabbed was her Pokenav. She kicked off once again, bringing her chair flying back to the computer, all while she typed away madly at the pink device.

"I'm going to alert some of the other analysts about the files and divide them up, so that we can all go through them faster", Brenna stated. She soon finished with the Pokenav, placing it down beside her keyboard and then typing away again on the computer. By this time, the last of the many pop-ups had finished being sorted. She clicked and dragged the files, one by one, and sent them off to other analysts one at a time. "I also sent a message to Ash, so then he'll probably end the meeting if it's not over already". She then finished sending off the files and slowly spun her chair to Angel. "I guess you're done. Thank you so much for bringing me the flashdrive. We got so much off of it, it's really going to change the tide of war".

"That's right, it was all you Angel!", Luke stated.

"Couldn't of done it without you, the PTA owes you big time!", Logan finished. The twins remembered what Riles had asked of them. It seemed to have worked as well, for Angel smiled. She felt glad that she was able to help them. The twins smiled as well, they were happy that she was happy. Logan then turned and glanced at the computer. When he did, he spotted something and got closer to the screen. He gasped and pointed to the lower corner of the monitor. "Is that the real time?", Logan asked, pointing to the small clock on the corner of the screen. Brenna looked at it and nodded, looking back to him.

"Yeah, why?", Brenna asked. Logan stepped back, as if he was now in a hurry.

"Oh man! We've been gone for awhile! We need to get ready for practice if that meeting is gonna end soon!", Logan stated. Luke gasped, realizing that his older brother was right.

"Damn! I almost forgot! Uhm, Angel, can you find your way back?", Luke asked. Angel nodded. "Great! We'll see you later! Don't be too late for training! Nice meeting you Brenna!", Luke said very quickly as the the twins began to make a hurry to the door. Since most everything was a bigger mess than when they entered, they didn't worry too much about knocking things over. The girls watched as the boys hurried over and made their way to the stairs. They could hear them stomp on the grating as they disappeared from sight. Both girls sweatdropped.

"Uhm...bye", Brenna said. Angel couldn't help but giggle. Brenna then turned and looked to Angel. "So, I guess it's just us two huh?". Angel nodded with a smile.

"Yep! Well, my errands are done now though, I should probably return back to the others and see what's going on..", Angel said, not wishing to sound rude. Brenna nodded, understanding.

"I understand. You have your orders. I'm sure you'll go to training with the twins...could I come too? I hardly ever get to train. It might not be useful, but it could be fun!", Brenna said. She seemed hopeful. Angel could easily tell that she did not talk to many people. It seemed that a lot of the rebels were shy at first.

"Of course!", Angel said with a smile. Brenna smiled back.

"Thank you!", Brenna said, giving Angel a hug. Angel was a bit taken aback, but hugged Brenna back. Soon, Brenna released the twelve year old and smiled. "Actually, the twins left before I could tell them that I had a faster way to get downstairs, if you want, we can take that way". Angel smiled, finding it funny.

"I don't see why not, it's their loss", Angel said. Brenna giggled.

"Exactly...but, well...", Brenna asked. Angel looked at her, knowing that something was up. She was hiding something.

"What's the catch?", Angel asked. She was somewhat annoyed, hoping that Brenna wasn't using her for something. Thought she doubted it, she didn't know her well enough to be able to tell. Brenna looked uncertain, even worried. But soon confided to her.

"...I wanted to check up on one of my friends, and I was hoping that, maybe, you could come with me? I think it would be better if both of us went. And since we'll get downstairs faster anyway, I thought it might give us time to see her _and _make it to training", Brenna said. Angel sighed. She felt bad for Brenna, and she didn't want to leave her or her friend hanging, but she hoped that she would of been able to stop with these small errands. But, she couldn't say no to the girl. It was clear that she needed her help, and she wouldn't leave someone out in the dust like that. Angel smiled and nodded.

"...Sure, why not?", Angel asked. Brenna smiled greatly. It made Angel feel better that she felt better.

"Great! Let's go!", Brenna said.

**Well, Angel is finally free from her errands, (well, most of them anyway), and the meeting will soon be over. Hopefully in the next chapter we'll get a lot more done! I hope you all enjoyed the updates! Unfortunately, I am cut short on time, and must leave you all. Please be sure to F.A.R.! And as a side note to my friends on this site who have not talked to me lately, (you know who you are) I MISS YOU! :D Take care everyone!**

**sincerely,  
evan, a fan of aaml -EVAN AAML **


	55. Chapter 55

**Welcome back everyone! I am glad that a lot of you are still reading the story! Reviews are low, but I'm hoping it's because of things going on, (in which case, please don't hurry, take your time with your personal life). Well school isn't even halfway through the year and I'm already counting down the days till may when I get out. Just a little bit over a month left! All of my really fun classes, (I'm a Environmental Science major) are already done with so now I'm just taking classes I'm forced to take. Like English, (which I'm good at, but we write multiple essays a week), and Chemistry, (I HATE Math! I hate it even more when it's in a science class!). Oh well. At least when Summer gets here I'll have a lot more free time. As a final note, and PLEASE pay attention for this one. This chapter of "R", it will be dark. VERY dark. In fact, I am placing this A.N. warning here, to tell you that if you read my story to your younger sibling, or to your child. Or even if you yourself are a young child. I suggest skipping this chapter, and waiting for the next update. I should of given this warning for when I did Mathinza's backstory, so I'm doing it now. I hope that you all will not take offense to what I am going to write, and if you do, I apologize. **

**-EVAN AAML**

Brenna led Angel out of the Library and down the grated steps. The twins had sprinted out of the room and were already gone. Angel did not worry about catching up to them, she knew that people like Aleksi wouldn't start without her anyway. Once the two were off the stairs Brenna pointed to a door. Angel looked at it, somewhat shocked that it was even there. It was in the far corner of the room, to the right of where she and the twins Logan and Luke had entered from the hall. They were so transfixed on the library that they had never noticed it there.

"Where does that door lead to?", Angel asked.

"It leads to a room we're using for storage downstairs, near the bedrooms. That's why no one ever uses it to come up here, it's a bit of a hassle to reach from down there", Brenna explained as she began to walk to it. Angel followed her. The door was a basic white colored wooden door with a metal door handle. Brenna approached it and turned the knob. When she did, she pushed the door open and looked down the hall. It was pitch black. "I'm the only one who uses this door to get up here, mostly because I have to come up here everyday anyway, and it's close to my room", Brenna explained. She reached her hand over to the left of the hall and fumbled around for a second or two before finding the light switch. Soon, the hall was lit.

Brenna began to walk down the short hall as Angel closed the door behind them. The hall led immediately to a short flight of stairs, followed by another door. As they walked down the steps, Angel debated whether she should bring up some small talk with Brenna. She did not know her very well, and like many of the other rebels she got to know, it always started with small talk. She was someone who always wanted to make friends, and the good thing about Brenna was that she was a girl close to her age. She would have someone to relate to more than just Aleksi. And so, with this in mind, she began to speak.

"So Brenna, are you excited for the ball that Prof. Oak is going to throw?", Angel asked. Brenna turned to her in shock and surprise, but did not stop walking.

"Prof. Oak is gonna throw a ball? No way!", Brenna exclaimed excitedly. Angel nodded with a smile.

"Yep, he said he wants to in honor of the mission we accomplished. It's gonna be hard to have it with security tightening around here from Team Rocket, but we're gonna try. I guess it's going to be tomorrow", Angel explained.

"I'd imagine it'd be hard with security. But that sounds so amazing! I had no idea that a ball was going to be thrown. Now I'm all worried, I'll have to find something to wear!", Brenna said, now beginning to panic slightly. Angel couldn't help but laugh. She acted like a lot of the others girls in that sense.

"Don't worry about that, Prof. Oak and Mrs. Ketchum said they're gonna order a bunch. For all we know, they're already here!", Angel stated.

"Oh, I hope they're good! I already know what type of dress I want to wear!", Brenna said excitedly. She then glanced over to Angel. "So, with that in mind, is there anyone you intend to ask to the dance?". Angel was a bit taken aback by these words. Despite the excitement she had for the dance, and despite the joy she took in finding out who was going with who, she herself never thought about getting a date.

"Wow, actually...I haven't even thought about that!", Angel said, now realizing the situation.

"Haha, and obviously I haven't either. Goodness, we sure are gonna have some trouble finding any boys to go with us at our age! Everyone here is older than us!", Brenna said with a laugh. Angel giggled.

"Yeah, I bet they'd look silly taking little kids to the dance!", Angel joked. The two girls then laughed out loud at the joke.

"Oh well, even if we don't find dates, I'm sure we'll have a lot of fun!", Brenna stated. Angel nodded in agreement. By this time, they had reached the bottom of the stairs. Brenna opened the door and revealed a large dark storage room. Unlike the mess in the library, this mess was more organized, and there was a relatively easy path for them to follow to get out. Just before getting out of the hall, Angel turned around and noticed another light switch. She flicked it down and the lights in the hall went out. She then closed the door, as Brenna was already halfway to the other door. Luckily, there was enough light from the door's window to allow them to see where they were going.

"See? I bet the other two haven't even reached the training rooms yet!", Brenna said with a giggle. Angel giggled as well. Brenna then opened the door and stepped outside. Angel right behind her. When the two girls were out into the hall, Brenna closed the door. "Alright, my friend's room is just down the hall, we should get there in seconds".

"Sounds good to me", Angel stated. The two then began walking. "So Brenna, who is this friend of yours?". Brenna looked over to her.

"She's a friend of mine named Vanessa. Well...not exactly a friend per say. I know her a little bit, we just recently met. We don't get to talk a lot unfortunately, mostly because I'm always busy", Brenna explained.

"Oh, I see. How come she needs help?", Angel asked. Brenna sighed. She knew that she would ask that eventually. Angel immediately regretted asking it. Once again, her curiosity was causing someone pain. She immediately began beating herself over it. "I'm sorry, you don't have to talk about it if you don't want to". Brenna looked to her and shook her head.

"No, really, it's ok. If I intend to have you help me you'll need to know what's going on anyway", Brenna explained. She then turned and looked back down the hall. "You see, Vanessa was on New Island with you guys, fighting in the distraction unit. And well...unfortunately, her boyfriend and brother, who were fighting with her, they...". She trailed off.

"...They didn't make it back with her did they?", Angel asked. Brenna nodded slowly and solemnly.

"Both of them were killed right before the battle ended. She...she took it really hard. She told me all about it, but, I'm just fifteen years old, I don't really know how to handle these kind of things, you know? I'm never on the battle field. I'm a good Pokemon trainer, but I never fight. So, I just told her that we could talk about it. She's been really down, so I was hoping that me and you could cheer her up...I know that we can't bring her boyfriend or brother back...and I know it won't be easy...but I think we can do it", Brenna explained.

"I hope so too. Has...has she talked to anyone else about it? Her sadness?", Angel asked. She understood from everyone's stories how loss of family could tear them to pieces. Thinking that her parents were gone for two years, at such a young age, it really took it's toll on the young girl. However, she was lucky, she discovered that her parents were still alive. But, when you physically see your loved ones dying in front of you...it was a different story entirely.

"She said she tried, but a lot of people weren't listening. There were tons of rebels who lost friends and family, so they really couldn't do a lot I guess. I feel bad because I couldn't either, which is why I'm doing this now", Brenna explained. Angel felt bad now for not wanting to help Brenna with this originally. She couldn't imagine her being able to accomplish something like this by herself. She was glad that she was helping her.

"You made the right choice Brenna", Angel said. Brenna looked to her. "I think me and you, together, can make her feel at least a little bit better. No one should have to handle something like this on their own". Brenna looked at her for a bit. She didn't know Angel well, she only heard rumors about her from other rebels around the base. Her files had little about her since she was new. She found it amazing that someone so young could act so mature. She smiled at her and nodded.

"Yeah, you're right. Thanks a lot Angel, I really appreciate it!", Brenna said. Angel smiled and nodded back.

"No problem!", Angel said. Brenna then looked back to the hall. Angel did as well. She soon began to see familiar parts of the hall. She looked to her right, (where Brenna was walking), and saw the short hall that led to the garage where Milo worked. She recognized the barrels and tool box as they walked past it. Down the hall a bit was Max's room, and Aleksi's. Soon, Brenna's eyes lit up.

"Ah, there it is!", Brenna exclaimed. The two girls stopped at a door on the right side of the hall. Angel turned around for a moment and saw that Aleksi's room was across the hall and a bit further down. She had no idea that this girl Vanessa was so close to her all this time. She could of been someone Angel saw a few times. Little did she know of the trouble she was having. Brenna knocked on the door. "VANESSA! IT'S ME, BRENNA! I BROUGHT A FRIEND HERE, WE WANT TO TALK TO YOU!", Brenna yelled from the hall. There was no answer.

"Think she's asleep?", Angel asked. Brenna shrugged.

"Could be, a lot of people are relaxing after that mission", Brenna said. She placed her hand on the door knob and turned it slowly. It was unlocked. "She left it unlocked at least...Vanessa?", Brenna asked quietly as she slowly peeped her head inside and looked around. The room was dark, the lights weren't on. However, Brenna did see that the bathroom, (which was immediately to her right), had its lights on and the door closed. Brenna remained silent and could hear the water running. "Oh! She's just taking a bath. No wonder she couldn't hear us". Brenna opened the door more and stepped inside. Angel stayed in the hall, apprehensive.

"Should we be coming in here if she's taking a bath?", Angel asked. Brenna turned to her.

"I'll let her know that we're in here, so we won't take her by surprise", Brenna said. Angel still did not think that it was the best of ideas, but she knew that Vanessa needed help. So she walked into the room. Brenna left the door open and began to knock on the bathroom door while Angel looked around in the room. "Vanessa? It's Brenna!", Brenna said through the door.

The bedroom was pretty much like everyone else's room, which did not surprise her in the least. She could see the same layout in this room as Aleksi's room. Although this room seemed a bit less decorated, almost like Vanessa had just gotten the room recently. Angel could see that her stuff from what she presumed was from the Orange Islands mission was still on the floor, her backpack open and things spread about. She continued to look around, and as she did, she spotted something. Something on the bed. It was a piece of paper. She wasn't sure if it was something personal, but seeing it there made her curious, and it was out almost as if she was meant to read it.

"Vanessa? I know the water's loud but you should be able to hear me!", Brenna continued to say. She had yet to knock on the door, which Angel knew would get Vanessa's attention more than anything, but she left Brenna be for now. Angel picked up the note and looked at it more intently. It was relatively small, and although she knew that there was something written on it, she couldn't make it out in the darkness of the room. She held the note up in the little light she could get from the hall. Eventually, she was able to make out what was on it, and she began to read.

"Vanessa, I'm coming in! Whether you like it or not!", Brenna said. She grabbed the bathroom handle, and found that it too was unlocked. She saw it odd, since she at least always locked the door when she was in the bathroom. But she shrugged it off and opened the door.

"Hey Brenna, I think Vanessa wrote this note, do you know why she would", Angel never got a chance to finish her sentence.

For a high pitched scream stopped her.

Angel, in sheer shock, dropped the note and turned around, her heart racing a mile a minute. Brenna stood by the bathroom door, her eyes wide in shock and her hands over her mouth. Angel rushed over to her. She screamed again, not expecting Angel to grab her, but her eyes remained in the bathroom. Angel could see the color leave her face; and then her eyes, which were wide and filled with terror. Angel turned to the bathroom.

The bathtub was running water, which was nearly overflowing by this point. In the bathtub was a teenage girl with long black hair, wearing a sports bra and spandex shorts. Her hand, which was hanging over the edge and to the floor of the bathroom, held something in them. A small knife.

Her arms were slit, from wrist to elbow.

Blood poured out from her dangling arm and onto the floor. Drip. Drip. Drip. Her other arm was in the water, which was now also red. Angel's eyes grew wide, so wide in fact that they began to strain. All she could do, all she had the power to do, was stand there, motionless, filled with fear.

The sound of people rushing down the hall was ignored by the two girls. Both of them were too transfixed to react. Both girls had no idea what to do. What they were witnessing, was something that they never would of thought of. Angel had seen death, had seen Team Rocket kill innocent people. But, she had never once witnessed someone take their own life. Never even imagined the idea of someone doing so, doing something as extreme as suicide. Especially here, in the base. All this time she considered the base her personal sanctuary. It was where she was supposed to be safe, where everyone was supposed to be safe. No one was supposed to die in here. Brenna, Angel could only presume, had never seen a body. Never seen someone before her, blood everywhere. To Brenna, this was a real life nightmare, coming true.

The girls didn't even notice when Ash ran into the room. Behind him, standing in the hall, were Evan and Aleksi. Ash rushed into the room with lightning speed and stood behind the girls.

"Angel, Brenna, what is it, we heard a scream and...", Ash immediately saw that the girls were traumatized. He looked up, and immediately saw why. He turned to Evan and Aleksi. "GET THEM OUT OF HERE!". Ash rushed into the bathroom as Evan and Aleksi ran into the room. The both of them were confused, but concerned. Evan grabbed onto Angel as Aleksi grabbed Brenna. Briefly, the two older rebels looked into the room, and saw Ash grabbing the bleeding girl. They immediately pulled the girls out of the room with waste. They picked them up and pulled them out into the hallway. They ran them over to the opposite side of the hall and propped them by the wall. Aleksi looked at Brenna, the color was nearly out of her face entirely. She remained comatose, although it appeared that she could scream again at any moment. Evan meanwhile looked at Angel.

"Angel, Angel! Are you ok?", Evan asked sternly with concern. He held onto the little girl's shoulders and looked deep into her blue eyes. She merely shared eye contact with him. Their eyes met, but all Evan could see was confusion.

"EVAN!", Ash yelled. Evan didn't want to leave Angel's side, but knew that he was needed. He looked at Aleksi for one brief second and then released Angel to run into the room. Aleksi meanwhile stayed in the hall with the two girls. Evan ran to the bathroom, where Ash was pulling Vanessa out of the tub. Her blood was pouring out of her arms quickly. Being in the bathtub prevented the blood from coagulating. Ash looked to Evan. "WE NEED CATIE NOW! SHE HAS TO BE CLOSE BY, GRAB HER!", Ash yelled. Evan nodded and sprinted out of the bedroom as quickly as he could, nearly tripping as he did. He sprinted past the girls and ran down the hall. His white button up shirt blew in the wind, almost sliding off of his arms.

"CATIE!", Evan yelled, panting heavily. His heart raced as he looked down the halls for the medic. During the meeting, Ash had received the message from Brenna stating that she had sent the information on the flashdrive to the analysts. Since they needed information on the Rocket base, Ash decided to end the meeting until they got what they needed. Ash, Evan, and Aleksi were on their way to their rooms when they heard the screams. Evan hoped that since everyone left at the same time, that Catie would be some wheres nearby. "CATIE!", Evan yelled again. This time, he heard a reply.

"EVAN?", someone called out. Evan recognized this as Catie's voice. He traced the sound of the voice from a hall he was quickly approaching to his right. When he reached the corner, he slid across the ground, using his right hand for balance. This caused him to turn very quickly while not losing momentum. He continued to run and saw that in the middle of the hall was Catie, Brock, and Gary. They must of been walking some wheres when they stopped hearing Evan yelling. Evan continued his sprint and only stopped when he reached the group.

"What's going on?", Brock asked, knowing immediately that something was wrong. Evan didn't even try to catch his breath.

"WE NEED CATIE, WE FOUND SOMEONE, SHE NEEDS MEDICAL ATTENTION! COME ON!", Evan yelled. His adrenaline was pumping, which caused his body to react as if he was in a panic. But he kept himself in control. Evan had learned to control his adrenaline in the heat of the moment, it helped him snipe better in a battle. Catie, Brock, and Gary grew concerned and immediately sprinted with Evan down the hall. Meanwhile, Aleksi quickly hurried both Angel and Brenna into her room. He was lucky that it was close by, she didn't want the girls in the hall when they moved Vanessa.

She herself was in a state of shock. It was so unexpected, so sudden, she had difficulty controlling herself. However, for the sake of the girls, she kept her composure. She knew that she had to be an adult. If she panicked, they would surely follow suit. She led them to her bed, and sat them both down on it. She was trying to think of a way to calm them down, but found it hard to calm herself. Angel seemed speechless, she was comatose, much like she was after Jeremy was killed, back on the boat. Aleksi grew horrified, hoping that this tragic incident wouldn't break her. Brenna was a complete wreck. Tears poured down her eyes, and she was still in shock. She looked as if she would pass out at any second. How she didn't Aleksi would never know.

"Ok, listen to me girls. Please, stay here, and don't leave this room. Whatever you do, do not come out until we come for you. Do you understand me?", Aleksi asked. Brenna was in too much shock to respond. Aleksi understood this. She turned to Angel, who also did not respond. "Do you understand Angel?". Angel looked up to her. They looked at each other for a bit, until Angel nodded.

"Yes, I understand", Angel responded. Aleksi sighed. She was glad that she at least acknowledged her. Aleksi then ran out into the hallway, just in time to see Evan arrive with Catie, Brock, and Gary. Evan and Catie rushed into the bathroom while Brock stayed by the bathroom door. Gary and Aleksi remained in the hallway, knowing that space was limited. The both of them looked on with concern and worry.

"What the hell happened?", Brock asked, seeing the blood and Vanessa.

"She tried to kill herself", Ash stated, holding the girl. Catie was already working on checking the girl's pulse. She checked up and down, until she finally noticed something. She looked to Ash.

"SHE STILL HAS A PULSE! BUT BARELY!", Catie exclaimed. Ash looked to the others.

"ALRIGHT, EVAN, BROCK, HELP ME CARRY HER TO THE E.R.!", Ash yelled. Evan nodded, as did Brock who was now walking into the room. Catie stepped out of the way and walked into the hall as the boys picked up the girl gently. Evan grabbed Vanessa's arms and placed them onto her body, so as to decrease the blood flow. He then held half of her body while Brock held the opposite end. Ash had Vanessa by the legs. As quickly as they could, the boys carried the unresponsive girl out into the hall. "GARY! ALERT THE E.R., LET THEM KNOW WE'RE COMING! CATIE, I NEED YOU TO COME WITH US, AND CHECK HER PULSE AS HE MOVE HER!". Gary nodded and immediately grabbed his Pokenav, trying to set up a video message with the medical staff. Catie grabbed Vanessa's arm and continued to check her pulse while the boys ran with her.

"What about me Ash?", Aleksi asked. Ash looked at her.

"Run ahead, make sure no one is in the way. The less people that know the better. Head to the E.R. and make sure the doctors are ready for us! We'll be right behind you!", Ash explained. Aleksi nodded. She sped off, with speed that matched Evan's earlier. The boys ran off as well, but made sure to hold Vanessa carefully. From inside Aleksi's bedroom, Angel could briefly look out the door in time to see Aleksi run off, followed by the boys and Catie carrying Vanessa, and then afterwards Gary, who had finished his message and ran with them. The girls meanwhile, as promised, remained in the room.

And just like that, all was silent once more.

Not a word was spoken between the girls, they both sat on the bed, completely silent, even motionless. The only light they had in the room came from the lights of the halls, due to the door being open. No one else was in the hall, no one else had heard the panic that just ensued. Everyone must of been resting in the infirmary or upstairs preparing for the party. Little did everyone know, of the hell that had just happened in their own base. Angel imagined Vanessa's room. She could no longer hear water running from where she was sitting, Ash must of turned it off. She pictured the tub filled with water and blood, the lights flickering in the bathroom to the horrific scene. The sharp knife, laid to rest on the tiled floor, in a puddle of red liquid. There was probably a blood trail from the bathroom and going all down the hall.

Angel couldn't breath very well. Her heart was still racing, despite her calm demeanor. Outside she just looked tired, inside, she felt like she was going to throw up. The image of Vanessa in the tub, the knife in her hands, the cut up her arms, it caused her to feel ill. Much like the images of her burned teammates. She had seen many dead bodies over the last few days, and though Vanessa's scene was no more horrific than theirs, it caused her more pain.

But why?

Angel was a smart child, despite being so young. She was brought up with a intelligent family, and went to school in Celadon often. She even had a perfect attendance since her very first day of school. She was well aware of issues going on in the world, though she chose to ignore most of them. She knew that, because of Team Rocket and what they did, suicide rates were relatively high. She recalled once, her father talking to her mother about the high rates. Obviously something like that would not be in the papers, especially since Team Rocket ran them. But word spread faster than even Team Rocket could control. Her parents didn't know she was listening to them. About how many people were killing themselves because of lost loved ones, because of financial troubles, because of the hatred that Team Rocket inflicted on them.

And yet, despite knowing about it, despite knowing it happened, she never thought about it. She was a child, things like this should not come to mind for someone at twelve years old. She chose to live life as free as possible, she knew that surviving would be harder if she was sad all the time. So she shut these things out of her head. But this, this was real. She could not hide from it, not after witnessing it first hand. Dying from natural causes, diseases, or being murdered by Team Rocket, it was different to her. Those people did not choose to die. This however, this confused her. Times were tough, but why would someone wish to take their own life, to end everything? She did not know, and, in retrospect, she wasn't sure if she wanted to know.

The rebels seemed to optimistic that they were going to win the war. Many talked about what they were planning on doing after the victory. Some were even preparing early. Many people lost friends, family, in the fighting, but they still fought on. Because they all believed that things were going to get better, that once you hit rock bottom, there was no wheres else to go but up. But then, did Vanessa think otherwise? She lost her boyfriend, her brother. Those were heavy losses. Angel understood this, knew that there was no full recovery from something like that. But, to refuse to believe that things would get better? To end her life, and in turn end any chance of achieving future happiness? She couldn't fathom it. Maybe...maybe things weren't going to get better.

She immediately thought back to her parents. Thinking of seeing them again, after thinking all this time that they were dead.

Wait...that was it!

For two years, she believed that she would be alone in this world. She had just presumed that her parents had died when Team Rocket attacked their little town. She lived on the run for years, thinking she was alone. And even so, even with everything against her, and no one to protect her, she continued. Suicide, was never an option for her. In the darkest of times, where she thought there was no coming back from this, she fought on. And now, knowing her parents were alive, knowing she had friends, family, helping her and protecting her. And now that she was fighting no longer for survival, but for world peace, she knew that ending her life by her own hand would never happen.

So then, with this now in mind...she could only help but wonder...why didn't Vanessa see this as well?

"It's strange", someone spoke up. Angel, so deep in thought, snapped out of her train of thought. Her heart raced from the shock of the spoken words, she had forgotten that she was not alone. Brenna, who had finally spoken, looked onto the ground. Her eyes were still bringing tears down at a steady pace. Her color was still gone from her body. But yet she spoke. "Vanessa...when she told me...what had happened. She...she was so sad. So...alone. She told me that she had spoken to other people...but they didn't listen...I didn't listen".

Angel merely looked at her. Brenna did not look away from the floor, did not stop crying. Had she not been speaking, Angel could of mistaken her for a watering statue. Cold, and pale. Angel felt terrible. Brenna had said that she was not a very close friend to Vanessa, merely because they had just met. And yet, she lost someone who she didn't even know well, and she was taking it this hard. Brenna had not had the terrible experiences that Angel had, did not have years of "toughing up" to prepare for something like this. But she couldn't be blaming herself for this...could she?

"...Funny when you're dead, how people start listening", Brenna finished.

Angel stood up, her body slow and her actions slower. Brenna didn't so much as react. She did nothing when Angel moved in front of her, did nothing when she could clearly see Angel's boots in her line of sight. However, she did react, when Angel slapped her across the face.

Brenna looked up from her spot, holding her left cheek. It immediately turned bright red, the first color to appear on her face in awhile. Her eyes, stopped producing tears. The sheer shock and force of the slap stopped them momentarily. Brenna looked at Angel, in pure shock and confusion. Angel's right hand was towards the ground, she was in her post slap position. Her head was looking down at the moment, until, slowly, she looked to Brenna. Her eyes filled with tears.

"Brenna...this isn't your fault", Angel said, fighting back the tears. Brenna's eyes grew wide in shock. Angel stood up straight, her eyes still watery. "You...you didn't know what would happen...no one could of known. Many people lost loved ones, no one was sure how to cope with it all. No one could have possibly foreseen this coming. It's...it's not your fault Brenna", Angel continued.

"It's...unfair...to put all the blame on your shoulders. You're only fifteen. You don't know how to handle with these problems...no one at our age should. Because...no one should ever take their own life", Angel went on. Brenna held her cheek still, but listened in to Angel, the pain was forgotten. "Times get rough, there's no doubt about that. And...there are times...where you might think that it will never get better. That you will always be alone...but it's not true. I...I was alone, for so long. I thought my parents were dead, I was living for two years on the run. I had no one to turn to, and no one to turn to me. But...now...I do. I have friends, family. I discovered that my parents are still alive. I found friends, allies, who are willing to fight for me...and I'm willing to fight for them". Brenna's eyes grew wider. She slowly lowered her hand and kept her eyes on Angel.

"The truth is Brenna...we're not alone. The PTA...we're not a group of rebels...we're a family. We all love each other. We fight for each other. No one blames you, for what happened...no one can...because it's not your fault", Angel finished. There was a moment's silence between the two girls. They looked at each other the entire time, not blinking, not even breathing. What felt like an eternity of silence ended, when Brenna slowly stood up. She looked at Angel for a few more seconds, before immediately rushing into her. The two grabbed each other, in a hug, and both burst into tears. They sobbed uncontrollably. Slowly, their legs gave way, and they fell to the ground on their knees, but still they hugged, still they sobbed.

They were sad, but they had each other.

During this time, the others stood, waiting. Ash and the others had made it to the E.R. They ran as fast as they could, and by the time they arrived, the medics were already prepared. Wallace was there as well, him and Catie rushed into the room and prepared for the transfusion. Outside, waiting for the results, were the others. Brock leaned against a wall, near a small counter filled with medical supplies. Ash paced back and forth in the room, impatient. Gary sat in a chair that was connected to the wall, not far from Brock. Unfortunately, the three of them, though they hated it, were prepared for this. Clearly this was not something new to the PTA. It had been through hell ever since it was first formed years ago. To Ash, Brock, and Gary, this was nothing new.

Evan sat in a chair much like Gary's but across from him. His white button up shirt, and his revealed yellow shirt underneath it, were both covered in blood. Ash and Brock were also covered, however their darker clothes hid most of it. Evan was leaning forward, his arms resting on his knees. He looked to the ground, his mind wandering. In his mouth was a cigarette, burning, smoke slowly going up before disappearing. The medical wing was a no smoking area, though no one stopped him. Aleksi sat right beside him, concerned. She was concerned for Vanessa, hoping she would be alright. She was concerned for Evan, who was lost in thought. And she was concerned for the girls, whom she imagined were hopefully still in her room. Slowly, she reached out, and gripped Evan's arm.

Evan snapped out of his train of thought and turned to look at her. He could see the concern, the worry, in her sparkling greenish blue eyes. Evan reached his hand out, and covered Aleksi's hand, which still gripped his arm. The warmth gave Aleksi goosebumps, but she kept her eyes on Evan. The two shared eye contact for awhile, before they were interrupted.

The doors to the E.R. swung open. Everyone stopped and turned to see Wallace and Catie both coming out. Wallace was covered in blood, while Catie barely so. Wallace pulled off his rubber gloves, throwing them into a garbage bin right by his side, Catie did the same. Wallace them ripped off his facemask, and looked to the others. Everyone looked at him, awaiting results. Wallace slowly looked down, and shook his head. The others all sighed heavily, their hearts sinking.

"Her cuts, were too deep, and she put them in water, it just...kept coming out", Wallace explained.

"There...there was nothing more we could do", Catie threw in. Ash sighed and looked to them.

"No...no, it wasn't your fault. Thank you, for everything", Ash said.

"Honestly, if anything, it's our fault", Brock said. Ash nodded.

"New Island was hell, we should of known something like this would happen", Ash said. Gary shook his head.

"No, no one could of", Gary said. Wallace agreed.

"Often these things are "in the moment" situations. She probably thought about it mere moments before doing it", Wallace explained. There was a short break of silence, before Aleksi spoke up.

"So...what do we do now? Angel and Brenna are both really upset. No one their age should see this", Aleksi said.

"I'll talk to them", Evan said. Ash nodded.

"Thank you Evan", Ash said.

"What about everyone else?", Catie asked. Ash shook his head.

"We make sure everything else goes on as planned. The ball is already planned out, and Team Rocket will grow even more suspicious if we suddenly cancel it. Evan, be sure to keep your training on schedule too. I...I think it will help Angel and Brenna get their minds off this. Aleksi's right, they're too young for this to happen to them. Brock, Gary, we need to set up grief counselors for the rebels", Ash said. Gary and Brock nodded. The two of them immediately got up and left, the sooner the better. Evan then stood up, taking one last puff from his cigarette before putting it on the ground and stomping on it, smothering the flames out.

"I need to talk to the girls, they're still in Aleksi's room", Evan said. Ash nodded. Evan then turned to go down the hall. Aleksi stood up as well and quickly followed suit. However, Ash stopped them.

"Evan", Ash said. Evan stopped and turned just enough to look at him. "You better change". Evan looked down, seeing the blood spattered clothes. He nodded, and then walked off with Aleksi right beside him.

**I don't think that this chapter was as bad as Mathinza's backstory. I cut back things I was going to have in here purposely. But regardless, I apologize for the graphic content and darkness of the chapter. I felt that, in keeping with the type of story, it was necessary. The next few chapters will be a bit more uplifting. Evan's training will begin soon, followed by some plot hole fillers I have in store, and then soon the ball. Now then, speaking of the ball. All authors who have a MALE OC do not need to worry about outfits, for they will all be roughly the same, (as to be expected). As for authors with FEMALE OCs, you may want to pay attention. Now before I asked if authors with female OCs wished to design their own dresses, for some of you, (AshK, lulu-halulu, TwinkieTUTUS, and prettygirl17), have already given me their dress designs. I will look them up and see if I still have them, (some older messages of mine were recently deleted due to a computer virus). I still remember some vague details, but worst case scenario, I will ask for the dress styles again. If you can, post a link to them on your profiles so that I can look at them, (AshK has done so already). Authors like prettygirl17, lulu-halulu, and TwinkieTUTUS, whom I have not spoken to in a few months, please respond as soon as you can. I understand that you have real life to deal with, so if there are hold ups please let me know. It will be sometime before the ball comes anyway, since updates are slow and it will be a few chapters anyway. As for authors who have NOT given me dress ideas, please do so. If not, I will design one for them myself. :) Also, I MAY also need (once again), the authors whom have played instruments in real life. Their OCs just might be playing them for the ball as well. Please be honest with your answer. And no, your OC does NOT have to play an instrument. Thank you all for your patience!**

**sincerely,  
****evan, a fan of aaml -EVAN AAML**


	56. Chapter 56

**Welcome back all! I hope you're all enjoying the weather, I know it's been...wacky to say the least. New York has been that's for sure. Now unfortunately I am CRAMMED with homework as of late, along with several projects and things to do. School is taking a lot out of me thus far. Because of this, expect late updates. Otherwise, not much else to post here. I hope the authors with OCs caught the A.N. at the end of the last chapter, just in case. I DID manage to find most of the messages that originally told me about dress outfits, so most of you are in the clear. Oh, and good job to you all who caught The Band Perry's "If I Die Young" line in the last chapter. I had it kind of obvious where it was, but I was still very much surprised how many of you noticed it! So good job on that! But, I've distracted you all long enough, onto the chapter!**

**-EVAN AAML**

Aleksi walked towards her room, where she had left the two girls. Although she was moving quickly, a part of her wished she took her time. Through everything she had been through over the years, the fighting, the friends lost, the survival, nothing had prepared her for something like this. Despite everything she had been through, this is something she didn't want to do.

Aleksi was scared.

She was not sure how to talk to the girls about the incident that had just transpired. She herself was not sure how to handle it. Seeing people die was unfortunately something she was used to. It was part of the job description in the PTA. But suicide was another matter all together. Though she occasionally heard about rebels who took their own lives, she never witnessed it happen. Never had to personally deal with it. Suicide was something that bothered her. Not because she was scared of it, but because she just couldn't imagine what kind of torment someone would have to be going through to choose to end their own life rather than deal with it any longer.

Almost being a twenty year old, she thought that she would be able to handle these kind of things, but she still had trouble with it. And she couldn't imagine what Angel and Brenna were thinking of. They were much younger, much less experienced with this kind of thing. Sh debated the entire way there how she would go about talking to them about it, but came up with little. She only hoped that Evan would change quickly and go to them. She hoped that Evan was better with words than she was.

As she finally reached the familiar hall, her heart paced even more. She knew that they would still be in her room, for Angel said that they would stay. But she wasn't sure what to expect when she walked in. They could be stuck where she left them, sitting on her bed and spacing out. They could be passed out, from the sheer exhaustion of crying. Maybe, they couldn't handle it all, and decided to...

No, she couldn't think of that. Angel and Brenna would never result to that.

As she closer approached her room, she glanced down and caught eye of something. Blood. She stopped walking and took a better look at it. It was a few small drops, nothing more. To an average rebel who would happen to come across it, they would merely wonder who had hurt themselves. But to her, she knew more. She knew where they came from, what came out of it. She looked backwards, to where she had come from. As she expected, there were a few more drops of blood going down the hall. Evan and the others tried their best to contain the bleeding, but they couldn't stop every single drop.

She then turned back the other way and looked ahead of her. More drops. They were located several feet away from each other and continued all the way until they stopped at what was Vanessa's room. She sighed. She hoped that someone would do something about it. However, she felt that it would be best if she did something about it, before some passerby noticed it and alerted others.

Aleksi made her way to Vanessa's room, but stopped just short of her room first. She slowly approached it, wondering if the girls were still in her room. Her bedroom door was closed now. She recalled having leaving it just slightly open when she left. So one of them had gotten up to close the door. She then looked under the door and could see the slightest sliver of light come underneath it. So they had turned her bedside light on. That meant that they were still in there. She sighed, thankful. Aleksi walked past her room and went straight to Vanessa's.

The door was left open, the bathroom light still on. The only thing that they had done before they left was turn the water off. Aleksi looked down both ends of the hall. No one had gone by she presumed, otherwise she would of heard word of it. No PTA rebel would let a scene like this go by unannounced. She stepped inside the room. Blood was much more noticeable in the bathroom, it was scattered all over the tiled floor, and pooled especially at the side of the tub, where Vanessa's arm was hanging off.

She had always been taught by medical rebels to never touch another person's blood, for fear of infection and contamination. She doubted that Vanessa had any form of disease, but she wouldn't take the chance. She walked into the bathroom, trying her best to not step in the blood on the floor. The tub was still full of water, though the water was very dark, discolored from the blood. The sight nearly made Aleksi gag. Blood did not bother her too much, but this was not an average amount of blood. She looked over to her side and saw the bathroom sink. Under the sink were cabinets. Since all bedroom bathrooms were the same, she figured that Vanessa's bathroom would have the same supplies hers did.

She kneeled down, (making sure to keep off her knees), and opened the cabinet. As expected, the same cleaning supplies and extra utensils were there. She pulled out a long pair of rubber gloves and slipped them on her hands. The thick rubber would protect her from the blood. She also pulled out many paper towels and then closed the doors. She ripped off several sheets and merely laid them on the puddles of water and blood on the floor. The liquids were quickly absorbed, but she left them be for now. She then placed the paper towels on the sink and looked back to the tub.

As she did, Aleksi spotted something on the ground. In a small puddle of blood, (one that she had missed with the towels), she noticed the source of the blood. The small knife Vanessa cut her arms with. She slowly bent down and picked up the blade with her gloved hands. She examined the blade in her hands. It was a very small knife, something you would see on a compartment knife with other accessories. However, this was merely the blade, and nothing more. Something this small was designed to cut rope or string, maybe widdle some wood. It seemed almost impossible that such a small blade could easily take a life.

Aleksi looked at the knife as if she was merely examining it, but her heart wrenched at the sight, almost like she was holding a disgusting, diseased object. She turned around and placed the blade on the sink, across from the paper towels. Although it was obvious how Vanessa had died, Ash would want the knife for evidence. In the PTA, all deaths placed under murder were by Team Rocket. Because of this, it was rare to ever have detective work done for rebels found dead. The only deaths that they ever did such work on were accidents unrelated to fighting Team Rocket, and suicides. The work would be short, and almost unnecessary, but it was done none the less.

Aleksi then turned back to the tub. The water was not as high as she had remembered, though with Vanessa's body out of the tub, it would of lowered a considerable amount. She walked over and placed her hand into the water. The water was still warm. Vanessa knew that hot water would cause more blood to come out than cold water. However, the hot water would most likely of killed off any bacteria or viruses the blood could of carried. She took her gloves off, and put her hand into the tub. Nearly her entire arm went under water as she searched for the plug to the tub. Within seconds, she found it, and pulled. The sound of water rushing through the drain echoed, and she pulled her arm out of the water.

Aleksi began to wash her hands as the water drained. She lathered on soap, as if her hands were covered with nothing but grime and dirt. She rinsed and scrubbed and washed her hands for a long time, not just washing away the blood, but washing away the fears. She soon finished, and dried her hands off. The tub had just finished draining, and it was now empty. The tub looked dirty, but there was no noticeable evidence of the blood. Aleksi left the paper towels on the floor, and walked out of the room. She turned the lights off to the bathroom, and then look a quick glance into Vanessa's bedroom.

As expected, she saw nothing immediately that left signs of what she had done to herself. She didn't expect much of anything in the bedroom itself, and was about to turn and leave when from the corner of her eye, she spotted something. On the floor, beside the bed, was a note. It was small, but maybe it was something. Aleksi closed the door to the bathroom, and then flicked the lights on to the bedroom. The room glowed, and Aleksi walked further in and picked up the note. It looked like it had been dropped by someone. She thought that maybe Vanessa had dropped it on accident, or perhaps Angel had dropped it when they saw the body. She didn't know. She flipped the note over and turned it right side up to read what was written on it.

"Is life worth living if you're alone and your loved ones are gone? I chose, so should you".

Aleksi sighed heavily. It was very common for depression to hit people in these times. Though it was relatively rare among the rebels, suicides were relatively common from those who felt that Team Rocket's terror would never end. She had always heard stories of people who were so hurt, physically, mentally, and spiritually, from the Team Rocket grunts that they would kill themselves. Sometimes in the worst of ways. She had only wished that someone had gotten to Vanessa first, before she decided to do this.

All she could hope now, was that He was taking care of her.

She then recalled back to the girls. She hoped that Angel and Brenna hadn't read the note. She carefully placed the note back onto the bed and walked out of the room. As she did, she looked to her right, towards her room. A rebel wearing the typical black shirt and black pants of the PTA was moping up the floor. He had with him a large yellow wheeled bucket, filled with soapy water. He appeared to be going all down the hall. Ash had probably known about the blood spills and had asked him to clean it up. Since jobs were short, rebels took turns doing things like cooking, cleaning, and running errands around the base. The rebel looked up from his work and caught eye of Aleksi. The two merely shared eye contact for a brief moment, but all that needed to be said was said then. The rebel nodded, and continued his work. He would go and take care of Vanessa's room when he finished.

Aleksi left the light on and the door open for the rebel, and walked past him. She then made it to her room. She stood at the door, debating whether she was in fact ready to even step inside and face the girls. She wasn't sure if she knew how to handle talking to them about this. But she knew that she had to try. She wasn't there for Vanessa, but she would damn sure be there for Angel. She knocked on the door slowly. No immediate response. It concerned her, but she pushed the negative feelings aside. She grabbed the door handle and turned it, then slowly opened the door and peeked inside.

"Girls?", Aleksi called out. Like she had noticed, the light by her bed was turned on. The two girls sat on the floor, against the bed frame and mattress. They faced the door, but weren't looking at the door at the moment. The two seemed to be talking about something, but were relatively quiet. However, they soon heard and spotted Aleksi. Angel and Brenna smiled, although the smile was somewhat half placed.

"Hey", Angel replied, although it came off as tiring. The two had clearly been crying for a while. Aleksi felt a twinge of pain in her chest. She was sad to see that all this time they were crying, although she also felt that it was needed.

"Hey", Aleksi responded back. She stepped into the room fully, and then closed the door. She hoped that the girls wouldn't have to wear the rebel cleaning up the blood. She approached them and then sat on the floor, crossing her legs and looking at the girls. "So...how are you feeling?".

"...We talked over it...and cried...a lot. But, we're feeling a little bit better", Angel explained. Brenna nodded.

"Yeah. Angel...she really helped me a lot. She's...someone special", Brenna commented. Aleksi nodded with a smile.

"She sure is", Aleksi said. Angel blushed slightly. There was a brief moment of silence, before Aleksi decided that she needed to talk to them, at least until Evan arrived. "So girls...I know, that what you saw...I know that it could be traumatizing. If you need to talk about it, I'm here for you. We all are. Ash is already setting up grief counselors around the base for the other rebels", Aleksi explained.

"I just...I don't know...why she would do this", Brenna said. She reflected back to the few times she talked to Vanessa. Before the base attack, she was happy and care free. She was still a bit of a loner, but her boyfriend and brother helped her through that. But then, after the New Island assault, when Brenna had briefly spoken to her, she was like an entirely different person. She barely spoke to her. Brenna knew of what had happened, since she was the one who gave the files to Ash to go through. But she didn't know how to handle the situation. Vanessa was so...broken.

"Sometimes...people...they can't recover from something as heart breaking as losing a loved one...I know, from experience...it's not an easy thing to do", Aleksi stated, trailing off at the end. She reflected back to her mother, for only a moment or two, before coming back to the girls. "Some people...they just...don't know how to. They always say that, things will be better if you just wait, that time heals all wounds. And in the PTA, we always say how we're that much closer to victory, and we won't have to deal with such sad things anymore. But, for some people, it's easier said than done. Vanessa...she just...couldn't fight it off".

The girls sat there, in the dimly lit room, in silence. Not much needed to be said. It seemed that, whatever they really needed to talk about, was already said. Or rather, felt. Aleksi was not sure how to exactly go about talking to the girls about the situation that had unfolded. And the girls didn't seem to need the discussion anyway. Angel however, spoke up.

"...I read the note...that Vanessa had written", Angel said. Aleksi looked up to her.

"Oh?", Aleksi said. She was afraid of this. What Vanessa had written out, in her cold feelings of depression, seemed to almost spread, like the cold itself. Aleksi feared, that the words that Vanessa had written, would reach out to Angel, and make her depressed and sad as well.

"...I just...can't imagine...the pain she had gone through", Angel stated.

"You don't want to", a voice suddenly called out. Angel and Brenna looked up and Aleksi turned around to see Evan, standing at the door. He must of listened in to the last few words of the conversation. Instead of his usual yellow shirt, white button over shirt, and dark blue jeans, he wore the PTA's black shirt and pants. He was short the jacket, which didn't surprise Aleksi since it was usually only worn when outside. He did however still have his watch and backwards flat rimmed hat on. Evan stepped into the room completely, closing the door behind him. "So you talked to them already?", Evan asked Aleksi. Aleksi nodded while remaining on the floor.

"Yeah, partially at least", Aleksi said. Evan nodded.

"What did you mean, you don't want to?", Angel asked. Evan looked to her. He approached the girls and got on the floor himself, between Angel and Aleksi. He bent down on one knee and looked at the young girl.

"Angel...you believed for two years that you had lost your parents. Although you never saw them die, you had always believe that they were gone, and that you were alone. But, now that you know that they're alive, those feelings of lost loved ones are gone. It's almost like, it never happened", Evan explained. Angel nodded. He was right in what he was saying. She did however recall the feelings she had felt. The loneliness. Her heart twitched in pain, just the memory of the pain caused her to feel it again.

"But Vanessa...she was different. We don't know what happened to her family. She could of lost them years ago, or just recently. And...seeing your boyfriend...and brother...die right before your eyes, at the hands of the Rockets...it crushes you", Evan said. "She...she wasn't, as strong as you Angel. You...you made yourself strong. Your parents raised you well, and you used that and built yourself up when you were alone. Vanessa...she didn't. She didn't give herself the time to recover, to think things through. Her sadness took over her, and that's what caused her to do the unthinkable". Evan then looked over to Brenna.

"Brenna...what happened was in no way your fault. You couldn't of known what Vanessa was going to do to herself. You couldn't of stopped it. Do not blame yourself for what happened...and do not let it make you sad as well", Evan explained. Brenna's eyes widened. "Sadness...it's almost like...a disease. Sometimes, sadness is a good thing. It's important to show emotion, it lets you know that you're still human. And it's important to show feelings towards someone. But...sadness can only be taken so much. If someone feels too much sadness...it consumes them. It makes them think of things they never would think of normally...and it makes them do things...that you can't take back".

"Evan's right. There's nothing wrong with feeling sad, but you can't let it take you over. You all have friends and family here, people to look over you, to take care of you...who love you. You're never alone", Aleksi threw in. Brenna's eyes grew watery, and she smiled with a nod. Angel agreed, but she needed to know more about it.

"Evan...how do you know, when you have too much sadness? It seems like it's something that can't be helped. How can you control it?", Angel asked. Evan sighed.

"Sometimes...it almost seems like you can't", Evan said. Angel looked closely at him. She could tell that he was thinking of something himself, not just the issue at hand. Angel was young, but she was smart.

"...You know...what Vanessa was feeling...don't you?", Angel asked. Evan looked into Angel's blue eyes.

"Yes...I know", Evan said. Brenna and Aleksi listened in more intently now. "When...my father was murdered, by Team Rocket...I had felt the pain Vanessa felt. I...even debated taking my own life". Aleksi gasped. She had no idea that Evan thought about killing himself before. She reflected back to when she had first met Evan, when Angel had noticed his gun, and how Evan explained how he joined the PTA. She remembered him saying how his father was killed, but he never went into details over it. This must of been why. This was why Evan had wanted to talk to the girls, he knew first hand what it was like, what Vanessa had gone through, and what the girls might themselves be experiencing because of it.

"What happened Evan...to make you think about doing that?", Angel asked. She was clearly concerned for Evan, and wanted to know why this had run through his mind. Evan leaned back, resting against the wall of Aleksi's room. He looked up to the ceiling, as if he was looking to the sky. He then recalled, that day.

His father and him lived in a relatively populated town. It was apart of Fuchsia City if you looked at a map or asked someone for directions, but the town physically was just outside of it. Evan worked part time at the Fuchsia City Safari Zone as a ranger, although he mostly studied the Pokemon in them. The Game Warden had hired him when he realized that he was trying to be a Pokemon Biologist. His father was a well liked and respected man in the area. He ran his own business with guns, hence the reason why he started collecting them, and why Evan learned about about them.

Evan's father was a short man, age had caused him to lose the height he once had. But he was always a cheery gentleman, who laughed loud and joked often, (usually at Evan's expense). He had a black bushy mustache and speckled grey and black hair on his head. Despite age however, he did look a lot like Evan. Like Evan, he was nice to everyone, and always gave a helping hand when needed. He ran his business from home, selling guns, teaching people how to use them, and giving out registrations for them as well. He worked his business the legal way, as he always had. He never sold weapons to minors, (although the occasional Pokemon trainer or hunter would try), and never sold a gun without explaining how the weapon worked. He also never sold weapons to Rockets. Most Rockets never bothered anyway, since weapons were given to them for free anyway. However, Evan and his father hated everything about Team Rocket.

And that cost them...dearly.

Evan had biked home from work one day, as he always did. He didn't work every day, but he always biked to and from Fuchsia. He said it was better exercise than taking a car, and better for the environment too. However, when he arrived home, he saw that there was a large van parked right outside their home. This was usually not surprising, as often customers would park there when they arrived. But the large red "R" painted on the side gave him reason to worry. He immediately jumped off his bike, letting it rest on the grass right by the side of the door, and ran inside.

As you walked into the house, immediately at the front was a desk, where his father would sit for customers on his work hours. He had some of his guns on display in this very room, under glass on shelves or hanging on the walls behind his desk. The rest were kept safely in the back. His father was, as expected, sitting behind the desk. However, three Rocket grunts were standing across from him. They seemed annoyed, but cocky as well. Rocket were used to getting their way eventually, even if they didn't immediately. Evan's father was old and small, but he was not afraid. He merely sat there, his hands crossed on the glass desk, sternly looking at the Rocket grunts.

"As I told you already, I do not sell guns to Rockets. You get your own weapons free of charge, you don't need mine", Evan's father said, his mustache ruffling. The middle grunt, a very tall, skinny one with brown hair that stuck out from under his hat and a gold loop earring in his left ear leaned forward with a smirk.

"I know that old man. But you see, my pistol here doesn't really suit me. It's just not me, I'm sure you can understand. I was looking for something a bit manlier. I'm sure you wouldn't have a problem with giving me one would you?", the grunt said, waving the black pistol around. He purposely aimed it at his father, but acted casual with it. Evan's father didn't even so much as twitch.

"As a matter of fact...", the old man said. He then leaned forward, even closer to the gun. "...I do". The grunt was somewhat shocked, but more annoyed. The grunt next to him, a bit shorter and stockier with chubby cheeks, leaned forward angrily.

"Listen up old man! We could just as easily kick your wrinkly old ass and take all of these weapons! Be thankful we're being so nice!", the chubby cheeked grunt said. Evan's father chuckled, in a way that made the grunts angry.

"I'm no fool. You grunts have a red stripe on your left shoulder. That means you're still in the training process. Grunts at your level can't do a thing to the public. Your higher ups would have your asses on a platter if you touched me, even if they wanted me dead", the old man said with a smirk. Although most higher level Rockets wouldn't care what their trainees did on their free time, they were instructed to not cause trouble. Grunts without experience tended to create riots since they liked to flaunt their power. Often this would result in swift punishment. The third grunt, standing on the other side of the middle one, leaned forward as well. He was also shorter than the middle grunt, but was clearly the most muscled. He had a gold ring on his right hand, which he had in a fist and on the glass counter.

"You son of a bitch!", the grunt yelled. Evan had enough.

"Can I help you gentleman?", Evan asked. The three grunts, who had no idea of Evan's presence, turned around in some shock. Evan's father saw him as well. He however showed mixed feelings. He knew that his son could take care of himself at his age, but was still worried.

"And who are you?", the middle grunt asked.

"I'm the son of the "bitch", as you so effortlessly called my father", Evan replied, his arms crossed. The grunts merely chuckled.

"Oh, a wise guy eh? You got yourself a bit of a wit boy, might want to watch out, it could get yous in some trouble!", the grunt said, waving the pistol around again. Evan took one look at the gun and merely smirked.

"Oh really? Well I can't imagine what kind of trouble you're talking about. It couldn't be from you obviously, considering that you don't even have ammo in that Colt 1911 you have there", Evan said. The grunts looked at him with anger and annoyance now.

"What makes you think this is empty huh?", the middle grunt asked, now full on pointing the gun at Evan. Evan approached the grunts, knowing that his life was not in danger. He kept his arms crossed as he looked at the grunt and, more specifically, the gun.

"Because, the Colt 1911 has a short recoil build to it. The top to the gun is pulled back, revealing the barrel. It only does that if all the bullets in the gun were fired out and it's empty. You must be some pretty dumb fellows if you thought doing that was smart in a gun store", Evan said. The grunt looked at his gun, and as Evan had said, the barrel was entirely revealed. Clearly the grunt was not thinking completely when he decided to threaten them with an empty gun. He growled angrily at him. Evan however, lowered his arms with a grin.

"Now...THIS on the other hand...", Evan exclaimed, suddenly pulling a much larger silver pistol from his belt and aiming it at the center grunt. It was his Desert Eagle. Working in the Safari Zone, he had to carry a weapon on him, in case of poachers or violent Pokemon. Though he hated using guns, (especially on Pokemon), he was able to use one of his own since his father owned the gun store. "...this gun is fully loaded, and one shot from this would easily take your head off". The grunt looked down the barrel of the much larger gun in fear. He sweatdropped, but then soon chuckled. He put his own pistol back on his belt, knowing that it would be useless to him.

"That's a pretty nifty little piece you got there, that's the perfect gun I'm looking for. Why don't you hand that over, and we'll just forget that you threatened a Rocket. We can put this whole little ordeal in this house of yours behind us, no one will ever have to know", the grunt said. Evan acted as if he thought about it for a moment, before smirking once more.

"Hmm...no, I don't think so. You see, this is _my _gun. And I really do like it. No...I'd much rather have you gentleman just leave the premises, before I accidentally pull the trigger. I'm pretty sure that, since you're still trainees, I can get away with saying it was in self defense and get off easy. You wouldn't be missed anyway", Evan said. This time, all three grunts looked at him with anger and hatred.

"This isn't over buddy, we'll be back!", the middle grunt stated.

"Looking forward to it...do drive safely, the roads here are a bit bumpy", Evan said. The three grunts then walked past Evan. The chubby cheeked one made sure to bump into him as they left. Evan merely stood there, ignoring it. He then approached his father. "You alright dad?". His father nodded.

"Yes, I'm fine. I wish you wouldn't put yourself into situations like that Evan", his father said. Evan shrugged.

"You know me, always living on the edge", Evan stated. Just then, the sound of the van outside revving and then crashing over something echoed through the area. Evan didn't even bother turning around as he reached into his shirt pocket and pulled out his carton of cigarettes. His father however, watched on since the grunts had left the door open. "They just ran over my bike didn't they?".

"Yep", his father responded. Evan shrugged, putting the cigarette in his mouth.

"Eh, I was debating over getting a new one anyway", Evan said. His father merely shook his head. Evan then lit the cigarette using some matches in his pocket and took a puff.

"Do that outside if you have to, I don't want this place stinking up", Evan's father said. Evan nodded.

"Alright. No problem. I was gonna go out and shoot anyway. If they come back, don't annoy them, come out immediately to me alright?", Evan said. His father nodded.

"Fine. Although hopefully they won't be coming back...I take it you're gonna take the Intervention out?", his father said. Evan looked at him, somewhat shocked.

"Now how did you know that?", Evan asked, going behind the desk and picking up from the right wall a long, black sniping rifle.

"Because, you tend to use that one a lot", his father said with a chuckle. "And you've become quite the good shot with it too I might add".

"Yeah, I guess you're right. I just...something about this gun like...speaks to me", Evan said. His father nodded with a smile.

"I know what you mean", his father said. Evan then went to the back of the room and opened a wooden door that was at there. This door led to the gun room, where they stored all the other guns. In the back of this room was another door, which led to the outside. Evan's father had set up several target ranges for the different types of guns they had. Evan went to the one farthest away, as this was the one for sniping rifles. For the next couple hours, he would lay on the ground, and aim down the sights of the gun, and shoot at the targets they had set up. Boom...boom...boom. His shooting was getting much better, he hit all targets direct, head shots, heart shots, he did them all. He smiled at his work as he continued to smoke his cigarette.

"Well, I shot all the targets. Guess I'll go in now. I'll set some more up for myself some time I have off from work", Evan said to himself. He sat himself up and picked up the rifle. He looked in it, a couple bullets were still in the chamber. Normally he would remove any excess bullets, as it was a safety hazard to leave them in there. However, he shrugged it off. Since he was the only one who ever used this rifle, (it was one his father wouldn't sell since it was in his own collection), he wouldn't have to worry about it. He then stood up and swung the rifle over his shoulder.

Just then, the sound of gun shots rang out. Evan thought nothing of this at first. It was common for customers to come over while he was out shooting. Since the sniping range was further away than the other ranges, there was no risk of injury. He turned around, looking to the other ranges. But saw no one. He raised his eye brow.

"That's weird", Evan said. Just then, more shots rang out, and then more. Evan turned towards the direction of the noise. Gun shots were hard to follow, since they echoed and could be heard from long distances. However, Evan had learned to follow the noise of the source. However, the source caused his heart rate to sky rocket.

His house.

"Oh god", Evan said. He then bolted off, the cigarette flying out of his mouth and landing on the ground. The few smolders that were left in the cigarette butt...died out. Evan ran as fast as he could, nearly tripping once or twice in the process. Despite the Intervention weighing him down a bit, he still ran faster than he ever ran before. As soon as he reached the house, he slowly opened the door. The gun room was untouched. Had he been hearing things? No, it couldn't be. He knew what he heard. He quickly ran through the room, ignoring the hundreds of different weapons, and making his way to the front room. He opened the door.

The front door was wide open, and, to his horror, he saw the large black Rocket van out front. He then looked on the ground, and right in front of him, only a couple feet away, was his father.

He laid motionless on the ground. A pool of blood surrounding him...and a hole through his head.

**Evan's back story will continue on through to the next chapter. Much like Mathinza's, this one is not pretty. I hope that you all liked the chapter however. I purposely cut back a bit on this one, so I hope I don't upset a lot of people. The next chapter will explain more of what happened, along with showing much more emotion. After that, expect Evan's training to begin soon! And I hope you're all excited about the ball coming up! I know I am! There will be so much going on! :D Well anyway, the weather is looking god awful here in Central New York, (pretty much the first time we had CONTINUOUS SNOW ALL WINTER!). And I have to drive over an hour away to school. So I'll have to cut this chapter short. I hope you all enjoyed! Please be sure to F.A.R., (Favorite, Alert, Review), and I will see you next time on "R"! **

**sincerely,  
evan, a fan of aaml -EVAN AAML **


	57. Chapter 57

**MY HEAD! IT HURTS! ARGH! -_- Sorry ladies and gentleman, I've been having strings of migraines lately, and I have one right now. Which begs the question of why I'm working on my laptop to update this story with a migraine. Well the answer to that is really quite simple...I'm bored. Yep, that about sums it up! Now then, I am glad that you all felt the emotion of the last chapter. There will be more explained about my OC in this chapter, along with more things filled in for plot holes and such. I hope you're all excited for the upcoming events to come! I know I am! So then, before my brain literally explodes from the pain, let's get to work on this update!**

**-EVAN AAML**

Evan's eyes expanded from the sight before him. They ached, feeling as if they would pop out of their sockets any second now. His breathing became shallow, he nearly suffocated. His heart rate sky rocketed, feeling as if it would soon burst out of his chest. His body became hot from the increase of blood flow, and his head became dizzy. His father laid on the ground, a shocked and mindless expression forever frozen on his now pale face. His eyes were up, as if he was looking at the hole that was in his forehead. The bullet had gone clean through, and the floor was now colored in red.

Evan took one step forward, nearly losing his balance. Then another. Soon, he was standing right above his father, and fell to his knees. His nerves shot up through his body and caused immeasurable pain, but he didn't care. He barely felt it.

"D..dad...dad! Please no, god...no no no", Evan said. He was in so much shock that he couldn't even cry. His body did not know how to respond to the situation. He picked up his father's corpse, holding it tight, and hugged it. His father did not speak, did not hug him back. His father remained motionless, forever gone. Evan merely held him for what felt like an eternity. There were no noises, (or if there were, Evan tuned them out). What was actually only seconds later was loud crashing and banging. It came from upstairs. Evan opened his eyes and looked to the ceiling. The Rocket grunts were upstairs, they were looking for him.

"Where the hell is he?", one of the grunts asked angrily. Evan recognized this grunt's voice as the one who had the gold ring.

"I don't know, he's not in this room either!", another grunt yelled. This was the chubby cheeked one.

"Keep searchin! He's gotta be around here somewhere! And we're gonna make him pay!", a third voice said. This was the tall skinny grunt. The one who caused the trouble to begin with. Evan's body began to heat up more, his heart rate nearly giving him a heart attack. Evan was becoming angry.

He wanted revenge.

Slowly and carefully, as if his father was still alive, he laid his body down onto the ground. He then closed his father's eyes, making him look like he was at rest. His father would not be proud of what he was about to do, but he had to do it. He stood up, his shirts stained from his father. He slowly brought his Intervention over his shoulder and into his hands. He had two shots in the magazine, that would be all he needed.

Evan sped passed the desk and into the next room on his left, right of the entrance. The first room once you walked into the house, and the second room with the gun storage, were for his father's business. The rest of the house was just that, their home. When you entered the right room, it was their living room. This was were their best furniture was, along with stairs that led right to the upstairs. Evan walked into the living room and stopped right in front of the stairs, which were right by the entrance to the living room. He could see no one at the top of the stairs, they were probably searching the rooms. The upstairs had little, just his room, his father's room, a bathroom, and a storage room which functioned as a spare bedroom as well. He knew that they would be coming down soon.

He would see to that.

"IF YOU WANT ME, COME AND GET ME!", Evan yelled. There was an obvious sound of stomping and running.

"HE'S DOWNSTAIRS! GET HIM!", a voice yelled out. This was the skinny grunt once again. Evan immediately ran into the living room and prepared. Directly to the side of the stairs, (out of view until you entered the living room itself), was a green couch. Above the couch were several shelves, which housed pictures, trinkets, and other family items. Evan immediately hopped onto the couch, and then using great speed and athleticism, onto the shelves. They were not very wide by any means, and could not hold a lot of weight. But Evan managed to distribute his weight evenly, and the quickness of the movements allowed him to keep his balance. He positioned himself right near the entrance to the room. Due to the angle, one would not be able to see him unless they completely turned around, and he was counting on this to take advantage. As the grunts ran through the upstairs and to the stairs, he ran through the situation in his head.

"Ok, three against one, not good odds. The skinny guy's not a threat at all physically. The other two are big, but if I can get the jump on them I think I can take them both on at once. But they'll have guns on them this time. I'll have to take them out quick before they fire. I can do this", Evan thought to himself. Although not extremely strong, he was physically fit, and able to fight when the time came to it. He heard the charging coming from the stairs. Now was the time. Within a matter of seconds, he could see the first grunt rush in. It was the gold ringed grunt. He ran into the room, not noticing Evan. Soon behind him was the chubby cheeked grunt. Two were in the room, he had to act now.

"Hey! Where is he?", the chubby cheeked grunt asked. Just then, Evan yelled, jumping down from the shelves. The chubby cheeked grunt turned around just in time to see Evan melee him in the face with the butt of the rifle. The hard strike caused him to bust his lip open and fall to the ground. Evan landed on his knee, the rifle butt hitting the ground. From behind, he could hear the sound of the skinny grunt coming towards him. He stood up, holding the rifle by the barrel as the butt was still on the ground. He kicked the butt backwards, causing it to swing hard. He timed it perfectly, for it collided in-between the grunt's legs. He yelped and hunched over just slightly, stopping dead in his tracks.

Evan took this time to swing the rifle around by the barrel, much like a baseball bat. His spinning body caused a lot of force, which stopped when the rifle butt collided with the grunt's head. The grunt flew back and crashed into the wall. Evan then turned around just in time to see the gold ringed grunt rush to him, his fist clenched. Evan dropped his rifle and prepared for the attack. He knew that dodging the punch wouldn't work, he was too close. But he could use the force of the attack to his advantage. As the grunt threw his fist, Evan grabbed the Rocket's arm and pulled it towards him. The force of the punch made it all to easy for him. He then twisted his arm, and brought it down hard to his leg, which he lifted. Because his arm was twisted, the force of the attack created a compound fracture. His arm bone stuck out through his skin and he yelled in pain.

Evan then lifted his leg and kicked the Rocket as hard as he could in his chest. The force of the kick caused the Rocket to fly back a few feet and land hard on the ground. He then bent down, picked up his rifle, and aimed the barrel down to the face of the chubby cheeked Rocket. The Rocket, in fear, raised his hands up slowly and crawled backwards up towards where the other Rocket had fallen. Evan then pulled out his Desert Eagle from his belt with his free hand and aimed it at the skinny Rocket to his other side. The skinny grunt, who was now just getting over the smack to the face, looked at Evan with anger. His head was now bleeding, but that was the least of his worries. The grunt stood up, his hands in the air. Evan had all three grunts where he wanted them.

"Drop your guns, now!", Evan yelled. The grunt with the gold ring didn't comply, however Evan was not concerned about him trying anything. The chubby cheeked grunt slowly pulled out his pistol and tossed it in-between him and Evan. The skinny grunt at first did nothing, until Evan pulled the hammer back on his Desert Eagle. He somewhat smirked as he pulled out his Colt 1911, which Evan could see had ammo this time, and dropped it.

"Well, looks like you got the jump on us", the skinny grunt said matter of factly.

"Argh, he broke my arm man...it's sticking out of my skin!", the gold ringed grunt said through gritted teeth.

"Shut up!", the skinny grunt said. He didn't want to hear his whining, especially with a gun pointed to his face. The chubby cheeked grunt looked at Evan angrily as well. His lip was bleeding pretty badly by this point, as it dripped down to the floor.

"I'm gonna kill you punk, I hope you know that", the chubby cheeked grunt said. Evan merely stared him down.

"You...killed my father!", Evan said through gritted teeth.

"The old man had it coming, all he had to do was", before the skinny grunt could finish, Evan interrupted him.

"YOU SHUT YOUR GOD DAMNED MOUTH!", Evan yelled turning to him, his face red. Evan hated swearing, and he never did it. This was the first time he could ever recall saying something like this. His anger took the better of him. "You have NO RIGHT to even SPEAK after what you did! You killed an innocent man! And over WHAT? Not getting a better pistol?". By this time, the grunt with the compound fracture stood up, holding his broken arm. He stood directly behind the chubby cheeked grunt.

"It was more than just the damn pistol you idiot. It was the LACK OF RESPECT! WE ARE TEAM ROCKET! WE GET WHAT WE DESERVE!", the skinny grunt yelled. Evan nodded.

"Oh yes, you certainly _will _get what you deserve, _I'll _see to that!", Evan said. The chubby cheeked grunt, seeing that Evan was facing the skinny grunt this entire time, took advantage. He dove forward, for his pistol on the ground. Evan turned his head just in time to see the grunt now charge him with the gun in hand.

"YOU'RE DEAD!", the grunt yelled. Evan reacted quickly. He held his breath, like he always did before taking a shot. Time appeared to slow down for him. He gathered his thoughts, and studied the surroundings. Neither the skinny grunt nor the gold ringed grunt were doing anything at the moment. So he could focus primarily on this one. His gun was aimed, all he had to do was pull the trigger.

And that's just what he did when he exhaled.

The gun shot echoed throughout the room, louder than any of them expected. The rifle, being as powerful as it was, shot clean through the chubby cheeked grunt. It tore through his mid-section, cutting his body in half due to the close proximity. The bullet went clean through, and struck the grunt with the gold ring. It went through his arm, his chest, and out his back. The chubby cheeked grunt's two body halves fell to the floor, his upper half in front of how lower half. The gore was almost unbearable, but Evan kept his composure. The gold ringed grunt remained standing, a pained expression on his face. His arm fell off, the combination of the compound fracture and gun shot severing it off from his elbow. It landed on the ground with a thud. The grunt merely stood there for a second or two, before falling backwards himself. He hit the ground hard, and did not stir again.

Evan then turned back to the skinny grunt, who watched this all unfold with horror. His eyes were wide and his body shook. Evan then aimed his Intervention at him as well, now having two guns pointed at him, and no fear over being attacked from behind. The grunt fell to the ground, sitting on his butt with his feet out.

"L-listen man, you, you don't have to do nothin to me!", the grunt said, fear evident. Evan didn't budge.

"You killed...my father, an innocent man, in cold blood. You tried to kill me, and you're begging me not to do anything to you?", Evan said with a calm anger. "I could just pull the trigger, blow your head off, and I would have no qualms over it...I should do it anyway". He applied more pressure to the trigger. The Rocket noticed this and shook his hands in a panic.

"Woah woah woah! Listen, I didn't kill your father, the others, they did. And you got them. I...I can go now. I can leave, never come back. I can leave you alone, forever!", the grunt said with fear. He was begging by this point, something that disgusted Evan.

"You make me sick! I know you're lying, it's written all over your face! You took my father away from me! The only family I had! I'm...all alone now...BECAUSE OF YOU!", Evan yelled. He was now shaking. The guns shook in his hands, his face red in anger. His emotions were beginning to come out more now than ever before. The more he thought about his dead father, the more he felt. The grunt slowly backed up, out of the living room, and by the other guns. The door was to his right, the display case to his left. Evan merely stood still, his guns still pointed at him. The grunt held his hands up and slowly stood up.

"Listen man, I know that you're upset. But let's not do anything too hasty now right? If you killed me, you would have all of Team Rocket on your back. If you let me go, I promise to just leave and never tell anyone. I'll say that the other two went some wheres, they'll never know", the grunt said. As he spoke, he kept looking back to the door and to the guns. All he had to do was dive in either direction and he'd be out of the line of fire. All he had to do was decide which was to go.

"SHUT UP! I'm sick of hearing you talk!", Evan yelled. The grunt took the chance. He dove to the left, towards the other weapons. Evan pulled the trigger to the rifle.

But he missed.

The bullet went into the wall, and the grunt now was with the other guns. Quickly, he grabbed the closest one to him, which was hanging on the wall beside him. A Uzi, standard Rocket weaponry, and something he knew how to fire. He pulled the top lever and smirked.

"GO AND BURN IN HELL!", the Rocket yelled, about to jump out and shoot. However, just as he turned around, he saw Evan's body fly out. His Desert Eagle in hand. The Rocket's eyes grew wide as Evan pulled the trigger. The shot struck right into his chest, where his heart is. Evan fell to the ground on his left side, the gun still aimed at the Rocket. The Rocket looked to the hole now in his chest. Blood squirting out from where his heart was once located.

"YOU FIRST!", Evan yelled. He then fired two more shots. The second shot struck the Rocket in the mid-chest, and then third in the upper right shoulder. The Rocket fell back quickly and hit the ground. He didn't move, didn't speak. Just laid there, silent.

Evan laid there on the ground, motionless. He panted heavily. It was now over. After a few seconds, he slowly pulled himself up from the ground. His Intervention was wrapped around his shoulder and on his back. His Desert Eagle still in his right hand. He walked over, passed the body of the dead Rocket, and over to his father. He remained on the ground, right where Evan had placed him. Evan swung his rifle over, and tossed it over onto the ground. It landed with a thud a few feet away. Evan then once again fell to his knees, dropping his pistol as he landed on the ground. The silver gun landed by his side, motionless.

Evan looked at the body of his father, tears finally beginning to build in his eyes. His emotions began to flood through him, as he finally came to realization of what was going on. His father was dead, he had murdered three Rockets, and he was all alone. He bent over, feeling like he would throw up at any second. Tears poured out of his eyes and onto the floor. He slid his hand over onto his father's clenching it tightly. As if he would come back to him if he held onto him as hard as he could. But he knew that wouldn't happen. His life was changed forever. He had lost the only family he ever had.

His mother had died while he was a baby, so he did not know her well. He never had any siblings, or cousins. Aunts, uncles, grand parents. He had nothing. It was not just his father who died, it was a part of him. A part he would never get back. He had never felt so alone before in his life. He wasn't sure how he would cope with it...or even if he could.

He finally opened his eyes, as more tears flooded out of them. He saw his dead father, as expected, he didn't come back to hold him, tell him that everything was going to be alright. Because it wasn't going to be alright. He released his father's cold hand and brought both of his own to his face, trying to fight back the tears. So many thoughts ran through his head. The events of today, his father dead, him shooting down three Rockets, and the thoughts of the future. What would he do now? He was all alone, he had no wheres to go and no one to turn to for help. It would be awhile before anyone would even know what had happened. Hearing gun shots was nothing new to the area, so no one would assume there was a murder. But Team Rocket would eventually find out.

The grunt was right, killing him and the others would make Team Rocket come after him. He was a wanted man. He would have to live on the run for now on...alone. He wasn't sure if he could manage to. He didn't think he was strong enough. He had always considered himself to be strong, but that was with his father giving a helping hand, or wanted advice. He would never have that again.

Evan removed his hands from his face, and casually glanced to his side. There, he saw the Desert Eagle, gleaming from the sunlight that hit it. It was as if it was a sign. He stared at it for a second or two, until he slowly reached over and picked it up. The gun seemed much heavier in his hands now, he almost couldn't hold it up. He stared at it in his hands for another few seconds, studying it as if he had just seen the weapon for the first time. It was warm to the touch, almost inviting. Slowly, he positioned the gun around, the barrel aimed directly at his face.

It felt awkward in his hands, holding the gun backwards, but he didn't care. He looked down the barrel of the gun for a moment, before slowly pressing the gun flush to his forehead. He closed his eyes, tears pouring out, as he gave final thoughts about his father. He tightened his grip on the trigger...

But then he felt something. Something he couldn't describe. It was an overwhelming sensation throughout his entire body, it made him feel warm, calm. Loved. The gun suddenly felt different too, cold and foreign. He dropped it in freight, and crawled back until he smacked into the wall behind him. He pressed his back and head against the wall, and looked at his hands; gasping slightly for breath. He had no idea what was going through his body. It scared him, but at the same time, made him feel amazing. He wasn't sure what was happening. He then looked at his father's body.

And it was then, that he understood.

Evan had never been the religious type. It wasn't that he didn't necessarily believe, he just failed to see anything to prove to him otherwise. His father, he had always been the religious type. Always thanking god for having such a great son and a happy life. Evan always laughed about it, telling his father that his age was getting to him. But now, he felt it. He felt like someone was watching him, telling him to stop. Evan looked to the windows and could see a ray of sunshine hit him and his father's corpse. Thoughts began to run through his head, thoughts he couldn't even control. How these feelings and the sunshine could be coincidences, or how perhaps they were beyond coincidences and more of divine intervention.

It was then that he realized. God, was watching over him. It was as if He was saying that his father was being taken cared of now, and that he shouldn't throw his life away. Evan couldn't help but smile through the tears. He knew now, that his father was in a better place. After all these years, he finally found the proof he needed. A part of him felt terrible, thinking that it took the murder of his father and the attempt at suicide to finally discover this. But he shook the feelings off. He slowly stood up, using the wall for support. The sensation was not gone entirely, but most of it had worn off, and he now felt weak from emotional exhaustion.

Evan looked around the room he was in, as if he had just woken up from a dream, and was getting a bearing of his surroundings. There were three dead and mostly dismembered Rocket grunts in his house. He could try to hide the bodies, get rid of the van, and clean up the mess; but he didn't know if Team Rocket knew the whereabouts of their grunts. For all he knew, they could already be wondering where they are, and could be searching for them. He could risk it, but he knew that odds were it wouldn't work. He had to go on the run. He had no family to speak of, which calmed his spirits knowing that he wouldn't have to worry over anyone. Although it would of been nice to have some place to go. Oh well, can't be helped.

So it was decided, he had to run away. He looked down and noticed the body of the dead skinny grunt. He thought for a second, and then bent down to his body. He put his hands to the pockets of the body, and when he felt something, reached into them. He pulled out a key attached to a key chain. It must of been to their van. At least now he didn't have to worry about a ride. He knew that no one would try to stop him if he drove that van, at least for now. Although eventually he'd either have to ditch the vehicle or remove the large "R" and hope that no one pulls him over anytime soon.

Evan then spent the next half hour running through his house and packing away everything he could. He wouldn't be able to bring everything, just enough to survive on his own for a while. Tons of clothes, food, equipment, and some personal things of him and his family. Luckily space wasn't so much an issue, since the van was not only large, but empty for the most part. Every time he made a trip to the van, he would cautiously look around and see if anyone was watching him. His house was relatively distant from other neighbors because of the gun range. At times it made him feel lonely, but at times like this it made him thankful.

When he had finished packing the basic essentials, he took one final look around the house. There was so much he wished he could bring, so many memories and treasures. But he knew that he was limited. His father would understand.

His father.

Evan walked passed the counter once more and looked at his father. He remained on the ground as he left him. He stared at his body for a minute or two, debating. Evan then got on his knees and reached down to his father's neck. Around his neck was a Holy Cross, one he had for many, many years. His father said that it was a family heirloom, and that he intended to give it to him when he was older. He carefully pulled it off and placed it around his neck.

After he did so, he looked at the cross in his hand. It gleamed in the sunlight, the gold shinning bright like the sun. It felt warm to the touch. And it seemed to also tell him something, a thought, concerning his father. He then made a decision. He could not leave him here, not like this. He would give him a proper burial. With great care and caution, he lifted the body of his father from off the ground, and carried him to the van. There was one sliding door to the van that happened to be facing their house, which Evan opened. Beside the two front seats, there was one bench seat for passengers. The rest was open space for equipment. Evan, with intense care, placed his father onto the bench seat. He covered his body with a blanket in the van, and slide the door closed.

He stopped, holding the key in his hand. A part of him wanted to just leave now, he had the most important things he needed. But something else told him to wait. There was still more. He debated over what this "more" could be. But then he nodded to himself. He knew what. The source of all the trouble.

The guns.

He refused to let Team Rocket have them. They would only be used to kill more innocent people, like his father. His dad had always said that weapons should only be in the hands of those who will use them not for the smartest of reasons, but the best of reasons. Evan walked into his house, and looked at the many weapons hanging on the walls and in the glass counters. He was going to bring every single one, even if it killed him. The next hour, he carried every single weapon he could into the van. Some one by one, some by the arm full. He tossed them in the back, not concerned over the order or neatness of the weapons. He put in every single weapon thing he could, guns, ammo, gun care kits, protective pieces. He was literally a mobile war machine.

It took him awhile, and made him exhausted, but he managed to get every single weapon of his into the van. He ignored the idea of getting pulled over now, one look in the van and he'd be shot on sight. But it didn't matter. He took one last look into the house, to see what he had forgotten. He had cleaned out everything, and only two weapons remained. His Desert Eagle, and the Intervention. They remained on the ground where he had dropped them. He walked over, picked up his Desert Eagle, and placed it in his belt. He then reached for his Intervention. However, as he did, he spotted something. On the butt of the rifle, was a small silver cross. Evan had seen it loads of times, but now it was like he had seen it for the first time. Perhaps there was more to the reason behind loving the gun than he originally thought.

More signs.

He picked up the gun and turned around. Once again, he saw the corpse of the Rocket grunt. He still had to get rid of the bodies. At least make an attempt anyway. A thought came across his head. It was dangerous, and it would tear him apart, but it was the best way. He walked to the opposite wall, and stopped in front of a small valve. This valve controlled the gas flow into the house. He took his rifle butt and smacked the valve. It broke clean off, and gas began to fill the room. Evan then made a bee-line for the door. Once there, he stopped, only to pull out two cigarettes from his pocket. One, he placed in his mouth, the other he held onto. He pulled out another match, and lit both cigarettes. He took in a puff of smoke from the cigarette in his mouth, and then tossed the other lit cigarette into the house and closed the door.

He had little time left. He ran to the van, got into the driver's seat, and started the engine. Within seconds, the vehicle roared to life, and he drove off. He sped off, continuing to make distance between him and his house. After a minute or two, he looked at his rear view mirror. At first, nothing happened. But then, he could hear the sound of a massive explosion. Debris from his house flew into the air with a massive fireball. Evan sighed heavily. His home, the place where he grew up all his life, and nearly all his possessions, were now gone. His father dead, his home destroyed, and living on the run.

Things were certainly going to be different now.

Back to the present, Evan continued to look to Aleksi's ceiling. He sighed heavily, thinking back to the last image of his house, and his former life.

"After that, I drove to the Warden's house. I quickly explained what had happened, and he took me in for the night. He was very understanding, and I was glad that he took care of me. We buried my father on his land, he gave me directions to places where I could hide, and I left the next day. We removed the "R" on the van so the Rockets investigating the explosion didn't think of stopping me. I guess they assumed that I had died along with my father, and the three Rockets in the explosion. Several months later I returned to the area, feeling nostalgic. That's when I ran into Ash protecting the Safari Zone Pokemon. After saving him, he gave me the offer to join the PTA. I accepted, and...here I am", Evan explained.

The girls all looked at them with a mixture of emotions. Brenna was shocked and saddened. Despite being in charge of people's background bios, she did not know their stories before they joined the PTA. Things this traumatic, she thought, were only for the imagination. Angel and Aleksi were far more emotional however. Aleksi was on the verge of tears, but she tried to hold them back, to appear stronger. Angel however had no qualms with crying, she let them pour down. Evan broke out of his flash back trance and looked at Angel. He immediately sighed and crawled over to the young girl. He wrapped his arms around her and she hugged him. She put her head into his chest and cried, holding him tight.

"There there now, let it out. I never meant for this to be a sob story, I'm sorry Angel", Evan said, apologizing. Angel shook her head in his shirt.

"No...it's not your fault...I'm just sad...I can't seem to be strong when it matters!", Angel said. Evan shook his head.

"No no no. Angel, you ARE strong! You've come this far in your life, going through so much trouble and traumatic experiences, and you're only ten! You are the strongest person I know sweetie!", Evan said. There was a moment of pause as Angel tried to stop crying. Brenna herself tried hard not to, although she found it difficult. Aleksi however was now smiling, looking at the scene of Evan and Angel holding each other. Eventually, Angel mumbled something.

"I'm twelve", Angel said. Evan smiled, chuckling just a bit.

"There's the Angel I know", Evan said. He had purposely said the wrong age. Angel then pulled herself away from Evan. Evan put his hands on her shoulder. "You ok?". Angel nodded with a smile. Her eyes were red and watery still, but she was doing better. Evan nodded. "Good. Now then, why don't you and Brenna go and get ready for training huh? It'll take your mind off things. Go on, scoot!". He ushered them up and the girls stood up quickly. Aleksi couldn't help but giggle as she too stood up. Evan took some final glances at the girls to see if they were alright. Once deciding that they were, he walked them to the door. He opened it up and the girls stepped outside. Aleksi was right behind Evan, both of whom were still standing in her room. By this time the rebel cleaner was gone, and Vanessa's room was closed.

"Alright, you girls head on down to the training rooms downstairs. The others will probably be there, or will be shortly. If you want you can begin without us", Evan explained. Angel and Brenna looked at Evan with confusion.

"What do you mean?", Brenna asked.

"Yeah, aren't you coming with us?", Angel asked. Evan glanced back to Aleksi.

"I will be shortly, me and Aleksi just need to talk for a minute. We'll catch up", Evan explained. Brenna seemed confused still, and Aleksi herself seemed to be a bit bewildered as well; but Angel smiled. She took a guess as to what they would be talking about.

"Oh, I see. Alright then, be sure to hurry then!", Angel said. She and Brenna then turned and were about to make their way down to the training rooms. But before they did, Evan stopped them.

"Oh, and one more thing girls", Evan said. Angel turned around and looked at Evan. Brenna did so too. "Don't...don't bring up to the others what happened. Alright? I want you girls to remember Vanessa, and remember her as an amazing person. But do not think about the rest. We don't need to make the others upset too. Ok?". The girls looked at Evan for a moment, before they both nodded with a smile.

"Don't worry, we will never forget Vanessa", Brenna said.

"But we'll keep the rest to ourselves, and try to forget it ever happened", Angel finished. Evan nodded with a smile. The girls then ran off, leaving Aleksi and Evan to themselves. Evan turned around back into the room and looked at Aleksi. Aleksi looked at him with a smile.

"So, what did you want to talk about?", Aleksi asked. Evan stared at Aleksi for a few seconds. This made her grow a bit nervous.

"Aleksi...I know you're hiding it", Evan said. Aleksi sighed. "I really appreciated you putting it aside for the girls, so that you could help them...but you can let it out now. I'm here for you". Aleksi merely stared at Evan for a moment or two. For a while, they did nothing more than share eye contact. Eventually however, Aleksi's eyes began to water. She sniffled briefly. Evan held his arms out and within seconds, the two embraced. Aleksi began to pour her eyes out, holding on tightly to Evan's black shirt. Evan held her close, comforting the young woman. The two stood there for a while, just holding each other, as Aleksi let out all of the feelings she had built up inside. No words were spoken, all they did was hold each other. The warmth and comfort of Evan's body along with the sensation of protection and care Aleksi was feeling from him helped make the grief easier to handle.

**Ugh, my head still hurts but it's finished. I hope you all enjoyed the chapter, I honestly think it's one of my best chapters in terms of characterization and emotion. Now for those of you who have OCs in this story, I apologize if you felt that I dragged out my own OC longer than yours. I never meant for Evan's back story to take up nearly two chapters. It sort of just ended up that way. I felt that, because he was MY OC, I could do more, understand how to write the character more. I hope you all understand. Rest assured I treat all your OCs as equally important to my story. :) Now then, I have spring break starting next week, and since my other college friends all have different spring break times, and since I'll have a lot of free time with no partying, I will have plenty of time for more updates! :D I will work on more chapters for "R", hopefully getting through, (or at least starting), Evan's training; along with HOPEFULLY a chapter to "The Alphabet Game". I might update "Christmas The Sequel" if I have time and I can think of something for it, but don't hold your breath. Anyway, please be sure to F.A.R., and I will see you all next time!**

**sincerely,  
evan, a fan of aaml**

**P.S.- I recently found myself a NEW spell check/grammar checker! So hopefully, providing it works as well as it did on my tests, it should stop the mistakes I've made in the past...or at least most of them.**

**P.P.S.- I put into this chapter a little nod to my older stories! See if you can find it! Whoever does will get their names mentioned in the next chapter! Should be easy for you all! ;)**

**-EVAN AAML **


	58. Chapter 58

**Ok, before I start this chapter, I have some things I would like to address, (cause you know, I NEVER address anything at the beginning or end of my chapters. ;D). First off, Sunday, March 11, 2012 marks the 1 year anniversary of the earthquake/tsunami that devastated Japan. As you may or may not recall, awhile back I dedicated a chapter to "R" to those who lost their homes or lives during that tragic time. And as such, I would once again like to post a link to a site set up for donations to relief for them. I understand that money is tight for many of us, (I am in the same boat), but at the very least, please be sure to spread it around, make sure everyone knows and can help. I would post a link here, but it will delete it if I do, and for some reason it deletes it every time I try to space it out to remove the hyperlink. So I'll just say to check out global living . org (no space between words), and donate. **

**Also, I would like to address that, as many of you have noticed, the last chapter still somehow had a lot of spelling mistakes and grammar issues. Although I personally have not found any in it as of yet, (although I only checked it over briefly, and a couple words I put in there wrong purposely for the skinny Rocket's voice, sounding somewhat like Meowth's). I did get a new spell checker, but it does not seem to be working as well as I initially thought. So I will test it a little bit more and see how it works. Finally, I would like to acknowledge KrazyKat101, who was the only one to discover the little "easter egg" I placed in the last chapter. The egg was the line, "Things are certainly going to be different now," placed as the final line for Evan's flashback. This was a line that I had used to end "The Dare Game," when I had started writing at 15. I retired the line after "Eternal Darkness." Congrats KrazyKat101! And congrats to all those who tried!**

**-EVAN AAML**

Angel and Brenna continued their walk down the halls, towards the downstairs training facility. It had been only a couple minutes since they separated from Evan and Aleksi, and they hoped that they would soon make it to training. Although her mind was still on Vanessa and the recent traumatic experience she had just endured, she took Evan's advice and tried to put it in the back of her mind for now. She couldn't let it hold her down, not when she had some training to accomplish.

"So Angel, what kind of training do you think we're going to be doing today? I never really trained for something like this before. I always just stayed at the base," Brenna explained. Angel looked to her.

"Well, when I had my first training before the New Island attack, I did some shooting with Evan, some Pokemon battling with Michael, and some close combat with Ryoto. So I'd imagine all of that stuff, and more even," Angel explained, recalling the day she first started training as a PTA rebel. Brenna seemed amazed and in awe.

"Wow, really? Man, we're going to have our work cut out for us huh? Well, at least we'll all be that much more ready for when we face Team Rocket!," Brenna said. Angel nodded with a smile.

"You got it!," Angel said. These words Brenna said made Angel think back to her experiences on New Island, and how they didn't go as well as she had hoped. Time after time she would make mistakes, some small, most big. She let a lot of people down, and although they told her time and time again that it wasn't her fault, she knew that she couldn't let it happen again. She had to make sure she made herself better, so that next time, she'd be more prepared.

Soon, the two young girls arrived at the Kitchen. A couple rebels were in the Kitchen, preparing tons of snacks and meals. Angel figured it was hors d'oeuvres for the ball tomorrow. The rebels were hard at work preparing the little snacks and treats, but one of them did manage to catch eye of the two girls.

"Are you here to cook or are you heading downstairs to train?" the rebel asked casually.

"Train. Are there people downstairs already?," Angel asked.

"I only know who came through here to go downstairs, but a decent number of rebels did. I'm sure most of whom you're looking for are already down there. If you see Sawyer or Brock, tell them that we could use help cooking!," the rebel said. He then turned around and went back to work. Angel and Brenna then opened the door and went downstairs towards the training rooms. It wasn't long before they reached the basement, walked passed the many rooms and doors, (including Eli's storage room and the room where Angel first met Evan), and made it to the shooting range. It was here that Angel ran into everyone. Most of the rebels were all stretching, although some were talking to one another. There weren't as many people here as Angel expected, but she wasn't too surprised. Most people were probably more concerned about the once in a lifetime ball than training that they could do anytime.

As expected, Angel saw Luke, Logan, Trent, Michael, and Riles. They had all said that they would come down to the training, so it was no shock that they were there. Also here for training were Sawyer, Nick, Wallace, Hunter, Darrel, Mathinza, and Milo. Two other rebels, one boy and one girl, were also there for training. Angel did not know their names, but recognized them from the battle at New Island. They were survivors from Misty and Brock's group. They kept to themselves for the most part. Angel did not know if they were related, dating, or just good friends. Sawyer immediately noticed Angel and Brenna and smiled, waving.

"Hey Angel!," Sawyer exclaimed happily. Angel smiled and waved back as Sawyer approached her. Everyone else who had heard Sawyer turned, saw the two girls, and smiled and waved as well. Clearly the others did not know about Vanessa, which Angel was thankful for.

"Hey!,", Angel responded. Sawyer stopped when she was in front of her.

"I was wondering when you would come down here. We've all been waiting for a bit now...where's Evan? Probably with Aleksi right?," Sawyer stated with a smirk. Angel giggled.

"You know it. Although it's not what you think. They'll be down here shortly he said," Angel replied. Sawyer then turned and noticed Brenna. She smiled.

"Oh, I'm pleasantly surprised to see you here Brenna! Haven't seen you in a while!," Sawyer said. Brenna smiled to her.

"Haven't seen you in a while either Sawyer!," Brenna stated. Angel was not aware that the two girls knew each other, but considering Brenna's job, she wasn't surprised. Nick then approached the three girls.

"So, will Evan be coming along, or should we all just start without him?," Nick asked.

"He told me to say that if he weren't here soon, just to start without him," Angel replied. Nick nodded.

"Good enough for me. Alright everyone, let's get to the shooting range first, we're gonna start without Evan," Nick exclaimed, looking at the group of rebels behind him. Everyone else nodded and stepped into the room one by one. Nick then turned around and playfully wrapped his arms around Sawyer's waist. She giggled out loud as Nick pulled her in closer. "Come on you." Angel and Brenna giggled as well and they followed the young couple. Brenna was the last to walk into the room as everyone bunched up together relatively close to the door.

Angel immediately remembered coming down here only a couple days ago, practicing shooting with a Beretta while Michael threw knives and Aleksi shot with a bow and then Evan's guns. She had learned a lot that day, she hoped that today would be no different. Nick stopped and turned to face everyone.

"Alright, uhm. Evan said to start without him. Now I don't know what he had planned, but I guess there would be no harm in starting without him. Now, how many of you have been in the shooting range before?," Nick asked, raising his own hand. Angel, Michael, Hunter, and Darrel were the only ones who raised theirs. Nick sweatdropped. "Ok, not a lot of you. Alright, not a problem. At least most of you have shot a gun before, so the only difference is you'll be shooting a non-living target."

"I see you're already getting things started, thanks Nick!," someone exclaimed. Nick turned around to the door to see Evan standing at the entrance with a smile across his face. His sniper rifle was strapped around his shoulder and hanging behind his back. Immediately behind him was Aleksi, who stood and smiled.

"Oh, you're already here. Yeah, I was just trying to get us started. What took you so long...as if I need to ask," Nick said, looking to Aleksi. Hunter, Michael, Sawyer, Mathinza, Angel, and Brenna all giggled. Evan merely shook his head while Aleksi blushed.

"Haha, you're hilarious. Ok, let's get going," Evan said, coming down the few steps before reaching the floor. Aleksi followed. Nick walked into the group of people while Evan took his spot. Nick was a leader type of rebel, but he clearly had no problem with Evan taking over. It was his training session after all. Evan stood there and looked at the large group of rebels. "Well, I'll say that I'm glad you all decided to come down and train! I should start off by saying that this will not be extreme training. A lot of you are still recovering from New Island and we can't afford to strain you all. We don't know when you'll be needed. This will merely just be some preparation if anything."

Evan then turned around and approached the large cabinet that was located there. Angel knew that this was were the guns were stored. He placed his rifle against the wall and then opened the doors and stepped to the side to let everyone look. Most everyone stared in awe at the many different weapons they had. Rifles, machine guns, pistols, shot guns, bows with arrows, and many, many more. Evan himself stared at the cabinet and seemed somewhat impressed.

"Huh, there are more weapons in there than there were last time. Eli must have stocked it up with new guns he found," Evan stated. He then looked to the others. "Alright, first we will begin with, obviously, shooting. Now how many of you have fired a gun before?" Everyone raised their hands, except Brenna, who felt somewhat left out. Evan chuckled. "I should of figured as much. Don't worry Brenna, you'll get your chance to today. Now as for the rest of you, how many of you are, in your opinions, good shots?" This time many more hands dropped down. Aleksi, Hunter, Darrel, Mathinza, Michael, and the twins were the only ones who kept theirs up. Evan smirked this time.

"Well it's a good thing we're training then huh? Ok then, for most of you I'll just give you pistols, since they're the gun you're most likely to use out in the field. If any of you have your own guns, please feel free to use them". Evan then turned back to the cabinet and pulled out two different types of pistols. One Angel recognized as the Beretta, possibly even the same one she herself used when she trained. She realized that she should of brought her own gun down, but didn't think of it before hand. The other pistol was one that was similar to the Beretta, but slightly different. Evan held both pistols out to the group.

"Alright, these two will suit the beginners just fine. This one here is the Beretta 84, this is standard issue to the PTA, so this one you should all be for the most part familiar with. This other one here is called a USP 45, which is very similar to the Beretta but has a shorter barrel. Sometimes this is the gun you'll be given if god forbid we don't have a Beretta. Brenna, you've never used a gun before, so take this, and I'll teach you how to use it in a second. The safety's on so you're good", Evan explained, handing Brenna the Beretta. She took it apprehensively and held the gun. It was clear that she was awkward with the weapon, which Angel wasn't surprised by. It reminded her of when she started using one.

"Ok, so there's more than enough of these two pistols here, so take you're pick. Don't worry about which one you get, a lot of pistols are used the same way and I'm more worried about your aim and technique anyway", Evan explained. Everyone stepped forward and began rummaging through the pistols in the cabinet. Within seconds everyone had their own pistol. Some people placed their pistols away immediately, clearly wanting to try another gun first. Others got acquainted with their guns, looking at them and checking them out. They all had at least minor experience with a hand held pistol, but were still required to get used to them. Evan then glanced over at Aleksi, seeing that she was the only one who had not grabbed a pistol of her own. Evan raised an eyebrow.

"You're not going to shoot with a pistol?", Evan asked. Aleksi smirked, somewhat playfully even.

"No, I wanna shoot with _yours_", Aleksi said with joy. Evan chuckled a bit and shook his head.

"I see, want to try and master it since it got the better of you last time huh? Why am I not surprised? Alright, fine. But _please _be careful this time ok?", Evan said. He lifted his shirt slightly and pulled off his Desert Eagle from his belt. The silver gun gleamed in the light of the room. Most everyone did not think much of the pistol, despite it's much larger size. Hunter on the other hand gasped.

"What the fuck is that? You're given her that?", Hunter said in disbelief. Evan chuckled as he carefully handed Aleksi his Eagle. Aleksi smirked, holding it tightly. Evan turned to Hunter.

"Don't worry, you can get your chance with it too if you want", Evan said. Hunter grinned like a fool this time. Darrel shook his head, being all too familiar with his antics. Evan then turned back to the others as he walked back to the cabinet. "Ok, so you all have your own pistols right?", Evan asked. Everyone nodded. "Good. Keep them at your stations and, when you want to, use them. As you can see, someone was kind enough to place targets at each range. They're fifty feet out at the moment, there are levers and buttons at your stations that control your distance. For pistols, I'd recommend any wheres from fifty to ten feet. Now then, how many of you want to also use another, bigger gun?".

Hunter, Darrel, Mathinza, Nick, Milo, the twins, and even Sawyer and Angel raised their hands. Evan smiled at Angel.

"Ah, trading up huh? Nice! Ok then, everyone can obviously get their own turns when they want to. But don't go off just yet, I want to explain these weapons, because it's important that you know what type of guns these are and how they're used. There might be a time where a weapon becomes available to you, and you'll have to use it", Evan explained. Everyone nodded. Some people were a bit uncomfortable, feeling like they were in school. Evan had a way of talking like a teacher. Evan turned around and pulled out several different types of weapons. He handed each one to a different rebel, merely for them to hold for him. Some took them apprehensively, others with more excitement. Some of the guns were familiar to the rebels, but most seemed odd to them. Evan walked to the end of the group and stepped forward to Aleksi, who was holding the first gun.

"This here in Aleksi's hands is a ACR. An assault rifle with a thirty round clip and can be shot in either single shots, automatic, or three round bursts. I would suggest to you all not to use three round bursts during the fights unless you're certain you can kill your target with one strike", Evan explained. He then stepped forward to the next person and the next gun. "This is called the MP5, it's a bit smaller than most guns you'll probably use but very handy in battle. It's also got a thirty round clip but it's small size makes for easy maneuverability".

"This gun here is the FN P90, it's a very unique machine gun that's reloaded from a cartridge on the top. It has a very high shooting rate and can hold a fifty round clip. This is a newer gun that we've recently acquired and hopefully will have more of later on...this gun is a powerful one called the Spas-12. It's a twelve gauge shot gun with an eight round capacity that can be fired as a semi-automatic. Very powerful, but be careful with shot guns, their close range and long reload time makes you an easy target for Rockets...the AK-47 is one of the world's most popular and notorious weapons. It's a very powerful machine gun with a thirty round clip and can be used in different weather conditions. This gun is one that you will probably see a lot of, so get familiar with it", Evan explained with great detail. All of the rebels were looking at the weapons Evan was explaining with awe. He continued however to go down the line, not stopping for questions.

"The AA-12 is a marvel of weapon engineering. It's a twelve gauge shot gun that can fire much like a machine gun, and being fed with a thirty two round drum makes it a deadly weapon. Use only if you're powerful enough to handle it...and of course, we end our little gun line with Hunter's favorite, the M-16. This weapon is the basic assault rifle the PTA uses, and is also popular with Rockets. It has a thirty round cartridge and is also extremely powerful, handle with care". Hunter held the M-16 tightly with a gleam in his eyes. Evan couldn't help but chuckle.

"Well then, these are the guns that you can all start off with. There are about two, maybe three of each weapon if you wish to try one later, although try to share them please, we need to save them up for the battle in Veridian. If there is another type of weapon you wish to use, please ask me and I'll see what I can do. So then...everyone get to a shooting range and fire away! Protective ear muffs are located at each station!". Everyone nodded and, with their guns, went to their own ranges. A couple rebels, namely Luke and Logan, had brought their own weapons and were using them instead. Brenna had stayed by Evan, waiting for assistance with her gun. She still held it with some apprehension and was a bit concerned. Evan smiled, bent down to her height, and helped her with her gun.

"Ok Brenna, I understand that you're not a fan of guns, so let's teach you how to use this one properly. This is called a Beretta, it's a very basic pistol. All you need to know is that this is your safety here, flip this switch and the safety is off. You click this button here to pull the cartridge out from the handle. Then you just put a new one in to reload. Pull the top back like to and you're ready to shoot. Ok?", Evan asked. Brenna watched him work the gun intently. She was no idiot, and knew that it would be easy to handle. But she didn't want to be the one to not know how it worked in the heat of battle. She nodded, and Evan handed her the gun. She turned around and went to a range that was left open for her, right next to Angel. Angel was already firing away by the time Brenna approached and put her own ear muffs on.

Angel turned to her and smiled, showing that it was somewhat fun to fire off guns, so long as it was at targets. Brenna smiled back. She held the gun tightly in her hands, and aimed down the lane to her target. Unlike Angel did her first time, Brenna kept her eyes on the target. She put her fingers on the trigger, and pulled. The shot was muffled out by everyone else shooting their own weapons, but Brenna felt the recoil sure enough. She gasped slightly and looked at her gun with some shock. She then looked down the range at her target. It was in the chest area, in the right side of the rib cage. She was shocked herself at her aim. Angel smiled and clapped.

"Bravo! Good shot Brenna!", Angel said. Brenna smiled.

"Thanks Angel!", Brenna exclaimed. Watching from behind them, Evan and Aleksi smiled.

"Well, it looks like Brenna is already getting a hang of this, that's good", Evan said. Aleksi nodded. Evan then turned to face Aleksi. "So then, should we get started on that Desert Eagle?". Aleksi smirked, a mixture of cockiness and excitement spread across her face. She was hoping to prove that she had gotten better, and that no gun was going to get the better of her.

"Yeah, let's", Aleksi said. But just before they started, they were interrupted by a slight cough. Evan and Aleksi turned to see Mathinza standing to their side. At his feet was a rather large case. He was being slightly sheepish, clearly not wanting to interrupt them rudely.

"Oh, I'm sorry, were you about to go train?", Mathinza asked. Evan and Aleksi looked at each other and smiled. They had no problem delaying it for just a little bit.

"It's alright, do you need anything Mathinza?", Evan asked. Mathinza nodded.

"Yes, if you have the time. As you already know, I'm a sniper like you. And I was just recently told by Sawyer that I'm going to be put into a small division group with Dawn when we attack the base. So, I was hoping that you could give me tips on close range sniping", Mathinza said. Evan felt flattered. He smirked a bit, trying to hide the pride he was now feeling by being asked this, but finding it difficult. Aleksi couldn't help but sigh and roll her eyes. She knew how Evan could get.

"Well, I'd be honored to. Uhm...here, let's see your weapon", Evan said. Mathinza nodded. He bent down and opened his case up. Once he did, he pulled out his rifle and showed it to Evan. "Oh, a Dragunov SVD", Evan stated. Mathinza nodded. Aleksi seemed confused.

"Is it a special rifle?", Aleksi asked. Evan shrugged.

"Not special per say, but it's an older and classic sniping rifle. My Intervention in fact takes a lot from the Dragunov. It's powerful too for its age. Here, let's have a look see", Evan said, holding his hands out. Mathinza was more than happy to hand him the rifle. He stood up and handed over the large rifle. Evan examined the weapon, but soon found something somewhat different about the weapon. Something he didn't expect. Mathinza knew immediately why he reacted this way, but Aleksi did not.

"What is it Evan?", Aleksi asked, now looking between Evan and Mathinza. Evan looked more intently at the gun.

"...Mathinza...have you ever killed a person?", Evan asked. Mathinza nodded.

"Yes...unfortunately. You see, I don't like killing people if I don't have to. But, the escape from New Island, well, it required me to", Mathinza explained. Evan nodded, understanding.

"Hmm...you must be an extremely skilled sniper to kill them with this", Evan said.

"Why do you say that? I thought you said that the Dragunov was a good rifle", Aleksi said. Evan nodded.

"It is...when it's designed to. This one however is altered, purposely", Evan explained. Mathinza nodded. Evan pulled the bullet chamber open and nodded, as if he expected something to be there. He pulled out from the rifle's chamber a small dart. It had a small fluffy end to the dart, with a relatively short needle and a tube filled with an amber colored liquid. Aleksi looked at it with confusion.

"What is that?", Aleksi asked.

"It's a tranquilizer dart", Evan explained. Aleksi seemed perplexed by the choice of weapon. "Mathinza's gun is modified to shoot darts instead of typical bullets. A rifle like this has a much smaller range than a typical sniping rifle, and it loses its kill power. However, the purpose of a tranquilizer is not to kill, but to incapacitate. Mathinza doesn't like killing people, so he knocks them out instead. The fluffy tip here is used to muffle the noise and make it quiet when shot, while also showing the shooter where the bullet lands when it sticks. Usually this is used for Pokemon biologists who want to subdue a rather aggressive Pokemon without hurting it".

"I call them NARQs myself", Mathinza explained. Aleksi, upon hearing Evan's description, immediately recalled something from before.

"Oh! I remember now!", Aleksi stated, reflecting back. "It was when I asked you to snipe the Rocket with the RPG, back when we were protecting the bus during our escape from New Island! I was wondering why your gun didn't make a noise when you shot it! You fired a dart, not a bullet!". Mathinza nodded.

"Exactly", Mathinza explained.

"Well that would explain why you need your Pokemon to help you shoot from far distances, your gun can't reach as far", Evan said. Mathinza nodded in agreement.

"Since I won't be sniping like you are, I figured that it wouldn't be as much of a problem. But I would still like some tips on close range shooting regardless. Better safe than sorry after all, aye?", Mathinza stated. Evan nodded.

"For sure. Well, most of the tips I would give for close quarter sniping is already out the window since your Dragunov is altered anyway. Hmm...", Evan said, looking more intently at the weapon. He knew that since Mathinza was also a sniper, he would know many of the same things he did about shooting. There was no need in telling him things he already knew. "Well, you could go for a red dot sight". Mathinza gasped, as if realizing the obvious.

"Ah! Didn't even think about that one!", Mathinza said.

"Yeah, a lot of people wouldn't for a sniping rifle. But it really does make sense. Using the scope would only take up unnecessary time since you're in close range anyway, so why not change out the scope?", Evan replied. Mathinza nodded in agreement. Aleksi couldn't help but giggle.

Boys and their toys.

While Evan and Mathinza turned around and looked in the cabinet for a red dot sight, Aleksi herself turned around and looked at everyone shooting. As expected, most everyone in the group were shooting with their pistols. Even those who were given rifles or shot guns started off small. Some rebels, such as Brenna, Wallace, Riles, and the two unknown rebels were shooting with apprehension. They were clearly not fans of the weapons, but were shooting them anyway for experience. Others, like Sawyer, Milo, Darrel, and even Angel, were shooting with more skill. They hit their targets as asked, although they seemed agitated when they missed. And then, of course, there were the guys like Nick, Hunter, Michael, and the twins Luke and Logan, who were currently having a shooting competition. She sighed heavily. She wasn't sure what it was about boys and weapons; wanting to show off their skills and compete with one another. Sometimes she wondered if they purposely acted immature.

Eventually she just decided to approached Angel, who seemed to be doing better with her pistol. She had just reached her when she fired a shot and sighed, putting the Beretta down. She removed her ear muffs.

"You seem to be doing a lot better Angel!", Aleksi stated. Angel turned around, not realizing that she was there, and not knowing how long she had been watching. She seemed disheartened by it, as if she had hoped she didn't see anything.

"You think so?", Angel asked in disbelief. Aleksi nodded.

"Definitely", Aleksi said. She then stepped closer and got a better look at the target. She recalled when Angel had first started shooting that she had a tendency to shoot higher, due to the recoil. It was clear now that it wasn't as much trouble for her, as most of her shots were all in the chest or stomach region. "You definitely got your target, if that were a Rocket you wouldn't have to worry about him or her anymore". Angel looked to her target.

"Yeah, but I also missed a lot", Angel stated. Aleksi couldn't help but sigh.

"That may be true, but you are still getting better. You can't expect to go from someone who's never used a gun before to a pro within one practice session. You've shown considerable improvement, that alone is something to celebrate. Give it time Angel, soon you'll be able to shoot down pretty much anything with one shot", Aleksi said with a wink. Angel smiled.

"You mean like Evan?", Angel asked, looking passed Aleksi and towards Evan. Aleksi turned around and looked at Evan. He was helping Mathinza attach the red dot sight to his rifle. She smiled as she looked at him. He was being very careful, but also making sure to show Mathinza exactly how it's done. He put so much care into something so small. She sighed a bit, which did not go by unnoticed from Angel.

"Yeah...like Evan", Aleksi said. Angel giggled.

"You're so obsessed with him", Angel said. Aleksi immediately broke out of her stupor and turned to Angel, her face red from a mixture of embarrassment and annoyance.

"I AM NOT!", Aleksi yelled. Luckily the sound of gunshots drowned everything out. Angel giggled more.

"Yes you are! It's _so _obvious!", Angel stated. Aleksi's face grew an even deeper shade of red. She forgot that Angel was twelve, she was beginning to go through her pre-teen stage where she would talk about boys a lot. The idea of it made her shudder. How much more of this would she have to put up with? "Did he even ask you to the ball?". This sudden question snapped Aleksi out of her train of thought. She looked at Angel.

"Wha? No...no, he hasn't", Aleksi said, now realizing that Evan in fact did not ask her to the ball. She hadn't thought much about it really. They were together when Prof. Oak first mentioned the ball to them, but they were more preoccupied with recovering and everyone getting healthy. And since then, they've merely made more and more things distract her from it. But now that she had thought about it, she wondered.

Was Evan going to go with someone else?

"I think _you _should ask _him _to the ball!", Angel stated suddenly. Aleksi turned to her.

"What! Why?", Aleksi asked, her face once again red. Angel giggled.

"Because, it would be funny. Besides, everyone knows that you want to go with him. And I'm willing to bet he wants to go with you. In fact, the only thing that's probably stopped him from doing it already is this training. So go on! Ask him! I guarantee you he'll say yes!", Angel explained, urging her on. Aleksi seemed skeptical. She had no problem fighting Team Rocket. Running through a barrage of bullets or explosions meant nothing to her. She could go through New Island all over again without bating an eyelash, but when it came to something as simple as asking someone a question, she was stumped. Her emotions were getting the better of her, and Angel knew this.

"Come on, why would he turn you down? We all know he likes you just as much as you like him!", Angel said. Aleksi ran over and covered her mouth. She was afraid of others listening in to their conversation. However the gunfire drowned out anything that they would be able to hear otherwise. Aleksi sighed and released Angel. She nervously looked at her, and then Evan, and then back to her. She was truly having a difficult time with this. However, she eventually took in a deep breath, and nodded.

"Alright, I'll do it!", Aleksi said. Angel smiled and gave a thumb's up.

"Good luck! I know you can do it!", Angel said. Aleksi nodded again, turned around, and approached Evan. Her heart rate was going up for every step she got herself closer to him. She gulped and stopped when she reached him. He was still helping Mathinza with his gun, but noticed Aleksi immediately. He stopped and turned to face her with a smile.

"Hey Aleksi, need something?", Evan asked. Aleksi's face began to turn red again, and she debated just turning around and walking away. But she knew that she had to do this. Deep down she had a feeling that Evan would ask her and only her to the ball, but her nerves made her afraid that he wouldn't.

"Y-yes. I have something...to ask you!", Aleksi said. Evan could tell that she was extremely nervous about something, and had a mixture of feelings run through him. Worry, concern, fear, joy, many things ran through him and made his heart race. Mathinza noticed the emotions that the two were going through and became somewhat awkward with the moment. He chuckled to himself nervously.

"I'm uh...just gonna leave now", Mathinza said, slowly walking away with his gun in hand. He didn't know what the two would talk about, but he could tell from their emotions that it wasn't something he should be a part of. Aleksi looked at Evan nervously, and then looked down to the ground. She folded her hands together behind her back and acted like she was looking at her shoes.

"I...I was wondering...if...", Aleksi said before stopping. She didn't know what the heck was making her so buggy. She should be able to ask a simple question. It was only a few words! Evan looked at her, getting slightly more nervous during the delay.

"Yes? Haha, you can just ask Aleksi. I'm sure it's alright", Evan replied. He was afraid of what she would ask. There were a couple things he really hoped she would ask, and there were plenty of other things he hoped she wouldn't.

"Would...would you go to the ball with me?", Aleksi finally asked. However, she said this just above a whisper. The sound of the gunfire and people talking drowned out the words. Evan raised an eyebrow, unable to hear her.

"Excuse me?", Evan asked. Aleksi gulped.

"Would...you go to the ball with me?", Aleksi asked, slightly louder. However it still wasn't loud enough. Evan leaned in closer to her.

"I'm sorry Aleksi, I can't hear you. Can you please speak up?", Evan asked. Aleksi's face grew extremely red. Her nerves were beginning to take over. She leaned forward and closed her eyes.

"I WANT TO GO TO THE BALL WITH YOU!", Aleksi yelled at the top of her lungs. A couple seconds passed before she even realized what she had done. She opened her eyes and looked around. Evan's face was beat red as well, possibly as red as hers was. She turned around and looked to the others. Everyone had stopped shooting, removed their ear muffs, and looked at Aleksi. Most of them sweatdropped, others coughed, showing that they were in fact in the room. Angel was trying her hardest not to explode into laughter at the moment, as she continued to usher her on. Aleksi slowly turned back to Evan, her heart feeling like it would come out of her chest at any moment.

"...Oh...I see", Evan replied nervously with a chuckle. Despite his embarrassment, he was still trying to make a joke. Aleksi sighed heavily and looked down onto the ground. Evan began to regain his composure, knowing that Aleksi was embarrassed enough. He smiled, leaned forward, and put a hand on Aleksi's chin. Slowly, he lifted it up, bringing Aleksi's face up. "I would be honored to go with you", Evan replied. Aleksi smiled, her face beginning to relax more, (although it remained red). Angel and a few other rebels clapped. Others merely shook their heads and went back to their training. Evan chuckled a bit himself. "You know, normally the guy is the one who is supposed to ask the girl to the balls right? I was going to ask you to go as my date after training".

Aleksi sweatdropped at his answer. Slowly, she raised her fist, and smacked Evan in the head.

Boys are so stupid.

**AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAND THAT'S THE END OF THIS CHAPTER! The ending might seem out of place, but not gonna lie, I liked it. I needed some more romance in the story, and now that they're in a peaceful moment, I figured it'd be a good time for it. Rest assured, the real romantic moments will be coming during the ball! ;) Now then, I hope you all enjoyed the chapter update I made! Please be sure to F.A.R. as usual, and to you all, I wish you a very Happy St. Patrick's Day! If you drink, drink responsibly...or at least with a responsible adult! I'll be going to church and then out to dinner with the family myself. ERIN GO BRAGH!**

**sincerely,  
evan, a fan of aaml -EVAN AAML **


	59. Chapter 59

**Well here we are again folks! And yet another exciting update of "R"! I hope that you are all as excited as I am! :) I have a little bit more than a month left of school, so hopefully I'll have a bit more time for updates before exams and then Summer. This semester seems to be going by rather slowly, especially given that I'm taking some rather boring, although important, classes. Oh well, you gotta do what you gotta do. I know that a lot of you are really excited for the upcoming ball. And let me tell you that I am as well. There will be plenty of romance, a bit of comedy, and possibly some small traces of drama and all around fun thrown in. But I should let you know that, although the ball is coming up quickly, there will still be a few chapters before it. I have some things I want to cover first and, considering what I have planned for AFTER the ball, I need to get them all done soon. But don't worry, the wait will be well worth it! Ok, enough of the note, let's get back to the story!**

**-EVAN AAML**

Evan felt the back of his head, rubbing the spot where Aleksi struck him and wincing in pain. Angel looked on with a hint of laughter, seeing both his and Aleksi's reactions. He clearly deserved the smack, although Aleksi was a lot stronger than even she might of thought. Aleksi however didn't seem at all bothered by hitting him, especially given the embarrassment she unnecessarily had to endure. Her face was extremely hot from the long length of time the blush was there. Angel didn't know if she would end up acting out in the same ways that she's seen the others around here act when it came to romance, but she still had a few years to figure it out.

By this time, most everyone else had gone back to shooting practice. Angel took the moment to look around and see how everyone was doing. Nearly all the targets were riddled with bullet holes, some to the point of being unrecognizable. Some rebels seemed to be taking their time in reloading and shooting, either to rest their hands and nerves, or merely because the shooting training didn't matter much to them. The rebels on the far end of the shooting range seemed to be making up a game on whom could shoot the best. She could hear the comments the rebels made as they witnessed one another hit the target. Luke, Logan, Hunter, Michael, and even Nick were all involved. Although Angel felt that the training should of been taken seriously, she saw no harm in them having a little fun while they did it.

"Damn man! You got it right in the head!", someone stated. Angel thought that this was Hunter saying this, although she was uncertain.

"Course I did, I practically grew up on this rifle!", another voice stated. This was definitely Logan. The southern accent along with the mention of a rifle gave it away.

"Ten bucks says you won't be able to hit it again", the first voice stated. There was a moment's pause before another shot rang out. The group of boys laughed.

"Well, that'll teach you from making bets, won't it Hunter?", a third rebel stated with some laugh. Angel figured this was Nick. There were some minor curse words and more laughter after this comment was made. She couldn't help but shake her said and laugh slightly at the foolishness the teens had. She then turned around and looked to her left. Brenna was still trying her best to shoot the target. Angel took a couple steps closer to her and looked at her target. There were quite a few bullet holes in the chest area, along with a couple holes in the lower region of the target. There were no head shots to be seen. Angel however was very impressed. Brenna did a lot better than she herself did when she first started shooting. It might of had to do with age, but she wouldn't really know.

"Good shooting Brenna! You're getting a lot better at this!", Angel said. Brenna smiled.

"Thanks Angel, I appreciate it", Brenna said. She then clicked the button to the handle of the gun and the empty clip slid out. She grabbed a full one on the counter in front of her and slid it in. "But I'm not going to lie to you, I sort of don't like this. I've always wanted to learn how to shoot a gun, but now that I have...I don't think I really like it much". Angel nodded in understanding.

"I know what you mean. I don't like it a lot either. But it's a good thing to learn for this war", Angel said. Brenna nodded.

"True. Hopefully I can just stick to my computers in my library", Brenna stated. Angel then reflected back to the library she had seen earlier. Doing so however made her think of something.

"Speaking of that, do you think that the other analysts found anything useful on the flash drive? You sent off a lot of data to them", Angel said. Brenna stopped for a moment and thought about it.

"Hmm, that's a good question. I was supposed to see how that was going on, but after...well, you know...", Brenna stated. Angel nodded, knowing that she meant Vanessa. "I sort of got distracted. But I'm sure that they got at least something good".

"Well anything that could help us and hurt Team Rocket would be appreciated", Angel said. Brenna nodded. She then turned her attention back to the target and began to fire at it again. Angel knew that she should get more practice in, and didn't want to distract her any longer. And so, she turned back to her booth, picked up her gun, and began to fire away herself.

Meanwhile, Aleksi, now beginning to get over her embarrassment, approached an empty booth and was ready to try Evan's Desert Eagle. She first checked to see if Evan was watching. She turned around and saw Evan directly behind her. He nodded, which prompted her to nod back. She knew that Evan would want her to try to shoot the gun without his assistance, but she was certain that he would step in to help her if she needed it. She picked up the gun and looked at it carefully. She reflected back to the story that Evan had told her and the two younger girls earlier about his father; and him joining the PTA. She felt an odd sensation go through her body, one that she had just felt earlier that day.

It was the same exact feeling she got in her body when she had held the small knife that Vanessa used to slit her arms. When she held that knife, she had terrible sensations go through her body, and now she was getting them again. This was the same gun that Evan had attempted to kill himself with a while back. She imagined the scene Evan explained in gruesome detail. Him kneeling on the floor, the gun's barrel pointed directly to his face, and the sound of the trigger being pulled. Her heart ached at the mere thought of it. This gun that she was about to fire could of killed one of her best friends.

Evan seemed to sense that something was wrong, and looked at Aleksi intently. He still did not want to intervene with her shooting practice, especially given how much Aleksi wanted to prove that she had gotten better at it. But this didn't stop him from thinking about what she might be going through. Although Evan was not a detective, and officially he had no degree in his science career, but he still had a tendency to think things through like a detective or scientist. He began to wonder what it was that caused Aleksi to act in this way. He had a feeling however, that it had something to do with his past, and the suicide earlier. He pulled his pack of cigarettes from his chest pocket and pulled one out. He placed the pack back, and then pulled out his silver lighter. As he clicked the lighter and sparked a flame, he looked back to Aleksi. He lit the cigarette, and wondered what she would do next.

Aleksi began to grow nervous as she held the weapon. The weight of the already heavy pistol felt worse, as if the gun itself was draining her of her energy. But soon, she realized that Evan was watching her. She was still nervous, but above all else, she wanted to show Evan that she was strong willed. She recalled a tip that Evan had told her a couple days ago, when they were target shooting. "_You have to take charge of it_". Aleksi nodded to herself. She gripped the pistol tighter, and suddenly, it was as if the gun had no power over her. The terrible sensation that had but moments ago filled her entire body was gone, just like that. The gun felt lighter, and Aleksi sighed. Now, it was merely a pistol to her, however large it may of been.

Aleksi looked back to Evan with a smile. Evan smiled back, the cigarette in his mouth twisting up as he did so. The small trail of smoke lifted in the air before disappearing entirely. Aleksi ignored the bad smoking habit and turned back to the target. Now that she had controlled the gun, it was time to prove her skills. Her target, which instead of a human shape was nothing more than red circles, was positioned about a hundred feet away from her. It was a bit farther back than the others, which suited her just fine. She pulled the top of the gun back and cocked it. Aleksi then aimed the gun down the range and prepared to fire. She remembered when she fired this gun last; and the pain she endured from the recoil. She wasn't going to let that happen again.

Aleksi held onto the gun tightly with both hands and made sure to compensate for the recoil she would certainly feel. She used the sight to the gun and aimed for the target down range. She put her fingers on the trigger, and pulled. The gun bounced in her hands and caused her wrist to jump a bit. But unlike last time, she was fully prepared for it. Her initial apprehension caused her not to see where the bullet went, and so she looked to the target to see. The large bullet hole was a few inches above the center circle. The recoil was still taking affect on her, and she sighed in disappointment. However, she heard the sound of clapping and turned around. Evan approached her, still clapping.

"Well done Aleksi! You did A LOT better than you did the first time! And you almost hit the center target! If that were a Rocket he'd be dead before he hit the ground", Evan explained. Although Aleksi was still disappointed in missing the center target, she smiled and blushed ever so slightly. She was glad that Evan was impressed. She scratched the side of her head and avoided eye contact with him as he approached her. He looked at the target more intently. "Yes, most impressive. The recoil still has a bit of affect, but you easily handled most of it". He then turned and looked at Aleksi. She looked up to him, the blush a bit more apparent. He was really close to her, close enough to touch, to...kiss.

What? What was she thinking? She couldn't kiss him! Why would she? She didn't like him! Well, no, she liked him, but she didn't _like _him like him! It was true that she was more and more used to him. She had grown from being annoyed by him to seeing him as a great friend. Possibly...possibly more than a friend. Maybe a boyfriend? NO! She couldn't believe that these thoughts were running through her head, especially right now, right in front of him! She looked to him and could see the cigarette, still smoldering at the tip. About a fourth of it was burned through by this point. The smell of the burning nicotine went through her nose, and she cringed. She had grown somewhat used to the smell after being around Evan these last few days, but this was overbearing. She smirked, which caused Evan to smirk as well.

Suddenly, she grabbed the cigarette from right out of his mouth. He looked at her with a mix of shock and confusion as she held the cigarette right in front of him, as if teasing him with it. Evan smirked and tried to grab it back, but Aleksi lowered her hand too quickly, and he missed. She turned to the range and threw the cigarette in the air, away from them both. She then quickly lifted the Desert Eagle and, with the cigarette in sight, pulled the trigger.

The two young adults watched as the bullet flew through the air, striking the lit cigarette. It exploded entirely, paper, nicotine, and sparks flying everywhere. The bullet however did not stop there. It flew all the way to the target, and struck the center circle, mere centimeters from a perfect bulls eye. Aleksi smirked greatly as Evan looked on, his mouth slightly ajar and a small blush across his face. Aleksi turned to him with a cocky but innocent expression. Evan couldn't help but laugh slightly himself.

"Show off", Evan said, referring to what Aleksi often thought of him. She merely winked with a giggle.

"That's one way to end a bad smoking habit!", someone said with a giggle. Evan and Aleksi both turned towards the source of the voice. As soon as they saw the source of the words, they smiled. Standing at the entrance of the shooting range were Ashley and Ryoto. Ashley was a couple steps down on the stairs and smiled to the two. She wore her usual attire, although she had many bandages wrapped around her chest and waist. Ryoto had his arms crossed and leaned against the side of the entrance, but gave a small smile towards them as well. He had bandages it seemed everywhere. His chest, head, arms, and legs. He had cuts and scrapes everywhere.

"Ashley! Ryoto!", Aleksi yelled in excitement. Evan turned to the other rebels, who were all shooting and had not noticed them arrive.

"Hey everyone, looked who came to join the training!", Evan said. Aleksi ran forward and hugged Ashley tightly, who was happy enough to hug her back. Evan approached Ryoto and merely held his hand out. Ryoto took it and they shook hands. "How you feeling Ryoto?", Evan asked.

"I've felt better. But I'm ready to get back to work", Ryoto answered. Evan nodded.

"Good thing. You missed the meeting we had", Evan stated. Ryoto looked at him, a more serious expression across his face.

"What happened?", Ryoto asked.

"You'll need to talk to Ash about it, we need to know about the base", Evan explained. Ryoto nodded. Aleksi then released Ashley and turned to the two boys.

"But there will be time for that when the training is over. Did you two come down to join in?", Aleksi asked. Ashley turned to them.

"Well the doctors told us to try to hold off on anything major. We're still in pretty bad condition", Ashley said.

"But that's not going to be stopping me", Ryoto threw in. Suddenly, the sound of feet stomping towards then drew their attention. They turned around just in time to see Angel dive into Ashley, her arms wrapping around her waist. She smiled as she squeezed the young blonde.

"ASHLEY!", Angel yelled in excitement. Ashley smiled and hugged her back.

"Angel! I'm glad to see you again! Haven't seen you since we returned, good to see that you're doing alright", Ashley said. Angel looked up to her, still keeping her arms wrapped around her.

"Same goes for you!", Angel stated. The commotion that was going on began to draw the attention of the others as well. Wallace, who had watched them for a few seconds, approached the gang. He had known that the two were being released from intensive care, but was afraid that they would try to train again.

"Now hold on Ryoto, you and Ashley are in no condition to be doing a lot here. We need you both in top shape for the Veridian battle", Wallace stated.

"If I don't train then I'll get lazy and I won't be of any use", Ryoto argued. Wallace sighed. He was used to dealing with stubborn rebels. Everyone always wanted to get right back to fighting, and usually ended up injuring themselves further in the process. Ryoto was even more stubborn than most, and Wallace knew this.

"...Well then, at least keep it easy will you? Technically I can't make you relax, but you should know as well as I do that you'll be of even less use if you get yourself hurt again", Wallace said. He then leaned over and looked at Ashley. "That means both of you". Ashley nodded.

"Don't worry, we won't", Ashley said with a wink. Wallace sighed. Ryoto then turned and looked to the group of rebels in the shooting range. Some of them went straight back to training, while others continued to look on, wondering what would be going on next.

"So you have them practice shooting?", Ryoto asked. Evan nodded, pulling out a new cigarette from his pocket. Since Aleksi shot his other one, he never got his fix of nicotine. He placed it gently in his mouth and began to light it.

"Yeah, we just started a little while ago. I heard that a lot of people on New Island had trouble shooting, due to the unexpected timing of the mission. So I wanted them to get some more practice in before the next mission. They've gotten a lot better, but there's going to have to be a lot more people to practice before we're ready", Evan explained, the cigarette now beginning to burn. Ryoto nodded.

"I agree. I heard we got a lot more weapons as well", Ryoto said. Evan nodded.

"Yep, Eli said we got quite the variety of guns now. Should come in handy", Evan said. He took a puff from his cigarette, letting the smoke float out of his mouth and into the air. "So, you intend to train them in combat?". Ryoto turned to him. He wasn't expecting him to of known that he planned on that. But he supposed that he shouldn't of been surprised. Evan, like a lot of the other rebels around here, were very smart.

"Yeah, soon", Ryoto said. Evan nodded.

"Well, just be sure to take it easy on them. A lot of us here aren't as rested as we should be. Some people shouldn't even _be_ here", Evan said, putting emphasis on his words. Ryoto couldn't help but chuckle at these words. During this, a couple rebels approached the small group. This included Milo, Nick, and Sawyer.

"So, I'm gonna guess that you're going to train us in hand to hand combat huh?", Milo asked, crossing his arms with a smile. Ryoto merely nodded.

"Ok, good. Not that your training isn't important Evan, but we should try to get in as much training as possible, and not focus on one thing for so long", Nick said.

"I agree. It's not a problem. I'll stay here and help those who want to continue shooting practice. Anyone who wants to work on hand to hand combat can just go to the training room. Afterwards, if we have enough time, we'll go straight on to Pokemon battling", Evan said, smoking his cigarette. Ryoto nodded.

"A good idea. Alright, anyone who wants to go with me, come along", Ryoto said. He turned around and began to leave the room. The rebels all looked at one another, somewhat confused as to why he would just leave and not wait for them. But they all shrugged. Nick, Milo, Sawyer, and a few other rebels including Trent, Riles, Darrel, and Mathinza began to follow Ryoto out of the room. Angel, who by now had released Ashley, looked to the girls by her.

"I think I'm going to join them. I would like to learn more about self defense...are you going to come with me?", Angel asked. Ashley shook her head.

"I'm afraid not. Like Wallace said, I'm still not ready for combat. I can't afford to get myself hurt more. I'll just stick here and practice shooting, I could use it", Ashley said. Angel couldn't argue with that. She wouldn't want Ashley to hurt herself more. She then turned to look at Aleksi. She stared at her for a second or two, but then shook her head herself.

"Sorry Angel, I'm gonna stick here too", Aleksi stated. Angel was somewhat disappointed, but soon shrugged it off.

"I understand...I wouldn't want to be too far away from _my _boyfriend either", Angel said with a wink and a smirk. Aleksi's face turned bright red as Ashley giggled.

"AND WHAT'S THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN?", Aleksi asked with annoyance and embarrassment in her voice. Angel merely ignored this and turned to Brenna while Ashley continued to laugh at Aleksi's expense.

"What about you Brenna?", Angel asked. Brenna turned around from shooting and looked at her.

"Thanks Angel, but I think I still need more practice with this. I almost have the hang of it, I wouldn't want to stop now", Brenna said. Angel smiled, she was glad that Brenna had this determination. She nodded.

"Alright, best of luck Brenna!", Angel said. Brenna nodded. She then turned back to her shooting. Angel looked back to the girls. I'll see you later then, when we have our Pokemon battle training. Have fun with Evan Aleksi!". Angel then immediately ran off, not staying to hear Aleksi's screams of embarrassment and anger. She did however hear much laughter from the rebels who had listened in on their conversation.

As she walked out of the room and down the hall, she joined the small group of rebels who had decided to join Ryoto in combat training. She had just managed to reach Riles, Milo, and Sawyer. They turned to see the young girl as they walked.

"So, decided to join us 'eh Angel?", Riles asked. Angel nodded with a smile.

"Yep, I figured that I could use more training in combat. Same for you Riles?", Angel asked.

"Well, yes and no. It's not that I really want to learn how to fight, it's more like...well, I don't feel right using those guns. God does not believe in such violence. If I can avoid it, then I will", Riles stated. Angel nodded, understanding his views on such things.

"I'm in it more for Nick. I can't really fight myself, but I can at least help him", Sawyer said. Angel smiled. Sawyer had a blush across her face as she said this. She really did love Nick. Angel couldn't help but think of the other pairings around the PTA. Aleksi and Evan, May and Drew, Ash and Misty. She felt happy, knowing that despite what was going on in the world, the rebels still had time for those they loved. Suddenly, Angel heard laughter, which she discovered came from Milo.

"Me, I'm psyched man! I'm a mechanic by trade, and I don't usually get involved with fighting. But I'm pretty good at fighting, and I would like to get better. I love my job here in the PTA, but I wanna get more in the action! I want to be there when I save my family, and I intend to kick some Rocket ass to do that!", Milo said with a large grin on his face. Angel, Sawyer, and Riles shook their heads with smiles on their faces. Milo's heart was in the right place, but they couldn't help but find his cocky attitude and kick butt personality funny.

Soon, the group of rebels found themselves walking into a large training room. Angel saw the large Pokemon battle field painted onto the hard ground. It didn't surprise her that they used the same fields for combat training. The rebels all stood around in a semi circle while Ryoto turned and faced them.

"I'm sure that most of you are all aware, that the attack on Veridian will be coming soon. Team Rocket's defenses are down, and we have a perfect opportunity to strike. However, after the New Island attack, a lot of us are battered and bruised. So, those of you who should not be fighting, please take a seat", Ryoto said, gesturing to the bench along the wall to the right. Sawyer sighed and nodded, walking over to the wall and sitting on the bench. She wanted to practice, but she knew that her pace maker was not adjusted for it well enough yet. Riles, never wanting to really fight anyway, joined her on the bench. Everyone else remained standing, ready to begin. Ryoto looked at them and nodded.

"Alright, well I guess the rest of you are going to be training then. Now unfortunately, I can't do a whole lot right now, but rest assured I'll be helping you all if and when you need it. What I'll have you do is, I'll send out two people at a time and the two people will just fight each other. I'll be giving tips and helping you as the practice goes on. Then, I'll have those who are fighting stop and send out two other pairings. That was there is some order to the practice. Now remember, this is training, so try not to hurt one another too much out there", Ryoto explained. Everyone nodded. Ryoto then turned around and made his way to the bench. He sat in-between Riles and Sawyer, (Sawyer to his right and Riles to his left), and looked out at the small group of rebels.

"Hmm...ok, let's start off with...Miles and Mathinza. The rest of you take a seat", Ryoto decided. Miles and Mathinza smirked and began to stretch as the others all made their way to the benches. Angel sat next to Riles, while Nick sat next to Sawyer. Darrel and Trent sat a few spaces further down, closer to the door. Nick crossed his arms, and then turned to look at Ryoto.

"Ryoto", Nick said. Ryoto glanced over for a second to see Nick, and then looked back to the two on the field. "How is this going to play out, like a tournament style?".

"In a way, yes. There's no prize for the winner, nor is there shame in losing. This is merely to see what people need to work on in fighting. There are quite a few rebels here who either don't possess a lot of fighting skills, or hate fighting all together. We need to change that, if we're to do anything in Veridian", Ryoto exclaimed. The rebels on the bench listened to what he had said, and had their own opinions on the matter. Trent leaned forward on the bench, looking to Darrel at his side.

"You hear that?", Trent asked. Darrel nodded.

"Yeah dog. Gotta say, I sort of agree with him", Darrel stated. Trent raised an eyebrow.

"Really?", Trent asked. Darrel nodded and leaned back, against the backrest of the metal bench.

"Yeah. I'm not one to force people to do what they don't want to do, sort of contradicts what the PTA stands for. But, I also don't intend to lose to no Rockets. If us winning means we all need to fight, then I'm gonna back that up", Darrel explained. Trent nodded.

"I see your point. Luckily, I'm pretty good at close combat, it's one of my specialties", Trent stated, not to brag, but merely for conversation. Darrel nodded.

"Maybe for you it is, but not some others here", Darrel said, glancing over to the others on the bench. In particular, Angel, Riles, and Sawyer. Angel noticed this and was somewhat angered. She knew that Darrel meant no harm in these words, but they stung just the same. She wasn't sure why they made her angry, she knew that she was no match for him or any of the others in combat. She was well aware of her very many limitations. But something about what Darrel said, made her want to prove him wrong.

Miles and Mathinza meanwhile, continued to stretch. Mathinza bent down onto the ground and extended his legs, bouncing slightly as he did so. Miles meanwhile just twisted his arms to get them moving. Mathinza looked to him with a smile.

"So Miles, how often do you get into combat situations?", Mathinza asked. Miles turned to him with a smirk.

"Not a whole lot, but I'm really strong from working on all those cars. Most people don't realize how much muscle it takes to move an engine or lift an axle. I can handle my own", Miles said. Mathinza smiled back.

"Well, best of luck to ya'", Mathinza stated. Although he was more comfortable fighting Team Rocket from long range, as he was used to, he was not afraid to get up close and personal. He had confidence in his abilities, and although he was not very well built to fight, he felt that he could handle Miles. However, he had never seen Miles in a fight, and under-estimating your opponent often resulted in defeat, as his grandfather had told him years ago.

The two finished their stretching and got into position. Mathinza's back was to the side of the room with the entrance, while Miles' back was to the back of the room. Everyone watched from the bench, eager to see how this practice fight would play out.

"Alright, whenever you're ready, you can begin", Ryoto said, his arms crossed as he watched the two. Mathinza immediately put himself into a lowered position and charged towards Milo. Milo merely stood there, ready for whatever Mathinza had planned for him. The other rebels watched and waited, anticipation building. Mathinza approached Milo with tremendous speed. When he had reached him, he jumped in the air and spun around, swinging his leg in the process. Milo quickly ducked to avoid the spinning kick. Mathinza countered this by falling to the ground and trying to trip Milo up. Milo jumped backwards and avoided the trip as well.

Although it was clear that Milo was not very well balanced, he was just quick enough to avoid getting hit where it counted. Mathinza's speed was clearly his advantage, and he used it well. With lighting speed, Mathinza made kicks and punches at Milo, which all just narrowly missed. Mathinza however, knew that they would miss, he was looking for an opening.

An opening, which suddenly appeared to him.

Mathinza noticed that Milo's dodges usually consisted of backing up as much as he could, or going to the side. However, when Mathinza was close enough, he couldn't back up in time. Mathinza smirked as he made a fist.

"YOU LEFT AN OPENING!", Mathinza yelled, throwing his fist to Milo's face. The punch contacted perfectly with his cheek. However, Mathinza was soon the one to be caught off guard. Milo merely grinned, not so much as showing a twitch from the punch.

"I told you man, I'm built. And your punches are far too weak", Milo said. Mathinza gasped. Milo then gripped onto Mathinza's wrist, which was squeezed tightly. Mathinza cringed. "I'LL SHOW YA' A PUNCH!". Milo, with his free hand, made a fist and planted it firmly into Mathinza's cheek, similar to the punch he had given him mere seconds ago. Mathinza flew backwards and landed on the ground hard. He quickly looked up to Milo, feeling his face. His lip was bleeding now, but nothing that wouldn't go away with time.

"Damn! That was a nice punch aye?", Mathinza said, both impressed and annoyed at the same time. He then stood up as Milo bounced from side to side, like a boxer in the ring.

"Ready for round two?", Milo asked. Mathinza nodded.

"Always", Mathinza responded. He then quickly charged Milo once again. Milo smirked and threw a punch. However, Mathinza juked Milo, like a football player dodging a defender. He spun around, grabbing Milo's wrist in the process, and swung him around. The momentum of the swing caused Milo to spin quickly. As he did, Mathinza turned and kicked him across the back. He fell to the ground hard. Mathinza did not give Milo the chance to recover. He jumped up in the air and landed on top of Milo, pinning him to the ground with his whole body's weight. Milo's face was pushed against the hard ground.

"I got you down now Milo. You may be stronger, but I can use your strength against you!", Mathinza said. Milo growled somewhat, mostly because it was hard for him to breath in his position.

"We'll see...about that!", Milo said. He then began to try to lift up from the ground. Mathinza gasped as he found himself being lifted. Milo suddenly spun around and grabbed Mathinza's neck with his hand, choking him. Mathinza gasped for breath. Everyone on the bench gasped in shock, except for Ryoto, who merely watched on.

"How's Mathinza gonna get out of that?", Riles asked.

"I don't know. I've been in that position before, and it's hard to escape when the opponent is a lot stronger than you", Angel stated.

"There are plenty of ways for him to escape", Ryoto stated. Angel and Riles turned to face him. "He just has to find out which one will work best". Angel and Riles seemed skeptical, but turned their attention back to the fight. Milo slowly stood up and lifted Mathinza high in the air, still choking him. His strength was remarkable. Milo's grip was tight, but he purposely loosened it to allow Mathinza to breath, if only a little.

"Alright man, you got two options here, either I slam you down, or you surrender. Which is it?", Milo asked. Mathinza wrapped his arms around Milo's arm, trying to pry him off, but soon discovered that he didn't have the strength to do so. He knew that, if Milo were a Rocket, he would be in far more trouble than he was right now. He had to think of a way out. Suddenly, an idea came to him. Mathinza twisted Milo's wrist, and began to pull himself towards the ground. The weight of him pulling down, along with the twisting of his wrist, caused Milo to fall as well. The two landed on the ground, and Mathinza spun himself around, twisting Milo's entire arm in the process. He yelled in pain.

Everyone at the bench gasped, except for Ryoto, who merely smirked slightly. Mathinza smirked himself as he looked at Milo from his new position.

"Hurts doesn't it? I could break your arm in this position you know. I suggest you surrender!", Mathinza said. Milo growled once again, and Mathinza twisted and pulled harder. Suddenly, Milo lifted his head and looked at Mathinza, his face entirely red from the strain.

"I...will not...give up!", Milo said under the strain. Milo then began to twist his body in the opposite direction, something that proved to be difficult in his position. Mathinza pulled tighter, but found that he could not resist the strength Milo had. His adrenaline must of been pumping to do this. Milo managed to twist himself just enough to get a better footing on the ground, his left foot and hand holding him steady. Then, Milo smirked, and, with his twisted hand, gripped onto Mathinza's shirt. Mathinza gasped, and Milo suddenly took off. Milo's strength allowed him to pick up Mathinza, even with his arm twisted, and carry him with him as he charged towards the wall, right to the side of the benches. Milo threw Mathinza in front of him and everyone gasped as he charged him into the wall.

Mathinza gasped, the air escaping from his body due to the force of the tackle. Milo released Mathinza and stepped back, as the smaller rebel fell to the ground in a heap. He coughed heavily, putting one hand to his chest and the other to the back of his head, where he had hit the wall. He coughed some more, before leaning against the wall with a smile on his face.

"Ok...I'm done...that hurt", Mathinza stated. Milo smirked and cheered a little bit, flexing his muscles.

"THAT'S WHAT I'M TALKIN' ABOUT!", Milo yelled. Ryoto sighed at the cocky attitude, but was none the less impressed with his feats of strength. Like Mathinza, he did not know what Milo was capable of in a real fight. Now he was more than aware.

"Alright, Milo, you moved on. You alright Mathinza?", Ryoto asked. Milo walked over and helped Mathinza to his feet, as did Nick, who was closest to him on the bench. Mathinza coughed a little bit more and gave a thumbs up.

"I will be in a bit", Mathinza said, his lip still bleeding. Milo and Nick helped him to a seat before taking seats themselves. Mathinza sat in-between Milo and Nick.

"You did well Mathinza, and your speed is remarkable. But you're just too small to fight someone like Milo", Ryoto stated. Mathinza chuckled a bit.

"No kidding", Mathinza said. He laughed some more, before cringing, a smile on his face and tears in his eyes. "Ow, it hurts to laugh". The others chuckled a bit. Ryoto then turned back to the others.

"Ok, next round...Trent, get out there", Ryoto said. Trent smiled and stood up, swinging his right arm. Darrel gave him a nod.

"Good luck man", Darrel said. Trent nodded, swinging his left arm now.

"Thanks Darrel", Trent said. He then made his way to the center of the room. Ryoto meanwhile looked to the other rebels.

"Hmm...who to go against him...Riles?", Ryoto said. He turned to look at Riles. Riles merely stared at him, a sarcastic look on his face. Ryoto sweatdropped slightly. "Right, damn pacifists. Ok...Nick, you go". Nick smirked and began to stand up. But before he did, Sawyer quickly leaned over and planted a kiss on his cheek. Nick looked to her, a blush across his face.

"That's for good luck!", Sawyer said with a wink. Nick smiled back.

"Thanks for that", Nick said. He then approached the center of the room as well. Everyone else watched on in anticipation. The next round would be Trent versus Nick.

**This one was pretty long! I wanted to drag out the Mathinza/Milo fight a little bit more, but I needed to get this finished with. Hope you all enjoyed the update! I know a lot of you wanted to see Ryoto and Ashley again. And rest assured, you'll see more of them soon enough! The fighting here is merely for training, so don't be disappointed if your OC loses please. ;) I'll probably have another chapter or two dedicated to this training, and then move onto the Pokemon battling. That one could take me some time to work on, so patience please. Also, as stated above, school is almost over, (in fact, I'm typing this up at my school on my free time). And so I'll have a lot of finals to prepare for. However, once Summer comes along, I should have plenty of more time to work on my stories! I would like to give a shout out to my friends prettygirl17, who has just recently updated her popular "Wishful Thinking" story, CHECK IT OUT! And one to MiyaToriaka, who has returned to drawing AAML, glad to see you're back! (check her artwork out as well!) Please be sure to F.A.R., and I will see you all next time!**

**sincerely,  
****evan, a fan of aaml -EVAN AAML**


	60. Chapter 60

**First off, no, I am not dead. :P I just need a long time to update since I'm so busy. Well Easter has come and gone, and I hope that you all (who celebrate it), enjoyed it! A lot of people don't seem to be as interested in Easter compared to other holidays, but I enjoyed it. Anyway, here's a delayed Easter gift from me, to you!**

**-EVAN AAML**

Trent and Nick remained in the center of the room, preparing for their training. Although "winning" the match was not important, as it was the training that they were really getting out of the little tournament, people couldn't help but feel some excitement towards the fights, and wondering who would beat who. Mathinza leaned forward on the bench, his lip still bleeding a bit. By this time he had begun to get his breathing back to normal, although his chest and head were still hurting from the tackle against the wall. He was not disappointed in losing to Milo, he knew that he was entering the fight at a disadvantage. However, he did wish that he at least would of left the fight feeling better.

Everyone else kept their eyes on the combatants on the field. Ryoto, although unable to participate, kept a close eye on everyone who was fighting. Angel glanced over to him, seeing the lack of distraction. She wasn't surprised that Ryoto was so fixated on the match ups, he sort of took it upon himself to take charge of the combat training. She wondered if he would get involved more later on. He could be stubborn, despite his injuries. She just hoped that the Rocket side, the side that showed frequently during the New Island mission, wouldn't be appearing anytime soon.

The two boys in the center of the arena merely stood across from each other, only a few feet away. They both smirked, confident in their abilities. However, first impressions gave Nick the advantage. Trent had injured himself during the New Island attack, and in fact still had bandages wrapped around his shoulder from the gunshot wound. His head however had recovered for the most part. Nick on the other hand never really injured himself much on the mission. He had practically recovered entirely. However, if the last fight reminded the rebels of anything, it was that you should never underestimate your opponent.

"So, you ready for this?", Nick asked with a grin. Trent nodded.

"Yeah, sounds like fun to me", Trent said. Nick couldn't help but chuckle a bit. Trent was more easy going than most of the other rebels, he tried to make fun of something so serious.

"Alright you two, whenever you're ready", Ryoto said. The boys both nodded in unison. Trent then ran towards Nick. Trent was not as fast as Mathinza, but Nick was much closer to him, so speed was not needed. Trent made a fist and swung it at Nick's face. Nick ducked just in time to avoid the punch. Trent made another punch with his other hand, this time going for his gut, but Nick side stepped away. Nick, seeing the opportunity present itself, swung his leg around, kicking Trent in his side. Trent's body bent from the force of the kick and he grimaced. Nick then tried for a punch of his own, but Trent caught it with his hands.

With impressive speed, Trent swung his legs under Nick, tripping him. As he began to fall, Trent swung his arm down onto him, slamming him hard into the ground. Sawyer gasped, concerned for her boyfriend. Nick however, despite being hurt, was not out of this fight yet. He quickly rolled away from Trent and stood up, then dove directly at him. He speared Trent, causing him to fly backwards and to knock the breath right out of him. As they fell to the ground, Nick got on top of Trent and began to try to punch him. Trent covered his face with his arms, and while it did block most of the punches, a few did manage to sneak through and hit him in the chin or cheek.

Trent knew that, despite this being only training, Nick was taking it more seriously than the others. Nick was competitive, and it showed in the way he was fighting. He tried to impress Sawyer, Ryoto, and the others in his strength and stamina. However, this could also prove to be his weakness. Trent was used to fighting Rockets like this in hand to hand combat, as many of them were cocky as well. While this made them strong, it also made them lose control very easily. Trent thought that perhaps he could use this to his advantage.

As Nick continued to punch the apparently defenseless rebel, Trent suddenly and with tremendous speed grabbed both of his fists. Nick gasped, shocked that he didn't see this coming. Trent then smirked and rolled back slightly, putting his feet to Nick's gut. Using his momentum, Trent swung Nick backwards, towards the others on the bench. He then sat up, spat out some blood, and then stood up completely. Ryoto smirked.

"Impressive counter there Trent. Nick, I highly suggest you be careful. I've seen Trent's fighting first hand, and if you don't prepare yourself, you're in for a world of hurt", Ryoto stated. Trent smirked, a slight blush apparent. He was somewhat flattered, (though more shocked) that Ryoto complimented him in this way; especially given their experience together on the mission together. This however boost his confidence in the fight, and he looked back to Nick.

"You ready for the next round?", Trent asked. Nick smirked himself as he lifted himself off from the ground and stood up. He ached slightly, but he was ready to continue.

"You bet. Let's go", Nick said. He gave no time for Trent to prepare, he ran to him with great speed. Nick jumped in the air with a fist raised, ready to slam down onto the ground. Trent gasped and back flipped, dodging the punch. He propelled himself off the ground with his hands and landed back on his feet. However, as soon as he did, he saw that Nick was right on top of him. Trent side stepped to dodge, and then jumped back as Nick swung a kick towards his direction. He barely had time to dodge the moves that Nick threw at him. For awhile he kept on dodging the punches and kicks, not concerning himself with hitting Nick until he found an opening. Nick however seemed to be confident in something. Trent kept an eye on him, wondering what it was he was planning. Suddenly, it hit him, literally.

He had backed himself into a wall. He had been so concerned with dodging that he forgot to look at his surroundings. Trent turned back to look at the wall, and then turned back to Nick. Within the second he did, he felt a hard smack to his gut. He bent down, losing his breath from the blow. Nick then gave Trent an uppercut to the chin, causing him to smack his head into the wall. His jaw ached and his cheek began to bleed, as he had bit down onto it with his teeth. However, he didn't have time to concern himself with this. Nick swung another punch to Trent, but this time he was ready.

Trent grabbed the punch and spun himself around, positioning himself behind Nick. He then placed Nick in a full nelson. Nick struggled, unable to move out of Trent's grasp. Trent took a few steps back, forcing Nick to do the same. Nick wondered what it was that he was going to do. Suddenly, Trent began to run towards the wall. Nick was unable to pull himself away from Trent due to the full nelson, but had to act fast. When the wall approached, Nick ran his feet up it. The force of the push, along with Nick's athletic maneuver, cause him to pull himself free from Trent, and land himself directly behind him. Trent didn't have time to react as Nick kicked him into the wall full force. His head smacked into the wall had, causing him to temporarily hear bells. Nick stepped back as Trent fell to the ground, dazed.

Everyone else gasped in shock. Ryoto seemed slightly impressed, but hid most of his emotions. Darrel leaned back against the wall with a smirk.

"That was a good move by Nick, using the wall to get back into position", Darrel said. Milo, who was on the side furthest away from Darrel, chuckled a bit.

"Damn man! Trent's gonna be feeling that tomorrow!", Milo said with a chuckle.

"I hope Nick didn't give him a concussion!", Sawyer stated with concern. Trent lifted himself off the ground and leaned against the wall for support. His nose was broken and bleeding badly. His head was red and scratched a bit from the blow, but he doubted that there was serious damage. He did however have a tough time seeing for a bit. He chuckled however, despite himself.

"That was good man, should of seen that coming. God, that hurt", Trent said Nick couldn't help but laugh himself.

"Yeah, I didn't mean to kick that hard, my bad. You alright?", Nick asked showing some concern, but mostly in fits of laughter. While the caution was there, he couldn't help but laugh it off. He knew that Trent was in high spirits, and didn't want to take that away from him. This was only training after all. Trent raised his hands to his nose. He felt where the break was, and, with great force, re-positioned his nose into place. He snorted, forcing more blood out of his nose. He was able to breath however, and decided it was good enough.

"Yeah, I'm fine", Trent said. He slowly stood up, using the wall to guide him.

"You can quit now if you want, I wouldn't blame you", Nick said. Trent chuckled.

"Nope, not yet. I still have some fight in me", Trent said, standing fully now and no longer using the wall for support. Nick shrugged, laughing a bit. He pulled off his white jacket and threw it onto the floor away from then, then got back into a fighting stance.

"Alright, if that's what you want", Nick said. Nick then ran to Trent. The injured rebel was still trying to regain his senses from the kick into the wall, and so was not fully prepared for Nick. He did however manage to narrowly dodge a punch to the torso. Nick managed to stop the missed punch before he hit the wall and broke his hand. Trent gripped Nick's shirt and threw him away from the wall and himself. The throw was weak, but enough to cause Nick to fall to the ground. He managed to pull himself up from the floor and looked up at Trent, who was now quickly approaching him.

Knowing that Trent was weak and injured, Nick got up and prepared to finish this fight. He swung his fist just as Trent reached him, punching him in the cheek. He then swung his other fist into Trent's side, and ended with swinging his knee into his lower gut. Trent bent down in pain, his eyes wide and his breath cut short. Nick felt bad hurting Trent like this, as he didn't like hurting his friends. But this was training, and he would do whatever was necessary to get better prepared for the Rocket fight.

Nick grabbed Trent's neck, using it to lift his head, and brought it up; then swung his elbow across, smacking Trent in the face. The blood from his nose and now his lip were going all down his face. Nick's guilt was beginning to build more and more, but he tried to suppress it as best he could. Trent looked at Nick, seeing that he was distracted. While he was not completely certain why he was acting this way, he knew that this gave him a chance. Nick kept his grip onto Trent's neck, however it was not a choke hold, and therefore not tight. Trent smacked Nick's hand free, and then immediately gave Nick a hard head butt.

Nick stepped back, holding his head in agony. He had not anticipated Trent's quick recovery. He felt blood on his head, but assumed it was in fact Trent's. He quickly looked to where Trent was, only to see that he had vanished. He removed his hands from his head completely and looked around, not seeing Trent any wheres. Sensing that Trent was close, he turned around, just in enough time to catch a kick to the head.

Trent had spun around Nick and jumped in the air for a tornado kick. It was just sheer luck that Nick turned into it. Nick flipped over and landed hard onto the ground, while Trent landed heavily on his feet. He was exhausted, but still standing. Nick laid on the ground, in agony. He had taken two hard hits to the head, and all he could hear were bells. Trent knew that he hadn't hit him hard enough to give him a concussion, but he expected that he had at least a pretty bad migraine at this point.

Sawyer had grown from concerned to terrified for Nick. She stood up, preparing to run out onto the field, until Ryoto stopped her. He held out his hand in front of her, causing her to stop her movement.

"WAIT!", Ryoto yelled. Sawyer looked at him, a mixture of confusion and annoyance in her emotions.

"Wait? Nick could be hurt! Training or not they're still beating themselves up out there!", Sawyer said, angry at Ryoto's lack of concern.

"Sawyer, Nick knew what he was getting into when we started this training. He was prepared for this. Besides, he is a pretty proud individual, I don't think he'd be very happy if you ended this fight. If he wanted to stop he would", Ryoto explained. Sawyer was bitter at his remarks, but he did bring up a point. She knew how Nick could get, and knew that he wouldn't want her to stop the training on his account. She turned back to Nick, seeing him still on the ground. He was trying to get up, but found it difficult. However, despite the pain he was enduring, Sawyer could see the determination in his eyes. She knew then, that he was alright. She sighed and sat down, still concerned for her boyfriend's health.

Angel had witnessed the entire thing and showed sympathy for her reactions. She knew how much she cared for him, and didn't blame her for being afraid. Sawyer glanced over and saw Angel looking at her. The young girl nodded, indicating that everything would be alright. Sawyer smiled and nodded back, then brought her attention back to the training.

Trent had taken the opportunity to catch his breath and see if he could get back his energy. He knew that he wouldn't be able to last much longer, but he hoped that Nick would be long done for by then. He knew that head injuries caused fights to end much quicker. Had he wanted to, he could easily of given Nick a terrible concussion, or even knocked him unconscious. He made sure not to do those things, but did try to make him have trouble maneuvering. Nick slowly got himself up onto his feet, holding his head. He still heard bells and his head was throbbing to the point of being almost unbearable.

Trent didn't want to put himself or Nick through anymore pain than was necessary, so he decided that he would try to end this, as soon as possible. He ran towards Nick, knowing that he would not be nearly as prepared now. However, to his surprise, he was.

As soon as Trent reached him, Nick side stepped and held his arm out. Trent, unable to stop in time, was clothes-lined. He flipped and fell to the ground. Nick, barely able to stand, fell to his knees beside him. The two panted heavily and were exhausted. Ryoto was impressed by their stamina. The other rebels however were losing less interest in the fight itself and growing more concern for their safety. Milo and Mathinza had had some pretty hard hits, but their fight was short, this one could go on much longer.

Trent rolled over away from Nick and began to pick himself up. Nick, knowing that he wouldn't give up, prepared himself as well. Slowly, the two stood up, looking at each other in the process. It was like two warriors, in the heat of battle, neither of them wanting to stand down. The rebels watched on, hoping that they would be alright, but still wondering...

who would last the longest?

Soon, Trent ran towards Nick, swinging his fist. He punched Nick in the face. Nick retaliated, bringing his own fist into Trent's chest. Then another to his stomach. Trent bent over, reeling in pain. Nick was about to swing his knee into Trent's face, but Trent caught it with his hands. He then brought his fists together, and swung them into Nick's stomach. Nick stepped back, releasing Nick in the process, and held onto his stomach. Trent stood up, approached Nick, and back him a back handed punch across the face. Nick fell to the ground.

Trent sighed heavily, thinking that the fight was over. He sighed heavily, until he saw Nick beginning to pick himself off the ground.

"I'm...not...done...yet", Nick stated through pants and pain. Trent took a step back, preparing. Nick stood up and looked at the rebel. His face was red and bloody, and he was panting heavily.

"Come on man, we could end this right now", Trent said exasperated. Nick smirked despite everything.

"Then...why don't _you _give up?", Nick asked. Trent couldn't help but chuckle.

"...Ok, you got me there", Trent said. Nick, using whatever energy he had left, charged at Trent. Trent however was prepared for this. Nick swung his fist, but Trent smacked it out of the way, punched Nick across the face, and then brought his foot up. He kicked Nick in the chest, causing him to fly backwards high in the air and then fall down hard onto the ground.

Everyone watched in shock and awe. Darrel, Milo, and Mathinza could not help but be impressed by the stamina of the two fighters. Sawyer was more concerned than anything, watching Nick on the ground in fear. She covered her mouth, worried for the safety of her boyfriend. Riles, while concerned, could not help but be impressed by the fighting.

"I have to say, those two really know how to fight", Riles said, leaning over towards Angel, his arms crossed and a smile on his face. Angel turned to look at him.

"Aren't you worried that they're hurt?", Angel asked. Riles turned to face Angel.

"Of course I am, but you can tell that they're alright", Riles said. Angel turned to look at Trent and Nick. "If they were concerned about their health, they would of stopped fighting awhile ago. They were enjoying themselves far too much. To them, this is entertainment. I'm sure they'll be fine". Angel looked to Riles, and then back to the boys on the field. It was hard to see at first, but soon enough, she could see the spark in their eyes. The slight smile pressed on their lips. They _were _enjoying this! How, or more fitting _why, _she did not know. But something about this made them happy. And while she was concerned, she didn't want to stop something that made them this way, especially since things like this were hard to come by now a days.

Ryoto smiled and began to clap. He had enjoyed what he witnessed. Trent turned to him and waved back, too tired to do anything else. He then looked over to Nick. He was still laying on the ground, facing the ceiling. It was clear that he was just as tired as he was, if not more so. For awhile, he did nothing more than stare at the blank ceiling. But after a few seconds, he began to laugh. Trent was not sure why, but soon he began to as well. The two laughed for a bit until they both happened to stop at the same time. Nick sighed.

"Yeah, I'm done. I can barely move let alone fight", Nick said. Trent smirked.

"Same here. I guess I got lucky then huh?", Trent asked. Nick nodded.

"Ha, you bet you did", Nick said with a slight hint of joking sarcasm. The two laughed some more. At the bench, Sawyer sighed. She was glad that the two were alright, and that the fight was now over. Ryoto leaned back into the bench.

"Alright, this fight's over, Trent, you're the victor", Ryoto stated. Trent gave a very slight "Woot!", and then fell backwards onto the ground. Sawyer immediately got up and ran over to Nick's side. Riles sighed and got up himself, going over to Trent.

"Are you ok Nick? You didn't hurt yourself too much did you?", Sawyer asked in concern. Nick smiled and looked at the beautiful girl who showed so much concern for her.

"I'm fine Sawyer...really. Just...tired. Once I get my energy back I'm sure I'll be back to normal", Nick said. Sawyer sighed. She then smiled.

"Well I hope you learned your lesson then Nick, what is it with boys and having to fight all the time, even for fun?", Sawyer asked as she began to help Nick up. He could only smirk.

"We like to impress the pretty ladies", Nick joked. Sawyer blushed, gave Nick a quick kiss on the cheek, and then helped him onto his feet. During this, Riles looked at Trent.

"How many fingers am I holding up?", Riles asked, holding two fingers up. Trent looked at him with a mixture of confusion, annoyance, and sarcasm.

"Six, I'm tired I'm not stupid", Trent said. Riles couldn't help but laugh at this one.

"Yeah I suppose it was a stupid question. Just checking...alright, let's get you up", Riles said, lifting the tired rebel. By the time Riles got Trent on his feet, Sawyer had already walked Nick halfway to the bench. As the rebels approached, Ryoto looked to Angel.

"Alright Angel, you're last up...get out there", Ryoto said. Angel's heart skipped a beat, but she nodded and shot up. Darrel got up as well and slowly approached the field. As Angel walked passed Sawyer and Nick, Sawyer stopped her. Angel looked up to her, wondering what it was she had to say.

"Angel...be careful out there...alright? I'm sure that Darrel won't hurt you...but I want you to be safe", Sawyer said, showing some concern and worry. "Aleksi's not here to watch over you, so if I feel that you're getting hurt, I might have to step in". Angel nodded with a smile.

"Thanks for the concern Sawyer, but I'm sure I'll be fine", Angel said. Nick laughed.

"Spoken like a true PTA rebel. Good luck Angel. Just don't be afraid to throw in the towel like I did, alright?", Nick said. Angel nodded and began to walk away from them. Sawyer turned and looked at Angel, worry in her eyes. She was so much like a mother to the rebels, always showing concern and worry. Nick looked up to her. "Don't worry, she'll be alright", Nick said. Sawyer sighed and began helping Nick back to the benches again. Angel walked passed Riles and Trent. She turned to them, and Trent gave her a thumb's up. Riles looked at her.

"Good luck!", Riles stated. Angel nodded, not once stopping, and made her way to the center of the room, across from Darrel. She looked onto the floor and could see several blood pools and smears from the previous fight. Her heart began to beat faster and harder and her nerves were getting the better of her. She was afraid, but at the same time, excited. She couldn't explain it, but something in her was thrilled to get to do this. She wasn't sure if it was symptoms from her concussion, the desire to prove Ryoto wrong in his opinion of her, or just that she now enjoyed training like this. She then turned to the benches.

By this time, Riles and Trent had just arrived. Riles sat Trent down on his original seat before taking his own. Trent leaned back, trying to relax. Nick was sitting next to Sawyer, and Sawyer insisted on looking at his injuries. Nick blushed, feeling embarrassed over the whole ordeal. Seeing this made Angel giggle a bit. She then glanced over to Ryoto. It was clear that he was not as impressed with this line up as he was with the previous one. The fact that he was still even paying attention shocked her. This made her annoyed, but she was intending to show him that she was not one to underestimate.

"Whenever you're ready!", Ryoto said. Milo whistled and Mathinza clapped.

"Go Angel!", Mathinza yelled.

"You got this!", Milo yelled as well. Darrel chuckled somewhat, his arms crossed.

"Looks like you got yourself some fans", Darrel said. Angel nodded. She then looked over to him. He was clearly less than impressed. She felt that he probably wanted a better fight than this. He was clearly strong, and probably a very good fighter as well. Angel never got to see him do any form of fighting while on the mission, so she had no idea what he was like on the field. But she knew better than to judge him too quickly. "Now Angel, I don't want to hurt you, and I've grown to like you over the last few days. You have courage, something I respect. But don't think I won't take this seriously on you...why don't you give up now, and save yourself the pain".

Angel looked at him, different feelings swirling around inside her. First, she was annoyed, angered even. He didn't even _want _to see how she would do, he immediately pinned her as a weakling. Although she had not seen him fight, he hadn't seen her fight either. He didn't know what she was capable of. But thinking this brought upon another feeling...lack of confidence. He _hadn't _seen her on the field, which means he didn't know what a screw up she was. He didn't know how many times she had almost gotten herself and her friends killed. She was in way over her head this time. Darrel was not necessarily "huge", but he was clearly muscular and skilled. One punch would be all he needed to put her out of this fight. However, despite the fear, despite the lack of confidence, her desire to prove everyone wrong was greater.

"Thanks but no thanks. I think I'll be just fine. You should know better than to underestimate me", Angel said. Though her words her full of confidence, she was anything but. She couldn't even believe the words that had passed her lips. She was beating herself up for saying them, but it was passed, and she couldn't change it now. Darrel raised his eyebrow, shocked at the response.

"Wow, I can't believe she really wants to go through with this", Darrel thought to himself. "Oh man, I have to fight a ten year old, perfect. I don't want to hurt her...but I'll do what I have to do". "Alright then, if that's the way you want it", Darrel said, getting into a fighting stance. Angel was afraid, but didn't back down. She prepared herself as well.

For a few moments, the two merely stood there, eyeing each other down. The rebels on the benches were at first curious, then impatient.

"What gives?", Milo asked.

"How come they aren't fighting yet?", Riles asked.

"Maybe they're still reading each other?", Sawyer guessed. Ryoto shook his head.

"No, it's not as complex as that", Ryoto said. Everyone looked at him, wondering what he meant. "Reading each other is good in a fight, but no Rocket would take this long to do so, and neither would we. The reason why they're waiting is because neither of them wants to go first". The rebels sweatdropped.

"Really? That's it?", Trent asked. Ryoto nodded.

"With good reason. Think about it, in both fights thus far, the person who made the first move ended up missing and getting hurt. Trent missed Nick and was first to get hurt, and while Mathinza made contact, it did nothing to Milo. These two were very observant of the previous fights, none of them want to make that same mistake as you. Honestly, they'd be complete fools to fall for it again", Ryoto explained. However, much to his and everyone else's surprise, as he was speaking his last sentence, Angel charged towards Darrel. Everyone looked on in complete shock.

"What? What is she doing!", Sawyer asked in worry.

"She should know better than to charge first after all that time!", Nick exclaimed. Darrel smirked, remaining firm to the ground.

"She's making her first, and last mistake, already", Darrel thought to himself with a smirk. He made a fist and, as Angel approached, showing no signs of slowing down, he thrust his fist. "TOO EASY!", he yelled. Angel, instead of stopping her momentum, bent down and slide across the floor and under Darrel's legs. Darrel and the rebels watching were all shocked and gasped.

"SHE SLID UNDER HIM!", Sawyer yelled.

"SHE KNEW THAT SHE COULDN'T DODGE, SO SHE DECIDED TO USE HER SMALL SIZE AS AN ADVANTAGE! SHE PLANNED THAT OUT THE WHOLE TIME!", Riles yelled as well. The rebels were just as thrilled over this training as they were for Pokemon battles. Ryoto himself even could not hold his shock and awe.

"Amazing!", Ryoto said to himself. Angel, using the surprise move, immediately sat back up, spun around, and jumped in the air. She spun and kicked Darrel in his right side. He cringed slightly. Although the blow was not very hard, as expected coming from a young girl, it still took him by surprise. He turned around, holding his side for a moment.

"Ok, you got me there, but you won't get that lucky again!", Darrel said. He then swung his fist again at Angel. Once again however, she tried not to dodge the attack. Instead, she used her small size to get under his arm. Once she was, she pushed the arm up, causing the punch to go off course. Once it did, she threw her own punch, directly into Darrel's armpit. Just like before, the blow came as a surprise to him, and unlike the kick, this punch was in a much more sensitive location. He cringed again and backed up. He was shocked as he looked at the young girl, who was not so much as breaking a sweat. She merely stared him down, ready for the next move. It was like she was already three moves ahead of him.

Regardless of the two blows, he was still in good condition. He laughed a bit and relaxed more, removing the tension he had before. Angel realized this, but did not show it to him.

"I'm impressed dog. You really showed me what for didn't you?", Darrel said with a smile, his white teeth gleaming back at her.

"I told you, you should know better than to underestimate me", Angel said, not changing her emotions. Darrel couldn't help but laugh some more.

"I certainly won't for now on, believe me", Darrel said. From the benches, Sawyer smiled. She was glad that Angel was doing as well as she was. Sawyer, being the motherly figure she was, had become aware of Angel's occasional lack of confidence. She knew that she felt bad after the way she handled the New Island mission. So seeing her, handling herself so well, and gaining the respect of her allies, really meant something. She was quickly maturing from the little girl who was rescued only days ago. It was as if she was growing up right before her very eyes.

Darrel had by this time completely recovered from the weak yet surprising blows and was prepared for the next round.

"Alright Angel, I'm ready, and this time, I don't intend to let you slip by so easily", Darrel said. He then ran towards Angel with great speed. Angel knew that she didn't have enough time to run away, and so she prepared to dodge. As Darrel reached her, she slid to the right, getting behind Darrel in the process. With lightning speed, she quickly kicked Darrel behind the knee, causing him to fall to the ground on his knees. Darrel, knowing that she was right behind him, swung his arm around, hoping to strike her. However, she managed to catch his arm with hers and twisted it around him, pinning him where he was. He winced in pain. Mathinza watched on, somewhat confused.

"I don't get it, she's going for such odd spots, the armpit, behind the knee, why places like that? It doesn't seem very effective, only annoying", Mathinza said.

"Actually, she's doing great", Ryoto stated. Mathinza and the others turned to him. "In fact, if you had done what she's doing, you would of beaten Milo".

"How so?", Mathinza asked.

"Angel knows that she's weaker and slower than Darrel, so she's avoiding a direct fight with him. Like you, she's using speed as aid. But, where you used speed for quick but direct attacks, she's using them for striking sensitive spots on the body. They don't hurt a lot, as you said, but if done right, you can easily take down a person with little strength", Ryoto explained. Everyone else watched on now in amazement and shock. Ryoto however became curious and even somewhat concerned. "You're doing good Angel, but you just put yourself in a terrible situation, let's see if you can get out of it".

Angel continued to hold onto Darrel's arm, keeping him where he was. The force of the hold forced him to stay where he was. Unfortunately, due to Angel's small size, Darrel wasn't able to swung around completely and grab her without hurting his arm more. Despite this Darrel smirked.

"Not gonna lie Angel, you really impressed me during this fight. You protected yourself, hit me several times, and even got me down. You have certainly come a long way, and you'd be able to handle your own against a Rocket", Darrel said. Angel, despite trying to let her emotions get the better of her during the training, couldn't help but blush and smile a bit.

"Thanks", Angel said.

"However, you did do bad at one thing", Darrel said. Angel raised her eyebrow.

"What?", Angel asked. Darrel smirked.

"Failing to notice when you are in a trap", Darrel said. Angel gasped. Suddenly, Darrel stood up, using nothing but strength to grip Angel with his twisted arm and bring her forward. She tried to escape, but couldn't match his strength. Everyone else gasped in shock. "I knew that I wouldn't be able to catch you like I originally planned. I had to get you when you thought you had the upper hand. Now I have you right where I want you". Angel began to panic a bit, uncertain of how to get out of this situation. Darrel looked at her. "Don't panic".

Angel looked up at him, both confused and shocked. Angel kept forgetting that, while this was a fight, it was also training. It was meant to help one another get better. Darrel was trying to help her learn from her mistakes and become a better fighter.

"If you panic, you won't be able to think clearly. You have to concentrate", Darrel explained. Then, Darrel swung Angel back, and used the momentum to throw her forward. She flew several feet before landing on the ground with a thud. Angel quickly got back up, making sure that her defenses were up. Darrel could of easily ended the fight there, but chose not to. "That was a freebie Angel, get caught again and you'll regret it. You need to think more, don't let yourself get caught. You're small and a bit naive, it'll cost you in battle".

Angel became frustrated at the words. She was being treated like a toy, a pet. She understood that Darrel was trying to help, but something inside of her was mixing with her feelings. She began to get angry, annoyed, envious, many emotions swirled inside of her. It might of been the adrenaline, it might of been her mind finally beginning to break down from the stress, she wasn't sure. Her judgment, and thinking altogether, was impaired. She couldn't make decisions, all she knew, was that she wanted to win. She wanted to prove everyone wrong, to prove that she wasn't a weak little girl who couldn't fight or defend herself.

She reflected back to her mistakes on New Island, the trouble she had caused, and the lives she had put in danger. They began to make her head pound, make her blood boil. She was tired of feeling hopeless, she wanted to be like the others, she wanted to be a legitimate PTA rebel. Her emotions getting the better of her, she yelled in anger and frustration, and charged directly towards Darrel.

Everyone else looked on in shock, wondering what it was she was thinking.

"What is she doing?", Riles asked.

"She's frustrated", Sawyer stated. Ryoto nodded.

"Unfortunately, as mature as Angel is, she is still only a child. She's prone to bursts of raw emotion like this. Not her fault really, with everything she has been through, I'm surprised she suppressed it for so long. The adrenaline pumping mixed with her emotions and is causing her to act this way. Not good, considering she's in a fight", Ryoto said.

Darrel heard Ryoto, and understood. He knew that Angel was prone to making mistakes now, and he was going to take advantage. Angel continued to charge at him, not preparing to slide out of the way or dodge, not thinking of a battle plan. She just wanted to hit him with everything she had. Darrel sighed.

"Sorry Angel that it had to end this way. You really did impress me. But now it's all over", Darrel said to himself. He was legitimately impressed with Angel, but this fight had to end. With Angel mere feet away, Darrel bent down, and swung his fist up. Angel didn't even see the uppercut that Darrel gave her, which struck right under her chin and sent her flying up in the air.

Light out.

**Well, hopefully Angel learned from her mistakes huh? Remember folks, if you ever get into a fight, don't let your emotions take over! Especially if your parents were kidnapped, you're fighting a evil organization bent on destruction, and it seems that everything you do goes wrong...you know, the everyday situations kids have. I apologize for the long wait, I know it took some time, and I hope that you all enjoy the update! I don't know when the next one will be up, I still have, (including exams), a month give or take a few days left of school. I'll probably work on "R" AND "The Alphabet Game" next time, as I'm a bit behind. Also, as a final A.N., my friends prettygirl17 and TimPrime1 have updated some of their stories, so please check them out! I'm sure you'll love them, they are both hard working writers! Until next time my friends!**

**sincerely,  
evan, a fan of aaml -EVAN AAML **


	61. Chapter 61

**So I have been debating over this idea I've had for a little while now, and I would like to know what you all think. What would you say if I were to create a Twitter account for EVAN AAML? I could have it alert people on when I'm working on updates, sequel ideas, and basic writing. What do you all think? Be sure to tell me in the review! (keep in mind, this would be for my EVAN AAML persona, NOT me personally. So I won't have a lot of personal information and such on it). I've also had a lot of people worried over poor Angel from the last chapter, so then, let's see just how she's doing shall we? **

**-EVAN AAML**

"Well look who's beginning to stir. Wake up sleepy head", a voice called out. Angel couldn't tell who it was who had spoken to her. She felt a warm hand covering her forehead, giving her a warm and soothing feeling. Her head was pounding something fierce. She couldn't think or concentrate. She opened her eyes, but everything was a blur of colors. After a few seconds, (though it felt like an eternity), her vision began to come back to her. As it did, she saw Aleksi, seemingly standing before her.

As her vision began to clear, she tried to get an understanding of her surroundings. She soon discovered that she was in fact laying down on the blenches of the training room, and that Aleksi was sitting beside her, not standing. She turned her head just ever so slightly and saw that Sawyer was kneeling on the ground beside her, being more level with the young rebel. It was Aleksi whose hand was on her forehead. Angel slowly tried to get up, but found herself being gently pushed back down.

"Be careful sweetie, you're in no condition to be moving about right now", Sawyer said. Angel heeded the warning and set herself back down onto the bench.

"What happened?", Angel asked.

"You were training with Darrel, and he knocked you out cold", Sawyer explained. Angel tried to recall the fight. She remembered standing in the middle of the room, seeing the rebels on the benches, and Darrel in front of her. But nothing else came back to her. In fact, even the things she _did _remember felt like they never happened, but were all but a dream.

"I...don't remember", Angel said. Aleksi sighed heavily with concern.

"I was afraid of this. Her concussion got worse from that hit. I'm going to kill Darrel!", Aleksi said with some frustration. She tried to leave, but Sawyer caught her hand as she tried to walk pass her.

"Wait Aleksi, don't you think you should give it a rest? You and everyone else already yelled at him, he feels bad enough as it is", Sawyer said. Aleksi sighed again, but nodded.

"...Yeah, I guess you're right", Aleksi said. Angel turned her head slightly to look at them.

"What happened since I was out?", Angel asked. The two girls turned to look at her.

"Well, Darrel after you hit the ground, you were out of it. Ryoto immediately ended the fight. I rushed over to the shooting range to get Wallace and the others to help you, because we knew that moving you was a bad idea. So Wallace, Evan, Aleksi, and a few others came over to help. Ryoto gave Darrel a stern conversation, but he knew that Darrel didn't mean to hurt you. Plus I think he knew that everyone would give him hell for it anyway. Wallace yelled at him for hurting you while you had a concussion, and then he carefully helped move you over here to give you a rest. But Aleksi gave him the most trouble by far", Sawyer explained, looking over to Aleksi. She huffed and crossed her arms.

"Well he shouldn't of been fighting her! She's twelve years old, he should know better!", Aleksi said in anger. Sawyer then turned back to Angel.

"She nearly ripped his head off once she got to him. Both Riles and Milo had to hold her back to make sure she didn't kill him. Then Evan got his two cents in, he almost killed him too, I couldn't believe it. But Darrel felt terrible as it was, and so him and Evan went to get you some stuff to help you out. And...here you are", Sawyer finished. Angel nodded, understanding.

"...So, I lost the fight?", Angel asked. The two girls looked at each other in confusion and concern.

"Angel, you came into that fight with a major handicap, you had a concussion, you should be lucky it isn't worse than it is now", Sawyer explained. Angel however did not accept this as an excuse.

"It doesn't matter. If I were fighting a Rocket they wouldn't go easy on me because of that. I have to be prepared, and I can't be prepared like this", Angel said. Aleksi and Sawyer sighed. They were afraid that Angel might take the loss hard, considering her lack of self confidence lately. But they had hoped that she wouldn't let it get to her like this, especially given her injury.

Angel however didn't care about the injury. The fact of the matter was, she lost. She had proved nothing. Although she couldn't remember much of the fight, she recalled her wanting to prove something to the others. Instead, she had her lights turned off. She only proved what she didn't want the others to think, that she was pathetic. She felt her heart twitch slightly, and her body felt like it was beginning to ache even more. She sighed, memories beginning to flood her already pounding head. She screwed up at New Island, she almost got her friends killed, she almost endangered the rebels once reaching Kanto, she made everyone feel miserable because she kept asking about their past, and she couldn't even prove to them that she was a fighter in training. No matter what she did or how she did it, she felt like she would never amount to anything.

She felt cold, hopeless, she couldn't explain it very well, but she knew that it felt an infinite times worse than anything she felt before. None of her injuries she sustained thus far could even compare to what this feeling was. She hated the feeling, but she was used to it, which was what scared her the most.

She stopped thinking when Aleksi touched her arm. She turned and looked at the older teen, the girl who had gone from a complete stranger to her sister in a matter of days. She was glad that Aleksi was in her life now; she didn't even want to imagine the feelings she would be going through if she wasn't. Aleksi was concerned for the young girl, and it showed, but she couldn't think of what to say to her. It seemed like nothing would go through to her, despite how much she tried. She had to think of something that would help her, and soon.

It was at this time that the door to the training room had opened, and Evan and Darrel walked inside. Evan had in his hands her ice pack, along with some bandages. Darrel carried something in a small container, most likely medicine. They approached the little girl and Evan smiled.

"Glad to see you're awake there Angel, you had me worried there for a bit", Evan explained. Angel pushed aside her sadness and smiled, not wanting to get anymore attention about it than she already had.

"Sorry about that", Angel said. Evan bent down to her level and handed her the ice pack.

"Here, place this on your head after I wrap up your head", Evan explained. Angel nodded. She took the ice pack and Evan began to wrap up her head. When he was done, she placed it on her head where the pain was worst. As expected, placing it on her head hurt a lot, and she was almost tempted to take it right off again. But she didn't, knowing that it would eventually make the swelling go down and the pain more tolerable. Evan nodded and stood up. "There, that should help. Just be sure to not do anything for awhile", Evan said. Angel nodded. Aleksi stood up as well, and turned to face Evan.

"Evan, can I speak to you for a moment?", Aleksi asked. Evan turned to look at her. He could tell that she was concerned about something, and assumed it was about Angel. He nodded, trying not to act in a way that would get Angel's attention.

"Sure, no problem", Evan said. Aleksi and Evan then walked away from the group and stood more towards the center of the room. Angel noticed them leave, and began to wonder what it was that they were going to talk about. She had a feeling it was about her, and the way she was acting. While she didn't like the fact that they were making a big deal out of it, there was not much she could really do. It was during this time that Darrel leaned over towards Angel, blocking her view of Evan and Aleksi. He looked sympathetic, and even somewhat ashamed of himself.

"Hey Angel...listen, I'm sorry, for what I did to you. I know I should of controlled myself some more on the field. But you have to understand, I wasn't trying to hurt you", Darrel said. Angel couldn't help but smile. He was clearly not used to apologizing over something like this. But Angel knew that he didn't mean to hurt her the way he did. She shook her head.

"Don't worry, I know, you were only trying to help me get better, to show me what I was doing wrong. It was my fault anyway...I'm a bit of a lost cause", Angel said, somewhat downtrodden. Sawyer grew more concerned over the young girl. Darrel himself found it odd that she would say something like that, but ignored it. He handed her the little container.

"Here, Prof. Oak told me to give you some of these. They're some of his upgraded Pokemon care items. This will help your concussion, it should go away relatively soon", Darrel explained. Angel nodded with a smile, glad to know that she would be rid of the concussion soon. Darrel opened the container, popped out a couple pills, and handed them to Angel. As Angel placed them in her mouth and swallowed them, she turned and looked back to Aleksi and Evan, who were still talking to each other.

"So I'm worried about her self confidence. She's really beating herself up over this stuff Evan, I'm concerned", Aleksi whispered to the older boy. She doubted that Angel would be able to hear them, but she knew how curious Angel was, and she didn't put it passed her to try to overhear their conversation. Evan nodded, fully understanding the situation. He put his hand to his chin, feeling the slight beard he had growing, as if he was thinking heavily.

"Yeah, I know what you mean. I'm worried too", Evan replied.

"So what should we do? I've been trying to talk to her about it, but it seems like every time I get through to her, something happens that pushes her back", Aleksi said. She glanced over briefly to look at Angel, who was distracted at this point talking to Darrel. Soon, Aleksi brought her attention back to Evan. "And I'm worried about her injuries too. Her concussion wasn't that bad before but it's gotten worse. We need her to prove to herself that she isn't a failure but we can't let her get herself worse either".

"Yeah, it's a bit of a situation. Hmm...", Evan said, still thinking. Aleksi looked at Evan for a few seconds, wondering what it was he was thinking of. Soon, Evan nodded to himself, and looked back to the rebel. "What if we let her do a Pokemon battle? That way she won't be putting herself in danger, and she can show her skills as a Pokemon trainer. We both know how good she is at that, it's honestly one of her greatest strengths", Evan explained. Aleksi nodded in agreement, but was still not as convinced.

"That's true. But I'm still worried. I have full confidence that she can beat pretty much anyone here, but what if by some chance she doesn't win? It'll break her heart. And she'll be smart enough to know if one of us throws the battle for her", Aleksi said. Evan nodded.

"I know. But I don't think we'll have to worry about that, because she _will _win", Evan said. Evan always had a personality that, while some people saw as "too positive", he saw as merely optimistic. During times where everything was tough, it was good to be hopeful and cheery. He refused to believe that anything, regardless of the size, would bring him down, simply because he wouldn't let it. He smiled and then looked at Aleksi. "How about this? She can battle one of us". Aleksi raised an eyebrow. "Beating one of us two would really boost her confidence, because she looks up to us. We wouldn't throw the fight for her, but I think it would work out better than if she faced any of the other rebels".

"That would work...but how do we determine which one of us faces her?", Aleksi asked. Evan continued to look at her, this time smiling much more. Aleksi couldn't help but smile back. "We're gonna battle to see aren't we?".

"Well you said you wanted to battle with me, to _"put that knowledge to the test" _if I recall", Evan stated, reflecting to a previous comment of hers. Aleksi giggled.

"I did say that didn't I? Alright, we can battle, and the winner faces Angel", Aleksi said. Evan nodded.

"Right. Hope you're prepared", Evan said. Aleksi smirked.

"I was gonna say the same thing for you", Aleksi said.

"So then, five on five? The winner will use their sixth Pokemon to face Angel?", Evan asked. Aleksi nodded.

"Sounds like a deal. I'll go and pick up our Pokemon then, they're all still in the medical center", Aleksi explained. Evan nodded.

"Alright. Thank you", Evan said. Aleksi nodded and turned around. But before she could leave, Evan grabbed her hand. "Oh, and Aleksi?". Aleksi turned to look at the boy. Evan smiled and pulled her in to him, wrapped his arms around her, and gave her a hug. Aleksi froze as Evan leaned in towards her. "Don't worry, we'll get her back on the right track", Evan said. Aleksi's face was covered in a blush from the surprising hug. Despite the close proximity however, she nodded and smiled, hugging him back. She knew better than to let Evan think she was embarrassed over this little ordeal.

"Thank you. I know we will", Aleksi said. They remained still for a few seconds, as if they had forgotten that they were hugging each other. The warmth and comfort simply felt too good to waste. Soon however, they pulled apart. Aleksi smiled and turned away, heading out of the room. Evan smirked, pulling a cigarette out from his pocket and turning around to head towards the others.

As he approached them, he could see Sawyer smiling at him. He knew what she was thinking, and he couldn't help but try to fight off a blush. Sawyer was no fool, and most likely suspected something was going on between him and Aleksi. Luckily, Evan had Angel as an excuse to avoid any questions she might bring up about them. Angel and Darrel meanwhile were still talking, and Angel began to giggle at something he had said. Evan smiled.

"Well, glad to see that you're smiling again", Evan said. Angel turned to him and smiled.

"Yeah, those pills Darrel gave me really acted fast. I almost feel good enough to move around now", Angel said.

"I'm not surprised, you have a small frame, and considering that those pills were meant for Pokemon, it would act quickly on a human of your size", Evan explained. Angel giggled.

"You like using your Pokemon knowledge don't you?", Angel asked. Evan smirked.

"Eh, I have an ego with it I guess", Evan said. Sawyer giggled along with Angel and Darrel merely smirked. Suddenly, Ryoto approached the small group. He first looked at Angel.

"So Angel, how are you feeling?", Ryoto asked. Angel looked to him, the giggles ceasing, and replied.

"I'm feeling better. I'm hoping I'll be over this quickly", Angel said. Ryoto nodded.

"Good, keep in good spirits, but don't be impatient. We can't afford to have you get in a worse state", Ryoto said. Angel nodded in agreement. Ryoto then turned to Darrel. "What about you?". Darrel seemed somewhat confused as to why he would ask, but replied.

"I'm pretty good", Darrel stated. Ryoto nodded.

"Good, Milo and Trent are recovering quickly too, Wallace looked over them after working on Angel. I hope all three of you will feel good enough to continue soon", Ryoto stated. Darrel and Evan raised their eyebrows in confusion.

"What do you mean?", Evan asked.

"How come?", Darrel asked. Ryoto smirked ever so slightly, sending a small but chilling sensation through Angel; it reminded her too much of a Rocket.

"Because...your next fight will be against me...three on one", Ryoto explained. The four of them all gasped.

"What? Are you serious dog?", Darrel asked. Ryoto nodded.

"Don't you think that's a bit...rash? I mean, you just got off the recovery list from some pretty big injuries, and they're just getting over fights of their own", Evan said.

"I'm well aware of that, but this is why I think we _should _continue", Ryoto said.

"I don't understand", Sawyer said. Angel however seemed to. She looked up to Ryoto.

"Oh! It's because you _want _us to train while injured, make the fighting seem more realistic to a Rocket fight", Angel stated. Ryoto turned to her and nodded.

"That's right. A Rocket won't give you a chance to recover before he or she tries to finish you off. More than likely, you'll have to fight off Rockets while injured and tired. This way, we're prepared for it. Obviously we won't go into extremes, our health is more important than training, but we're all in good enough shape to do this", Ryoto explained.

"Well...alright. If you really want to do this", Darrel said. Ryoto nodded. He then turned away from them and began to walk towards the center of the room. As he did so, he spoke out loud.

"Alright! I want Darrel, Milo, and Trent to get into the center of the room! Everyone else, you're more than welcome to sit and watch", Ryoto stated. Most people immediately began to follow his instructions, while a few others waited to process what he had just said. Milo, Trent, and Darrel slowly began to follow Ryoto to the center of the room while everyone else either took a seat on the long benches, leaned against the wall, or sat on the floor. Evan sat down onto the bench right next to Angel, keeping an eye on the center of the room, his cigarette burning slowly.

"Does Ryoto know what he's getting into Evan?", Angel asked. Evan kept his eyes on Ryoto for a bit and then turned to look at Angel.

"I'd say so. Ryoto's no fool. He may be just getting over some serious injuries, but I don't think he would put himself into this situation if he felt that he couldn't handle it. Although, I am curious as to how he'll try to fight off those three", Evan said. Angel looked back to the field, wondering the same thing. Although Trent was still in pretty bad condition from his fight, and Milo could be doing better, it was still three on one. Ryoto would have to be careful if he intended to come out of this practice in one piece.

Milo, Trent, and Darrel stood in the center of the room, facing Ryoto. He merely stared at them, his arms crossed. The three were somewhat perplexed over the idea of them fighting him three on one, but they were aware that Ryoto was one of the more skilled PTA rebels, he would not make it easy on them.

"I don't get it, why is he having us face him with such a big handicap?", Trent asked. He was still trying to recover from his fight, some blood even remaining on his face from it. His head had not recovered either, and he was suffering from a terrible headache.

"He got a death wish?", Milo asked with a smirk. He knew this wasn't the case, but found it funny regardless.

"Nah, he's got something planned. One thing I learned from this training, is never under estimate your opponent. I have a feeling that this isn't going to be nearly as easy as we think it will be", Darrel said. The three rebels kept their eyes on Ryoto until he finally spoke up.

"Alright, anytime you're ready, we'll begin. The same rules apply, don't be afraid to hold back just because you outnumber me either", Ryoto stated. The three boys were still curious and showed some concern, but nodded in agreement. Milo then turned to look over to the other two.

"Ok, I think we can take him, we just have to surround him and don't hold back", Milo said. Darrel nodded.

"Sounds good, let's do it", Darrel said. Trent stayed put while Milo and Darrel slowly moved around Ryoto. Within a few seconds, Ryoto was surrounded on all sides, the boys were positioned in a triangle. Everyone watched in anticipation, waiting to see how things would turn out. The three rebels prepared themselves, getting into fighting stances. Trent looked at Ryoto, being the one who was facing him directly. He bent down just slightly.

"...NOW!", Trent yelled. He then charged forward. Darrel and Milo did the same. Ryoto glanced over briefly at the three and then brought his attention back towards Trent, not even so much as showing a change in his emotion. Despite his injuries, Trent was still the fastest of the three, and he was the first to reach Ryoto. He swung a fist, which Ryoto easily dodged. Trent then spun around and swung his leg, but Ryoto grabbed his leg and lifted it high. The angle of the lift caused Trent to lose his footing and flip backwards. Ryoto took this advantage and swung a kick of his own, into Trent's ribs. He was sent flying to the side, crashing into the surprised Darrel.

Ryoto immediately heard the sounds of footsteps, Milo was charging right behind him. Milo smirked as he raised his fist up above Ryoto's head.

"LIGHT'S OUT!", Milo yelled. He swung his fist down. Ryoto however spun around and side stepped to Milo's right, dodging the punch. Milo reacted quickly, swinging the same fist towards him, but Ryoto ducked. Ryoto then punched Milo in the chest, followed by a blow to his sides. This caused Milo to take a step back in pain. Darrel charged now, having recovered from Trent crashing into him. He ran towards Ryoto, but knew better than to immediately hit him. As soon as he had reached Ryoto, he side stepped himself, trying to take him by surprise. Ryoto glanced over to Darrel, but soon found himself falling for a trap. Darrel side stepped out of the way, allowing Trent to charge full force towards Ryoto. He yelled as his fist was raised and he swung it forward.

He managed to strike Ryoto in the face, right across the cheek. Trent then spun around and, using his momentum, swung his arm into his sides. Ryoto took the hit, but managed to recover soon. He grabbed Trent's arm while it was still in contact with his body, taking Trent by surprise. Ryoto then kneed Trent in the stomach and gave him a solid head butt. Trent reeled back and fell to the ground. Ryoto however was not safe yet. Trent had distracted him long enough to allow Milo to recover. He grabbed Ryoto from behind, putting him in a full nelson. Darrel ran forward and began to throw a series of punches into Ryoto, in the chest, stomach, and head. Ryoto took blow after blow, until he had enough.

As Darrel prepared for another punch, Ryoto jumped up and kicked Darrel directly in the chin. The momentum from the jump also caused him to flip backwards, escaping from Milo's grip and landing behind him. Ryoto quickly grabbed Milo's arm and tossed him backwards, having him land hard onto the ground directly in front of him. Hearing the sounds of someone approaching, he quickly spun around, his leg brought up high. He managed to make contact with Darrel's head, giving him a solid round house kick. Darrel spun around and fell to the ground. Trent, just now getting up from the head butt, pulled himself off of the ground and got into another fighting stance.

Ryoto this time was the one to charge towards his opponent. He ran directly towards Trent and prepared to fight. Milo and Darrel, seeing this, got themselves up and charged towards him as well. Trent side stepped and held his arm out, prepared to clothesline Ryoto. However, his speed and reactions were too quick. Ryoto grabbed onto Trent's arm and used it to swing his body around. He held his legs out and out them together, using both of them to kick Milo hard in the chest. The momentum gone, Ryoto planted his feet on the ground and twisted Trent's arm.

He elbowed Trent in the back of the head, tripping him at the legs, and using his grip on Trent's arms to flip him backwards. He landed on the ground hard. Darrel jumped in the air and swung his leg to kick Ryoto, but Ryoto ducked and avoided the kick. Darrel landed on the ground and immediately spun around to try again, but Ryoto was already a step ahead of him. As soon as Darrel faced him, Ryoto was already in the air. His fist was made and he brought it down hard onto Darrel's face. Ryoto, using this moment well, began to strike Darrel in well placed spots on his chest. Darrel bent over in pain, giving Ryoto just another opening.

Ryoto jumped in the air and clenched his legs together around Darrel's head. Then, using his body weight, swung Darrel forward, causing him to land hard on his back. Ryoto pulled himself off of the ground and stood up, only to turn into Milo. He swung his fist up, giving Ryoto a solid uppercut to the jaw. Ryoto flew backwards, his jaw aching. But this was far from over. While still in the air, he did a back flip, landing on his feet a few feet away from the shocked Milo. Ryoto charged forward and stopped a mere foot away from Milo. He bent down and swung his arm into Milo's thigh. The punch caused his muscle to strain and Milo let out a growl in pain and bent over.

Ryoto then swung his knee into Milo's chest, and then finished off the volley by swinging his right arm and left leg simultaneously, his arm contacting Milo's head and his leg hitting his knees. The force of the hits going in opposite directions caused Milo to flip in the air sideways and land on the ground in a heap. Ryoto stepped back and looked at his opponents, ready for more.

However, more would not come.

All three rebels laid on the ground, writhing in pain. He sighed slightly and twisted his head, stretching it out. The many onlookers all gasped in shock and awe. Many had never seen anything like it, others simply couldn't believe it. Angel's mouth was wide open, astonished at the skill and ferocity of Ryoto's fighting. Nick and Mathinza looked on with a hint of fear mixed with relief; they were glad now that they had lost their fights. Sawyer covered her mouth, unable to even speak at what she had just witnessed. Riles and Wallace both sweatdropped, bending over in shock.

"Did...did that really just happen?", Riles asked in disbelief. Wallace merely nodded, continuing to look at the scene before him.

"Y-yeah, that happened", Wallace stated. He then changed his expression to annoyance and made a fist, his face red. "DAMMIT RYOTO! I WANTED YOU TO WATCH IT! NOW I HAVE TO TREAT ALL THREE OF THEM!". Ryoto glanced over to Wallace and merely shrugged.

"My apologies, I got into it. They will be fine after some rest", Ryoto stated, not showing much sympathy. Evan watched on and whistled in amazement.

"Wow, not gonna lie, that was some of the best fighting I've ever seen! And I've seen my fair share of fights in my life", Evan stated. He then looked down to Angel, who was still in shock. "Hard to believe isn't it". Angel nodded.

"Yeah...to think, I could of been out there fighting him...I would of been blown away", Angel stated. Evan was slightly concerned, thinking that this was Angel's lack of confidence showing, but he soon shook it off, knowing that this was a different situation. She was amazed at Ryoto's skill, not her lack there of. Evan smirked, taking a puff from his now much shorter cigarette.

"Don't worry, you would of done a lot better than those three did", Evan said. Angel turned to look at Evan in disbelief.

"What makes you think that? I couldn't handle Darrel one on one, there's no WAY I could of fought Ryoto!", Angel said. Evan shook his head, pulling his cigarette out and holding onto it. He put his arm around Angel and pulled her into a somewhat hug.

"Because, you have that spirit. I didn't see your fight with Darrel, but the others described it to me, and by the sounds of it it was amazing. Your style of fighting would of been perfect in this fight. You definitely would of given Ryoto a round for his money", Evan said with a smile. Angel looked to him, still in disbelief, but a glimmer of shock and flattery in her eyes.

"You really mean it?", Angel asked.

"Definitely", someone stated. Angel and Evan turned to see Ryoto approaching them. Evan smirked and dropped his cigarette on the ground, stomping it out. He then stood up as Ryoto stopped in front of them. "You are much more skilled than you allow yourself to believe. While you lack the strength and speed that the other rebels have, you make up for it in spirit and stamina with a good reaction style of fighting. Certainly my fight would not of been as easy had you been in it". Angel's eyes glimmered even more, not able to believe the words him and Evan had said to her.

While she doubted the complete honesty of their statements, they did none the less make her feel better about herself. She didn't know if this was their intentions or not, but it didn't matter, not to her. Soon enough, Wallace and several others rebels including Sawyer and Riles went out and helped Milo, Trent, and Darrel up. While they were battered and bruised, they would be alright. All three of them needed help getting to the benches and were given medical aid as soon as they found themselves seated. Wallace was annoyed that so many rebels had hurt themselves during this exercise, and told Ryoto that this was not to become a regular thing for them. People would not be able to help out with the Veridian base attack if they were all injured.

After a few minutes spent talking and simply enjoying everyone's company, the door to the training room opened and Aleksi stepped inside. In her hands she held two Pokeball belts, and around her neck was Angel's necklace. She approached the group with a smile on her face.

"Hey everyone, sorry it took me awhile, I had to see if the Pokemon were actually alright", Aleksi said. As everyone approached her she glanced over to the benches and saw Darrel, Milo, and Trent. All bloodied, bruised, and tired. Her eyes grew wide in shock. "Woah, what happened to them?", Aleksi asked. Evan chuckled a bit and took his belt from Aleksi.

"Training with Ryoto, didn't end well for them", Evan said. Aleksi gulped, only being able to imagine what they had gone through with him. Her thought process was interrupted by Angel, who approached Aleksi with some confusion. Aleksi looked down to her.

"Hey Angel, feeling better?", Aleksi asked with some concern. Angel merely nodded, trying to focus more on the Pokeball belts.

"How come you have two Pokeball belts? Are they yours and Evan's?...Hey, you have mine too!", Angel stated, finally noticing the familiar necklace. Aleksi nodded with a smile and bent over to allow Angel to pull the necklace off of her herself. As Angel placed the necklace around her Aleksi stood back up.

"Yes, Evan and I decided that we were going to be the ones to train you in Pokemon battling next. But we couldn't decide who would be the one to fight against you, so we're going to battle each other. The winner faces you", Aleksi explained. Angel's eyes brightened and she smiled.

"Really? That would be so awesome to see!", Angel said. Aleksi giggled.

"Glad you like the idea!", Aleksi said. Evan, who by this time had placed his belt around his waist, smiled as well.

"Good, now that we have her approval, we can go ahead with it. I'll go and grab the remaining rebels who are at the shooting range, I don't want them to be alone for too long without me. Everyone here can grab a seat and we'll begin the battle shortly. Aleksi...I hope you're ready for a showdown", Evan stated. Aleksi nodded with a smirk, confidence filling her entire body.

"You know I am", Aleksi said. Despite her friendship with Evan, she would not go easy on him. She knew how good of a trainer she was herself, she was considered one of the best in the entire PTA. However, Evan was a newer rebel, who probably had yet to have a formal Pokemon battle with any of the other rebels. Because of this, few people knew of his skill as a trainer. She knew that she couldn't underestimate him, especially knowing that he had a lot of Pokemon knowledge he could use. Evan nodded as well. He turned his back to her and the others, heading out.

"Good. I'll see you in a second then. And Angel, be sure to watch our battle carefully", Evan said. Angel turned and looked to Evan, wondering what he meant by this. "You'll find that watching a Pokemon battle closely will help you learn to battle yourself, especially when you know you'll be facing one of those trainers yourself. You can learn their strategies, while making some for yourself". Angel nodded, understanding.

"Alright, I will", Angel said with a smile. Evan smiled back, and then made his way towards the door.

The next training session would be Pokemon battling. Aleksi V.S. Evan.

**Finished! I know it's been a rather long time since I updated the chapter, it's taken me awhile to find time to work on it! 0_o Fortunately I am coming up on my last week of classes. So with that in mind, I can (hopefully) update more frequently. I will probably want to work on the next chapter to "The Alphabet Game", as I have almost completely forgotten about it. So please tell me what you think about my earlier A.N.! I would like to hear your opinions on a EVAN AAML Twitter account. Also, as you may or may not have noticed, I have placed a new poll on my profile. Simply put, who is your favorite OC in "R"? I was afraid of one sided answers to this, so I had the poll allow up to three choices. This way, OC creators can pick their own OC, along with (my assumption) Angel and another OC they like. I hope you all answer the poll! Until next time, this is EVAN AAML signing off! Take care, and be sure to F.A.R.!**

**sincerely,  
evan, a fan of aaml -EVAN AAML**


	62. Chapter 62

**Wow, you know what I recently discovered? For those of you who don't know, I'm not very easy to tear up. As a child, I cried over everything, for different reasons. But now, it's like never, even at funerals. Weird I know. But something that does bring a tear to my eye? Watching videos of kid's reactions when their parents come home from military service. I mean...wow, that's a real happy tear jerker right there. :') **

**First off, I would like to say that EVAN AAML officially has a Twitter account! :D My name is, obviously, EVANAAML. If you would like to follow me, just send me a message and let me know who you are, (obviously for most of you, your Twitter account would probably be your real name, so if that's the case you can just let me know your pen-name). Now I am completely new to Twitter and am still trying to get used to things on it, so please be patient with me! XP I am also glad to see that a few people have voted on the poll I placed on my profile, remember that up to three choices are allowed! Anyway, let's get back to the chapter! A lot of people are excited about the Pokemon battle that will be coming. I understand that a lot of people have been asking for more Pokemon involvement, and rest assured I will do what I can! :)**

**-EVAN AAML**

Angel couldn't help but show her excitement for the battle that was to come. Although she wouldn't be involved for a while, just watching a battle was a lot of excitement for her. She never really did a lot of Pokemon battling as a child, despite having a mother who worked at a Pokemon gym. She did have an occasional practice battle with her mom or dad, and once in a while someone at the gym, (she was even lucky enough to battle Erika at one point). However these battles were more for fun than anything else. But a lot of the rebels here in the PTA were former Pokemon trainers, their love for battling was unmatched. Especially for those who used to compete in the leagues. Angel knew that Aleksi was a fan of it after learning that her and her father used to watch battles a lot, and she could only imagine the excitement she was feeling right now.

"So Aleksi, do you think you can beat Evan?", Angel asked. Aleksi smirked and looked down at her. The two were sitting on the bench, waiting for Evan to return with the other rebels so that they could begin. Everyone else had been talking and waiting as well, Pokemon battles were one of the most popular sports around, and although it had lost a lot of popularity due to Team Rocket changing the rules to everything, people still enjoyed having their own private battles when they could. Rebels often watched as practice Pokemon battles went on in the base, as it was one of the few forms of entertainment they could do.

"Do you think I'm not as good as Evan?", Aleksi asked with a smirk. Angel couldn't help but giggle back with a mischievous grin.

"Well I don't know, he _is _pretty Pokemon smart after all!", Angel remarked. Aleksi jokingly put Angel in a headlock and the two playfully wrestled for a bit. Aleksi was certain to be careful with Angel's head, not wanting to make the now healing concussion worse.

"Listen kid, I know a thing or two about Pokemon battling, it's one of my strengths! Evan just better watch himself!", Aleksi said playfully. Angel giggled.

"I'm sure it is. It's going to be hard to cheer in this battle, I don't know who to cheer for, I would feel bad only cheering for one person", Angel explained. Aleksi smiled and released Angel.

"Then cheer for both. There's nothing wrong with that. When I was younger and my dad and I watched Pokemon battles on t.v., occasionally we would watch a battle where we liked both trainers. So we cheered for both and just waited to see who came out on top. You can do the same", Aleksi said. Angel looked at her for a moment before nodding with a smile.

"Alright!", Angel agreed. Aleksi nodded back. She then leaned in closer to Angel.

"But just between you and me, I think you should cheer just a _little _bit more for me than Evan, just to give me the slight edge", Aleksi joked. Angel and Aleksi both giggled at this. Suddenly, the door to the room opened and in stepped Evan, along with several rebels including Michael, Brenna, Hunter, and the twins Luke and Logan. The rebels all dispersed, looking for a seat or a friend to talk to. Brenna immediately ran towards Angel with a smile.

"Hey Angel! Evan told me you hurt yourself while training, are you alright?", Brenna asked with some concern. Angel giggled and smiled.

"I'm getting better by the second! How did shooting training go?", Angel asked. Brenna blushed slightly.

"Well, I still have a ways to go. Evan figured that my shooting would be A LOT better if I had a smaller pistol. So...he gave me this!", Brenna exclaimed, pulling out from her waist a small pistol. Angel looked at it intently. The gun was indeed small, the barrel barely went passed the trigger. Angel couldn't believe that a pistol so small could in fact fire. "It's called a PPK S, really small but still deadly", Brenna explained. Angel smiled.

"It's fitting for you!", Angel said. Brenna smiled back. Evan, who was standing behind Brenna the entire time, smiled as well and stepped forward.

"So then, everyone who was in training was excited about the Pokemon match...we wouldn't want to keep them waiting any longer would we?", Evan asked. Aleksi smirked.

"I know I wouldn't", Aleksi said. Evan took a bow and held his hand out towards the field.

"Ladies first then", Evan said. Aleksi couldn't help but blush ever so slightly, despite the fact that she knew Evan did this as a joke. The innocence and etiquette were still there. She stepped forward and made her way to the trainer's box, which was nothing more than a white square drawn into the floor. She chose the one closest to the door, her back to the large windows that showed the hall. As she stood there, she recalled the memories of Misty, Dawn, and Tracy battling the Rocket commanders back on New Island. She felt cold chills go up her spine at the thought, but pushed them aside. Those were memories now.

Evan chose the box across from Aleksi and stood still, patiently waiting. Everyone watched as the two rebels took their spots and became excited. Some whispered to others about whom they thought would win or what Pokemon they thought they had. Others kept silent, merely waiting for the battle to begin. Evan figured that there was no point in announcing the rules again, as Aleksi already knew them. And so, he reached into his shirt pocket and pulled out his usual cigarette box. He placed it in his mouth and placed his box back. He then pulled out his lighter and lit his cigarette. The smoke floated into his nostrils, giving him a sense of calm. He placed the lighter back and merely crossed his arms, looking over to the girl across from him.

Aleksi herself was going through many thoughts in her head. She always thought of strategies ahead of time, and this was no exception. She made sure that she could make herself prepared for anything. This was one reason why she was one of the most skilled rebels.

"Alright, I know how powerful my Pokemon are, and I know that they are a lot stronger than average. Now then, I know that Evan at least has a Sharpedo, he lent it to Angel during the New Island mission. But on this field he can't use Sharpedo, so he has five other Pokemon to use. But what are they? If they're anything like Sharpedo, then I'm in for more trouble than I originally thought...just what is your strategy?", Aleksi thought to herself, thinking of Evan.

"You can go first Aleksi, whenever you're ready", Evan stated from across the room. Aleksi smirked, reached down, and pulled a Pokeball from her belt.

"This...is going to be fun", Aleksi said to herself. She then aimed the Pokeball towards Evan. "If that's what you want, here goes!". Aleksi threw the Pokeball in the air towards the middle of the room. While in the air, the Pokeball burst open and a bright white light came forth. The light landed on the ground and began to take form. Aleksi caught the Pokeball while the white light turned into a Vileplume.

"Vileplume!", Vileplume yelled. Angel's eyes grew wide and she smiled.

"A Vileplume!", Angel said. Brenna, who had taken the seat next to her, looked at Angel with confusion.

"You seem excited about Vileplume", Brenna said. Angel turned to look at her.

"Yeah! My mom used to work at the Celadon gym, and growing up on the berry farm, I really got used to grass and bug type Pokemon, they're my favorites", Angel said. She then turned back to the battle. "I also know a lot about their attacks, and Vileplume is a really powerful grass type Pokemon. I wonder what Evan will do". Evan looked at the Vileplume with a smile.

"A grass type huh? Well it's a powerful one to be sure, but I think I know just who to choose", Evan said, finally uncrossing his arms and grabbing a Pokeball of his own. He gripped the ball tightly while he looked to Aleksi.

"I should warn you Aleksi...my Pokemon can be pretty scary", Evan said. Aleksi couldn't help but giggle at Evan's attempt to frighten her.

"Ohhh, I'm _sooo _scared!", Aleksi said. Suddenly, someone spoke up.

"I'd listen to him if I were you Aleksi", Milo called out. Aleksi and several other rebels looked to the mechanic, who was sitting on the bench with his arms crossed and his legs out casually. "I've seen Evan battle...and it can be pretty scary". Milo said this with a smile, but also with a chilling sensation. Aleksi still didn't quite believe him, as Milo was someone who would often make jokes at her expense. But something about his words seemed serious. Evan merely smirked, his cigarette bouncing ever so slightly in his mouth.

"Can't say we didn't warn you", Evan said, though mostly to himself. He then threw the Pokeball out towards the center of the room. The Pokeball opened in the air, but to everyone's surprise, flames appeared. The flames crashed onto the ground, sending streaks of fire across the floor to different directions. One streak went towards the bench and a couple rebels including Riles, Michael, and Sawyer jumped out of the way. Another streak went towards Vileplume, who scurried out of the way. The rest of the flames went towards walls where no people were located. The majority of the flames were centered where the Pokeball had released them however, and soon enough, the flames expanded and out popped a Typhlosion. It roared out loud, scaring many of the rebels.

Aleksi gasped. While she stood her ground and remained strong, she could not help but feel the power of Evan's Pokemon. She was stunned that he would use ferocity like this, especially given his laid back and peaceful nature. She was not sure if he used this primarily as a scare tactic, or if this was truly how he battled. Regardless, she would have to remain on her toes. Vileplume was already somewhat afraid, and Aleksi knew that she couldn't allow this.

"It's alright Vileplume, we can take it! You're brave!", Aleksi yelled out. Vileplume glanced over to Aleksi with a smile and nodded. It then turned back to face it's opponent. Typhlosion glared at the Pokemon, ready to battle. Aleksi knew that if Typhlosion were to get the first move, it could also very well be the only one it needed. She had to act fact. "Alright Vileplume, Sleep Powder, let's go!". Vileplume immediately began shaking its large leafy head and soon a blue sparkly powder flew out and towards the fire type. Evan however remained calm.

"Typhlosion, Flame Wheel to dodge!", Evan called out. Typhlosion immediately rolled up into a ball of fire and rolled away from the Sleep Powder. The flaming ball rolled around the field, near the rebels, and rolled directly towards Vileplume.

"Vileplume, Protect!", Aleksi yelled. Vileplume immediately put up an invisible barrier to shield itself from Typhlosion. The flaming ball crashed into the wall, continuing to spin but not going anywhere. Aleksi smirked. But, to her surprise, so did Evan.

"Typhlosion, Swift", Evan demanded. Typhlosion immediately stopped spinning and stood on its hind legs. It opened its mouth and fired many yellow stars towards the invisible barrier. The stars continued to strike it until the barrier disappeared. Aleksi growled in some frustration but acted quickly.

"Vileplume, Giga Drain!", Aleksi yelled out. Angel gasped.

"Giga Drain is Vileplume's best attack! It will drain a lot of energy from Typhlosion and use it as its own!", Angel explained. Vileplume bent down and aimed its large head towards Typhlosion. Soon, a white light began to form in the center of the flower. Evan however did not panic. In fact, he smiled.

"Time to end this, Typhlosion, dodge and use Fire Blast", Evan said. Typhlosion roared and suddenly sprinted full speed towards Vileplume. Aleksi gasped at the speed, Typhlosion was very quick. Within a second, Typhlosion reached Vileplume, ran behind it, and was now directly above the grass type. Vileplume, being too slow to react and unable to see well due to the large flower, could only gasp. Typhlosion opened its mouth and released a very large x-shaped fire attack. The flames immediately engulfed the large plant type Pokemon and it yelled out loud in pain. Aleksi gasped in shock, as did the rebels.

Soon, the flames died down. Vileplume remained standing, completely black from the attack. It coughed, releasing a large black smoke cloud, and immediately fell backwards, swirls forming in its eyes. Typhlosion roared, victorious. Aleksi looked at Vileplume in shock. She knew that fire types were strong against grass types, but Vileplume was much more powerful than normal grass Pokemon. And yet Evan's Typhlosion managed to knock it out so quickly. She couldn't believe how skilled and powerful of a trainer Evan was.

"Vileplume are a very strong grass type Pokemon, and they're attacks can be devastating. But, like many grass type Pokemon, it's extremely slow. It also has very few attacks, making it easy to predict", Evan explained. Aleksi growled. While she was not angry at Evan for defeating her Pokemon, she was extremely competitive. Evan did know a lot about Pokemon after all. His knowledge of Pokemon biology gave him an intellectual edge, and he had a lot of strength to back it up.

Angel, along with the other rebels, all gasped. The young girl looked on with her eyes wide. She knew that Aleksi was strong, which was why she was stunned that Evan could of defeated her in the first round so easily. However, she should of known better. She used Sharpedo during their mission, and she knew how powerful that Pokemon was. Only a strong Pokemon trainer would be able to train a strong Pokemon. She should of known that Evan would of had more Pokemon like that. Aleksi sighed, pulling out her Pokeball and returning Vileplume. As she did this, Typhlosion walked back and took its spot in front of Evan.

"You're going to be alright Vileplume", Aleksi said to her Pokeball. She then placed it back on her belt and looked to the field. "Alright, he beat Vileplume, so I have five more to go. Luckily he doesn't know what Pokemon I have, that's my advantage over him. I would use Dragonair, but it's too slow on this field. So that means that I'll have to beat Typhlosion with power", Aleksi thought to herself, pulling out another Pokeball. She threw it in the air and it popped open. Soon, an elegant Pokemon appeared, a Gardevoir. It spun around in a circle and then faced Typhlosion.

"Wow, a Gardevoir, such a beautiful Pokemon!", Sawyer said watching the fight. Nick, who sat right next to her, nodded in agreement.

"It is. Let's see if it can beat that powerhouse of a Typhlosion", Nick said. Looking at the Pokemon, Evan sighed.

"Shoot, a Gardevoir. That's going to be trouble. Be on your guard Typhlosion, this won't be as easy as the last round", Evan said. Typhlosion nodded, understanding. "Alright then, Flamethrower, let's go!". Typhlosion roared and fired a beam of fire towards Gardevoir. Aleksi smiled, already knowing what to do.

"Gardevoir, Teleport!", Aleksi yelled. Gardevoir immediately teleported away, easily dodging the Flamethrower attack. Both Evan and Typhlosion looked around, waiting for the psychic Pokemon to come out of hiding. Suddenly, it reappeared directly behind the fire Pokemon. Evan gasped while Aleksi smirked. "Now Gardevoir, Shadow Ball!". Gardevoir placed its hand onto Typhlosion's back, and before it could react, was blasted by the Shadow Ball. It flew forward and landed on the ground. Evan cringed.

"This isn't good. Gardevoir is fast _and _powerful. We need to end this quickly or it'll be all over", Evan said to himself. He then thought of a plan. "Typhlosion, Swift!". Typhlosion was slow to get up, but once it did, it turned around and fired a hail of stars at the psychic Pokemon.

"Teleport again Gardevoir!", Aleksi commanded. Gardevoir did as it was told and teleported away. However, the Swift attack changed trajectory, going in a circle away from Evan and towards a currently empty section of the field to Typhlosion's left. Suddenly, Gardevoir reappeared directly where the Swift attack was heading. Gardevoir saw the oncoming attack and panicked. The stars crashed into it, causing it some damage. The final stars caused Gardevoir to fly back and crash into the wall. Aleksi gasped.

"What? How did Swift do that?", Aleksi asked in shock.

"Swift is one of the only attacks that can't miss. Even if you teleport!", Evan explained. Gardevoir pulled itself away from the wall and stood up, panting slightly. Swift was not very powerful, but it still did a number on it.

"Dang, I can't take Typhlosion on head to head, it's too powerful, and I can't Teleport or Evan will just use Swift. I'll have to use Gardevoir's other Psychic abilities and hope it doesn't tire out from them", Aleksi decided in her head. Suddenly, an idea came to her, one that she thought could work. "Wait...I got it!". Aleksi then turned to face Gardevoir. "Gardevoir, Rain Dance!". Gardevoir raised its arms up to the sky and suddenly, small clouds began to form above it. The clouds grew a bit bigger and moved to cover the entire field. Typhlosion looked up to the sky, wondering what was going to happen. Soon, the clouds turned dark and began to drop rain down. The rain was not very heavy, but covered the entire field. Evan sighed, his cigarette dying out from the rain that was falling.

"Uh oh. Rain Dance This will be a problem", Evan said to himself. He then looked over to his Typhlosion, who was bending over now, it appeared to be hurting from the rain. "Rain Dance doesn't do damage, but a lot of fire type Pokemon don't do so hot with it on the field. I'll have to counter for it", he thought to himself. "Typhlosion, Sunny Day!", Evan yelled. Typhlosion roared and the weather began to change once again. While the rain continued, it became less and less as a bright light began to form. The heat from the Sunny Day caused the rain from the Rain Dance to evaporate, which caused a lot of steam. Both Evan and Aleksi looked out onto the field in confusion.

"Huh? The field is steaming...wait, that means that Typhlosion can't see! Gardevoir, now's your chance!", Aleksi yelled. Gardevoir, while hidden in the steam, nodded. Evan could hear Aleksi however.

"Typhlosion, get ready! They're on the attack! Fight back with Eruption!", Evan yelled. Typhlosion roared angrily and suddenly turned bright red. The heat from its body made it visible in the steam, and everyone gasped. Suddenly, Typhlosion fired off massive waves of flames at different parts of the field, hoping to strike Gardevoir. Aleksi became worried.

"Gardevoir, Psychic!", Aleksi yelled. Gardevoir's eyes began to glow and, just as a wave of flames was approaching it, fired the Psychic attack. The flames were stopped in their tracks, and fired backwards. Typhlosion and Evan both gasped as the flames flew back with tremendous force. The flames struck the fire type Pokemon and it flew backwards, crashing into the wall right beside the rebels. Evan gasped, dropping his cigarette from his mouth.

The rebels near Typhlosion all quickly moved away as the fire Pokemon fell from the wall, over the benches, and onto the floor. The weather around the field began to change once more, as the affects of Sunny Day and Rain Dance had ended. Gardevoir was now visible, standing directly across from Typhlosion and a few feet passed the center of the field. Evan sighed, pulling out his Pokeball and looking towards Aleksi.

"You did good Typhlosion, rest up now...I have to hand it to you Aleksi, you took me by surprise there", Evan said, returning his Pokemon while looking at the girl across from her. Aleksi winked with a smirk.

"Don't worry, there will be plenty more of that coming your way", Aleksi stated. Evan couldn't help but chuckle a bit. Angel smiled and put her hands around her mouth to make herself louder.

"Way to go Aleksi! You too Evan, you're both doing awesome!", Angel yelled. Aleksi turned to Angel and gave her a thumbs up and wink. Evan couldn't help but smile watching this, but soon brought his attention back to the battle at hand.

"Gardevoir is a powerful Pokemon, I'll have to think smart or else I could be in for a lot of trouble", Evan said. He knew that psychic Pokemon were powerful, and Aleksi's Gardevoir was no exception. Although it had taken some damage, it was still in pretty good condition and could keep going on. Evan looked down onto the ground and spotted the cigarette that had fallen out of his mouth just moments ago. The water from the Rain Dance had disappeared, but the cigarette was still wet and useless now. Evan couldn't help but laugh slightly, Aleksi always found a way to make him stop smoking in her presence. He then looked back up, pulling out another Pokeball from his belt and aiming it towards Aleksi. "Get ready Aleksi!".

Aleksi nodded and prepared herself for the next battle. Evan threw his Pokeball and it opened midair, releasing the white light. Unlike the previous Pokeballs however, the white light remained in the air. Evan caught his Pokeball and smiled. The white light took form and soon a large Pokemon appeared. It spread its large wings and then flew down to the ground, landing down hard onto the ground. The Pokemon was a Skarmory. The metal body hitting the floor made a loud clank sound, causing some intimidation. It then screeched out loud, causing Aleksi, Angel, and many of the rebels to cover their ears. Mathinza looked on with a smile.

"Wow, a Skarmory huh?", Mathinza stated. Ryoto, who sat relatively close to him, nodded.

"Yes, those feathers look like they would make really nice blades", Ryoto commented. Mathinza nodded knowingly with a smile. Trent and Michael, who had listened in onto their conversation, turned to them in confusion.

"What do you mean?", Trent asked. Mathinza leaned forward to look passed Ryoto and glanced at Trent.

"Skarmory feathers are used to make swords and knives, they have been for centuries now. My katana Dreciel is made from that metal", Mathinza explained. Ryoto nodded.

"As is my blade, and so is the one I gave you on New Island in fact", Ryoto stated. Trent's eyes expanded in shock. He had no idea that his blade was made from a Pokemon's feathers.

"Wow!", Trent whispered slightly. Michael made a quizzical look and pulled out a blade from his belt, looking at it intently.

"Hmm, I wonder if my knives are made from Skarmory feathers as well", Michael asked himself, not having the slightest clue. Skarmory turned and looked at Gardevoir, ready to attack its prey. Evan smirked.

"Skarmory here is my fastest Pokemon, which is something considering all of my Pokemon are really fast", Evan said with a chuckle. Aleksi growled slightly.

"I don't care how fast it is, it won't be able to dodge a psychic attack! Gardevoir, Confusion!", Aleksi commanded. Gardevoir began to glow and soon fired a blast towards Skarmory.

"Skarmory...hold your ground", Evan said. Aleksi gasped. Skarmory did as it was told, standing firm. The Confusion attack struck Skarmory, but it seemed to bounce off of the bird's metallic body.

"What? It didn't work!", Aleksi yelled.

"Skarmory is a steel type Pokemon, psychic attacks don't do half the damage they're worth!", Evan said. He then pointed to Gardevoir. "Skarmory, Steel Wing!". Skarmory screeched and its wings began to shin. The large bird Pokemon then flew in the air and, with tremendous speed, soared towards Gardevoir.

"Teleport Gardevoir!", Aleksi yelled. Gardevoir did just that, and soon disappeared. Skarmory stopped mid flight and looked around, its wings still shining. Evan however remained calm, he had a plan.

"Skarmory, Swift!", Evan yelled. Aleksi gasped.

"Oh no, not again!", Aleksi said. Skarmory fired Swift from its mouth and the attack began to fly around the room in a circle, before deciding a destination. Soon, Gardevoir appeared, and to its surprise, was met by Swift. The stars pounded on the Pokemon once again. Evan saw his opportunity.

"Now Skarmory, Steel Wing!", Evan called. Skarmory soared directly towards Gardevoir, who was still being attacked by the stars. The quick speed allowed Skarmory to get in quick before the psychic Pokemon even realized what was coming. Skarmory struck the Pokemon with its wings, causing it to fly back a few feet and crash onto the ground to Aleksi's right.

Angel looked at the injured Pokemon, which was very close to her, with sympathy. Gardevoir pulled itself up, cringing in pain. One eye was closed as it tried to pull itself onto its feet, covered in bruises and dirt. Aleksi looked at her Pokemon with just as much concern as Angel.

"Man, that Skarmory is fast! And naturally it would know Swift. I see his strategy now, it's a lot like his sniping, speed and power mixed. Evan uses Pokemon that are naturally fast and makes them stronger physically. A double team threat. And knowing attacks like Swift come naturally to fast Pokemon and ensure damage. He's definitely _a lot _stronger than anyone realized", Aleksi thought. She then brought herself to the present. "Gardevoir, Heal Pulse!". Gardevoir, while still trying to stand, became shrouded in a bright light. Evan became frustrated at the sight.

"Great, Heal Pulse restores half of its health. Now it'll be a lot stronger. I'll have to knock it out in one blow", Evan said to himself. Gardevoir's light disappeared and soon it stood tall, ready once again for battle. Aleksi looked to the field, seeing Skarmory screech once more.

"Ok, Teleport won't work anymore, not with him using Swift. I'm sure all of his Pokemon can use it. And my psychic attacks aren't very effective on Skarmory. I'll have to rely on my more physical attacks to win this round", Aleksi said. She then pointed to Skarmory. "Gardevoir, Thunderbolt!". Gardevoir aimed both of its hands towards the bird Pokemon and fired electricity at it. Evan acted quickly.

"Skarmory, dodge!", Evan yelled. Skarmory beat its wings and took off with tremendous speed, dodging the electrical attack. "Alright, we need to end this now. Skarmory, Night Slash!". Aleksi's eyes widened.

"A Dark type move!", Aleksi said to herself. Skarmory screeched, its wings glowing now black in color and quickly made its way towards Gardevoir. Aleksi was uncertain of what to do. Gardevoir couldn't Teleport or use a psychic attack for defense. Skarmory's speed made it reach Gardevoir in a blink of an eye. Skarmory soared directly to the side of Gardevoir and then looped around the field, going back towards Evan. Everyone looked on in confusion, wondering why Skarmory missed...however the attack was dead on.

Gardevoir immediately fell to the ground, causing everyone to gasp.

"The attack was so quick that I couldn't even see it!", Riles exclaimed.

"Damn man! That Skarmory is fast!", Luke threw in.

"I don't know how Aleksi will be able to match that!", Logan said. Aleksi looked at her now unconscious Gardevoir, then to Evan and his Skarmory. She trembled, just ever so slightly.

"Now I know why Evan has his Pokemon come out as scary and intimidating as can be. They're so powerful! He's already knocked out two of my Pokemon! I only have three left before I lose the match. Umbreon could possibly defeat Skarmory, but I can't risk sending it out yet, I can lose my most powerful Pokemon. I'll have to rely on my other Pokemon and hope that they're a match for his other Pokemon, whatever they may be", Aleksi thought to herself. She then pulled out Gardevoir's Pokeball and aimed it towards the psychic Pokemon. "You did a good job Gardevoir, return!", Aleksi yelled. She returned Gardevoir and then pulled out another Pokeball. "I know it's risky, but I think it can work...GO!".

Aleksi threw her Pokeball and allowed it to open. Everyone watched as the Pokemon began to take form. Soon, the light disappeared and Dragonair took its spot. Many of the rebels looked on with admiration in their eyes, the beautiful snake like Pokemon sparkling with radiance. Evan raised an eyebrow at the choice.

"Dragonair? It's powerful without a doubt, but it's got a water type body, it'll be really slow on land. She must be in a pinch if she's risking a move like that", Evan thought to himself. However, he shrugged it off and prepared himself. "Alright Skarmory, we're going to have to be careful here, Dragon type Pokemon are some of the most powerful, let's start with Steel Wing!". Skarmory screeched as its wings began to glow.

"Prepare yourself Dragonair!", Aleksi said. Dragonair nodded. Skarmory lifted off and began its way towards the dragon Pokemon. As expected, it was incredibly fast. Aleksi only had a split second to react before Dragonair would get hit. "Ok, now! Ice Beam!". Evan's eyes grew wide in shock.

"Skarmory! Dodge!", Evan yelled. Dragonair fired its Ice Beam from the horn on its head as Skarmory tried to dodge. While it was quick enough to avoid a direct hit, the beam managed to strike its wings. Skarmory landed on the ground, unable to fly away now. It tried to break the ice on its wings, but wasn't able to immediately.

"Now's our chance Dragonair! Twister!", Aleksi commanded. Dragonair swung its tail towards the immobile steel bird, releasing a large tornado. Skarmory was blasted by the hit and flew back several feet, landing in front of Evan. Evan held onto his hat tightly as the tornado's wind nearly blew it off. When the wind vanished, Evan looked at Skarmory. It slowly stood up, having taken some damage from the Twister attack. It flexed a bit and then broke the ice off its wings, shaking off the cold.

"That was a smart move, freezing Skarmory's wings to stop it in its tracks. We need to be more careful of that...hmm, yeah, that can work", Evan said, thinking of a plan. After seeing that Skarmory had recovered from the ice, he prepared. "Alright Skarmory, Metal Sound!". Skarmory opened its mouth and began to screech. Unlike the previous ear piercing screeches however, this one was an attack, and far far worse. Everyone in the room with the exception of Evan covered their ears in pain, including Aleksi.

"WHAT IS HE DOING?", Milo yelled, unable to handle the loud noise.

"METAL SOUND! IT'S AN ATTACK THAT LOWERS DEFENSE!", Riles responded, covering his own ears. Aleksi gritted her teeth, barely even able to open her eyes in the sound waves. Her head began to pound and she felt like her heart was having a panic attack.

"I can't handle that noise!", Aleksi thought to herself. Dragonair, who had no arms or hands to cover its ears, took the full force of the noise. Evan smirked, his plan had worked, Dragonair's defense was down.

"Perfect! Alright Skarmory, Flash Cannon!", Evan commanded. Skarmory stopped screeching and fired a very large ball of light at Dragonair. Dragonair, still suffering from the Metal Sound, was unprepared for the attack. The canon struck Dragonair directly in the chest and it flew backwards, almost hitting Aleksi in the process. Aleksi gasped as her dragon Pokemon began to pull itself off the ground.

"That was a close call. I have a feeling that if I didn't tire out Skarmory earlier that attack would of been a finishing blow. I need to hurry up and beat that bird!", Aleksi said now looking at Skarmory. The bird screeched and stretched its wings out, ready for more. "Slowing it down worked before, but they'll be prepared for that. If I'm going to do it again, I'll have to find a different way to do it", she thought to herself. She then glanced over to Dragonair, who finally pulled itself up. Suddenly, something hit her. "Wait...that's it!". Dragonair shook itself off and prepared for the battle. "Dragonair, Slam attack!" Dragonair immediately slithered towards Skarmory.

"Slam? Why would she do something so close that can easily miss?", Evan asked. Angel covered her eyes, not wanting to see what would happen. She was afraid that Dragonair would be knocked out quickly. Dragonair stood on its tail and then slammed itself down towards Skarmory. "Skarmory, dodge!", Evan yelled. Skarmory took off into the air, dodging the Slam attack with ease. Aleksi however smirked.

"Perfect. Now then Dragonair, Thunder Wave!", Aleksi yelled. Evan gasped, and Angel opened her eyes in shock. Dragonair immediately turned its head around and fired beams of electricity throughout the room. The beams at first appeared random, but soon all the beams began to focus and direct directly at Skarmory. The bird Pokemon yelled in pain as it was blasted by the Thunder Wave, falling to the ground paralyzed. "YES! IT WORKED!", Aleksi yelled.

"Damn! Aleksi wasn't trying to use Slam to attack, she was using it as a distraction to get close! Thunder Wave is an electrical attack, the beams were attracted by Skarmory's metal body and struck it full force! And electric attacks due double damage because Skarmory is a flying type!", Evan said to himself in frustration. Aleksi smirked and aimed at Skarmory.

"Now Dragonair! Flamethrower!", Aleksi commanded. Dragonair opened its mouth and fired a beam of fire. Skarmory, being paralyzed, was unable to use its speed and fly away. It was struck full force by the Flamethrower and pushed into the ground. It screeched in pain until the flames died down. Skarmory tried to pull itself up, but shook in pain and fell to the ground, unconscious. Angel cheered some more.

"Way to go!", Angel yelled. Evan sighed heavily, pulling out Skarmory's Pokeball. As Dragonair slithered back towards Aleksi, Evan returned his Skarmory. He looked at his Pokeball and nodded with a smile.

"Good job Skarmory", Evan said. He then placed it back on his belt. After doing so, he looked to Aleksi, who was smiling, still happy over her recent victory. Evan couldn't help but smile at this himself as he pulled out another Pokeball from his belt.

She looked really cute when she was happy.

**Well did I make you all happy? I got plenty of Pokemon in this chapter, and the battle is only half way over with! :P But I do hope you enjoyed the chapter, it was A LOT of work to write this chapter, especially considering how soon the update came. "With the Pokemon battle well under way, who will come out victorious? What powerful and amazing Pokemon do Aleksi and Evan have in store for each other? Find out next time, on EVAN AAML's "R"!". Haven't done that in awhile! School's over with for me, I just have a few finals and I'm done. So hopefully I can get some well deserved rest. Then I'll be able to update a bit more frequently for you all! Anyway, don't forget to check out my new Twitter account, and be sure to F.A.R.! See you all later!**

**sincerely,  
evan, a fan of aaml -EVAN AAML**


	63. Chapter 63

**Glad to see that you all enjoyed the last chapter! A lot of people liked the unique strategies and cool Pokemon fighting. This chapter will see the continuation of the Pokemon battle, with POSSIBLY the finally, though that's not a guarantee. Depends if I get too into the battles or not. After doing the last chapter with so much action though, it's making me pumped for the PTA/Team Rocket fight! But there's a lot that I have to do before that, got to remember that. Anyway, onto the next chapter!**

**-EVAN AAML**

Evan remained poised, despite having lost two of his Pokemon already. Aleksi's Dragonair remained on the field, ready and determined to fight on. Dragon Pokemon were among the strongest around, and very little could go up against them successfully. He had three Pokemon left, and considering he couldn't use Sharpedo on this terrain, he was more limited.

But he knew his remaining Pokemon could hold their own against it.

The _real _problem came from Aleksi. Her Pokemon were all extremely powerful, to be sure, but it was her quick thinking and tactics that was the most dangerous to him. Her last plan was incredible, and he knew that she would have many more just like it at the ready if needed. He had to be two steps ahead of her if he intended to win this battle, which was going to prove to be difficult. He held onto his next Pokemon tightly, hopeful that it will help. While the type of Pokemon didn't do a lot for him, he knew that it had plenty of tricks it could use to fend off the might Dragonair.

Aleksi looked on in anticipation, her nerves beginning to grow. She was able to fend off Evan quite a bit, but was still tied with him for Pokemon fainted. She hadn't fought a worthy opponent like Evan in ages, most Rockets weren't a match for her. She was glad then that she was getting this training in now. Plus, she knew that this was something she had wanted to do for awhile. Who _wouldn't _want to battle their crush?

Wait, crush? Aleksi shook her head, trying to remove the thought from her mind. She couldn't believe sometimes the things that came through her head, especially at the worst of moments. Luckily, Evan decided that this was a good time to talk.

"You managed to do pretty well against me so far Aleksi, but be prepared, I still have some powerful Pokemon by my side!", Evan exclaimed. Aleksi smirked.

"Well then, let's see these so called powerful Pokemon and find out for ourselves shall we?", Aleksi said. Evan couldn't help but chuckle at this.

"Alright, if you insist...GO!", Evan yelled, throwing his Pokeball towards the field. The ball burst open, and immediately following a huge gust of wind appeared. Everyone covered themselves, unprepared for the sudden wind storm. They should of known that more of Evan's Pokemon would have intimidating entrances. Rile's hat flew off his head while Angel and Sawyer's hair flew this way and that. Some of the rebels found themselves holding onto their bench seats, afraid that they would blow away. Aleksi covered her face, but continued to look onto the field. Oddly enough, wind was not the only thing blowing.

Aleksi could see that leaves were also in the gust. They blew fiercely in the wind, almost like razor blades in a hurricane. Evan watched on with a grin, the wind barely affecting him. Suddenly, the wind began to die down and the leaves began to fall to the ground. Everyone looked towards the center of the gust, and could see that a relatively large and powerful Pokemon was the cause of the wind, a Shiftry. It roared angrily.

"A Shiftry huh? This won't be easy. Shiftry have a lot of weaknesses, but they're incredibly fast and have some good moves. Plus there's that wind", Aleksi said, looking at the combo grass/dark Pokemon. "Ok Dragonair, we need to be prepared for this, let's start off with a Flamethrower!". Dragonair fired the Flamethrower directly towards the grass type Pokemon, who remained still.

"Shiftry, Gust", Evan ordered. Shiftry waved its fan like hands towards the flames and started up a gust of wind, much like it did when it entered the battle. The wind however was more directed, and went directly towards the flames. It immediately blew them out, extinguishing the attack. Aleksi gasped.

"Uh oh, that grass type uses its wind attacks to protect itself from its number one weakness", Aleksi said in concern. Shiftry merely stared down Dragonair and Aleksi with great intensity, it knew that it had an advantage.

"Alright Shiftry, let's begin this battle with a message, Leaf Storm!", Evan yelled. Shiftry roared angrily and then began to wave its hands. Aleksi covered herself once again, the wind getting to her. Suddenly, Shiftry began to hurl leaves at Dragonair with great intensity. Dragonair, unable to move well due to the wind, took the full force of the leaves. It yelled in pain, getting hit by what seemed like an infinite barrage of razor sharp leaves.

"What kind of attack is that?", Angel asked in shock.

"It's called Leaf Storm! It's one of the most powerful grass type moves, it's like Razor Leaf on steroids!", Brenna explained. Shiftry finished its attack and once again stood still, while Dragonair tried to recover from the onslaught. Dragonair was resistant to grass type moves, but Leaf Storm was not an ordinary grass attack. Dragonair winced in pain, but was ready to fight back for Aleksi.

"This isn't good. We need to finish this soon, or Dragonair will be finished!", Aleksi said to herself. She then began to think of another strategy. She knew that, like the other Pokemon, Shiftry was extremely fast and was strengthened by Evan's training. She also knew that they had some powerful attacks that could be devastating. Her strategy to slow down his Pokemon worked well, but each Pokemon was more adaptable than the last, and she knew that she couldn't use the same trick twice. She had to come up with something new, and quickly. Suddenly something came to her.

"Alright Shiftry, let's make this quick. Solar Beam!", Evan yelled. Shiftry opened its mouth and began to take in sunlight from the room. It's mouth began to glow brightly. Aleksi knew that this was her chance. If Solar Beam hit, it could very well be the end, but Shiftry was also open for attack.

"Now Dragonair! Hail!", Aleksi yelled. Dragonair raised its head and yelled, its horn glowing a bright blue. Soon, dark clouds began to form by the ceiling, and hail began to fall from the sky. Shiftry was no longer able to gather sunlight due to the clouds in the sky, and so Solar Beam failed. Evan growled.

"She did it again! She stopped Shiftry from gathering sunlight because of the clouds all while slowing it down! And ice attacks do double damage to Shiftry as well! I need to fix this and quick", Evan said to himself. Shiftry roared in pain, getting pelted by the barrage of large balls of hail. "Shiftry, Gust!". Shiftry once again whirled its hands around, creating another wind storm. The hail that was falling from the sky was pushed away from Shiftry, much of it being redirected towards Dragonair. The dragon Pokemon began getting pummeled by Hail and yelled in pain. Aleksi gasped.

"Oh no! I forgot that Shiftry can use Gust! And Dragonair is weak to ice attacks!", Aleksi yelled. Evan smirked.

"Alright Shiftry, this is our chance. Shadow Ball!", Evan yelled. Shiftry opened its mouth and fired a large dark sphere towards Dragonair. Aleksi panicked.

"No! Dragonair, Protect!", Aleksi yelled. Dragonair was being injured from the hail, but acknowledged Aleksi, placing an invisible force field in front of itself. The Shadow Ball attack struck the field and tried to push through it before exploding. The explosion shook the entire field and everyone held onto their seats for fear of being blown away. Soon, everything stopped, and the rebels looked back to the field. The two Pokemon remained still, both eyeing each other down. The explosion had dispersed the clouds and stopped Hail. Both Pokemon were injured from the ice attack, but neither of them tried to show it to the other. Evan knew that he had to attack quickly, before Aleksi could think of another strategy.

"Shiftry, Quick Attack!", Evan yelled. Shiftry immediately ran around the room at top speed. Dragonair would turn to Shiftry, but every time it did, Shiftry would disappear to another spot. Aleksi became worried.

"Shiftry's fast!", Aleksi said to herself. Suddenly, Shiftry appeared to Dragonair's right side and struck it hard, causing Dragonair to fall over and fall to the ground.

"Now Shiftry, Shadow Ball, one more time!", Evan yelled. Shiftry jumped up in the air, just above Dragonair, and opened its mouth. Aleksi knew that Dragonair was too close to dodge easily.

"Dragonair, Thunderbolt!", Aleksi yelled. Dragonair raised its horn just in front of Shiftry and fired a lightning bolt to the tree Pokemon. Shiftry yelled in pain as it was blasted backwards, but caught itself and landed on its feet, back in front of Evan. Electric attacks weren't very effective against Shiftry, but at least it protected Dragonair. Aleksi sighed. "That was a close one, an attack that close would of been incredibly damaging. I need to find a way to slow down Shiftry, but I can't use Hail again or else Evan could use it against me. Hmm...", Aleksi thought to herself. She looked up to the ceiling. "If attacking from the sky won't work...", she then looked down to the ground. "...maybe the ground will".

"Shiftry, Quick Attack again!", Evan yelled. Aleksi acted quickly.

"Dragonair, Ice Beam on the ground!", Aleksi yelled. Everyone, including Evan, looked on in wonder and confusion. Dragonair fired the Ice Beam on the ground from its horn, quickly freezing the majority of the field. Shiftry immediately ran forward, jumping over the Ice Beam and landing on the ice covered field. However, once it did, it found that it could not hold onto the ground well. It slipped on the ground, sliding towards Dragonair with tremendous speed. Aleksi smirked while Evan gasped. "Now Dragonair, end this! Hyper Beam!", Aleksi yelled. Dragonair opened its mouth and fired the massive beam of light towards the panicked Shiftry. Unable to dodge, it could only watch in horror as it was blasted by the powerful attack. Evan braced himself as Shiftry was blasted into the wall right beside him.

Everyone watching gasped, their eyes wide open in shock and awe. Angel could not believe Aleksi's quick strategies. While Evan's strategies were thought of before the battle and were more than effective, Aleksi's quick timing reactions seemed unstoppable.

"Holy Shit! That was one of the most intense battles I've ever seen!", Milo said in shock.

"You said it! Hyper Beam is one of the most powerful attacks in the Pokemon kingdom, no one wants to have to face that!", Nick stated. Evan turned to the wall to see Shiftry, stuck in the wall, and unconscious. He looked on in shock. His plan had always worked before, he never lost a battle when he used his speed and strength combinations. Aleksi was someone amazing. He sighed, pulling out his Pokeball.

"You did well Shiftry, you relax now", Evan said. Shiftry was returned. Aleksi jumped up in joy.

"You did it Dragonair!", Aleksi exclaimed. Dragonair roared in excitement. It was tired and weak, but ready for more. Evan chuckled as he pulled out another Pokeball.

"Alright Aleksi, I have two more Pokemon left, and I can tell you now, they're going to be a handful for you. Let's see if you can handle them huh?", Evan said. Aleksi smirked.

"Alright, I'm ready!", Aleksi said. Evan smirked as he threw his Pokeball. Aleksi prepared herself, uncertain of what show this Pokemon would give. The Pokeball flew in the air, landed on the ground, and then opened.

Suddenly, lightning erupted from the ball, blasting the ceiling and spreading across the field. It cracked through the ice, destroying it instantly and even causing it to melt with the heat. The Pokeball flew back into Evan's hand as he looked on with a smile. Aleksi's eyes grew wide. The lightning began to get smaller and smaller until all that was left was sparks coming off of the little familiar electric rodent. Everyone looked on in shock.

"PIKACHU?", everyone yelled. The little rodent smiled, ready for battle. While Pikachu was a relatively common Pokemon, especially in the lower Kanto region, people were really only used to Ash's. No one was certain if this was because they simply didn't have a Pikachu, or if they purposely didn't want to compete with Ash's, knowing how powerful it was. Evan smirked.

"Let's see if you can handle my Pikachu Aleksi. This is my newest Pokemon, I caught it not to long before joining the PTA. It's young and not as experienced as my other Pokemon, and it's not a match for Ash's Pikachu, but it has A LOT of potential", Evan said. The little rodent shook off its sparks and prepared itself. It was clearly full of energy, as most Pikachu were. Aleksi looked at the adorable Pokemon, unable to control herself. Unlike Evan's other Pokemon, which were all intimidating and fierce looking, this Pikachu, no matter what it did, would always look cute.

"Aww, it's adorable...but I can't let it distract me. It can have some devastating affects on Dragonair, and it took a beating from Shiftry. I'll have to end this as quickly as I can. Luckily, Pikachu's young age and inexperience go to my advantage", Aleksi thought to herself. "Alright Dragonair, let's start this off with a Twister!". Dragonair whirled its tail around and created a Twister, which was sent sailing towards the small rodent. Pikachu looked scared at first, but Evan began to talk to it.

"Don't worry Pikachu, you can do this! Let's go, Agility!", Evan called out. Pikachu nodded and then immediately ran to the side of the field, away from the Twister attack. The Twister died down right in front of Evan. Pikachu ran around the entire field, circling Dragonair continuously. Dragonair kept on trying to keep its eyes on Pikachu, but found it difficult.

"I expected this, Pikachu's fast. I see now why Evan knew it had potential. And its small size makes it harder to see as well", Aleksi said. Evan smirked.

"Perfect Pikachu, you're doing great, let's make this more fun for Aleksi shall we? Double Team!", Evan called out. Pikachu, who was still running around, began to run faster. Dragonair watched in shock as it appeared that more and more Pikachus appeared on the field. Each one looked like it was running in place. Pikachu was running so fast that it made a trick of the eye. Dragonair couldn't tell which one was the real one.

"Don't let it get to you Dragonair, we'll have to take them all out at once! Dragon Tail!", Aleksi called out. Dragonair roared and raised its tail as it began to glow a bright white. It then swung its tail around at the Pikachus. One by one each one disappeared. Dragonair spun around in a complete circle, striking each one down. However, after completing a full circle, it found that each Pikachu was gone. Aleksi gasped. "WHAT? BUT WE HIT ALL OF THEM! WHERE'S THE REAL PIKACHU?", Aleksi asked in shock. Evan smirked.

"Closer than you think", Evan said. Aleksi gasped. Dragonair looked around, but could find nothing. Suddenly, it felt something odd, and looked at its tail. Dangling from the tip of it was Pikachu, who gripped it tightly with its teeth. The Pikachu grinned mischievously.

"PIKACHU GRIPPED ONTO DRAGONAIR'S TAIL WHILE IT WAS ATTACKING!", Aleksi yelled in shock. Everyone watching looked on in shock as well. This was a tactic they would expect from Ash and his Pikachu.

"I can't believe Evan's tricks! They're unreal!", Angel said. Brenna nodded in agreement.

"Alright Pikachu, let's give Dragonair a _real _shock! Thunder attack!", Evan yelled. Pikachu smiled even more. It began to spark as a large dark cloud began to form above Dragonair.

"Dragonair! Throw Pikachu off of you!", Aleksi yelled. Dragonair whipped its tail back and forth, trying to fling the small little rodent away, but Pikachu's teeth held on tight. The cloud began to grow darker and boom from the Thunder. Suddenly, Pikachu yelled, and a massive lightning bolt fell from the sky, striking the Dragonair at the tail. Dragonair yelled in pain as it was electrocuted. The force of the lightning caused Pikachu to release Dragonair's tail and fly in the air before quickly regaining its composure and landing safely on the ground near Evan. The Thunder attack ended, causing Dragonair to twitch a bit. The clouds soon disappeared and the field returned to normal. The rebels looked on in shock.

"The intensity of this battle is something to admire, I have to give credit to these two for being so powerful and determined", Ryoto said honestly impressed. Many of the other rebels nodded.

"I agree, this only shows just how powerful the PTA is and what we can accomplish...AM I RIGHT?", Michael asked, standing up and looking to the rebels. The rebels, pumped from the battle before them, all roared in excitement. Evan and Aleksi couldn't help but feel flattered for inspiring their rebels with their battle. Instinctively, the two looked at each other, as if reading each other's thoughts. They both then glanced over to Angel. Angel looked on with excitement in her eyes, her hands made into fists as she eagerly waited for the next move. However, there was more to her emotions than meets the eye. She was feeling inspired, pumped, ready to take on the world if she had to. Evan and Aleksi were relieved, their plan was working.

Dragonair shook off the attack and looked at the little Pikachu, sparks still covering the dragon Pokemon. Dragonair's resistance to electrical attacks added with Pikachu's young age and inexperience made the Thunder attack more show than power. However, it did not deny the fact that Dragonair was taking severe damage, and would not last very long. Aleksi was aware of this herself, and quickly tried to think of a plan.

"I'm lucky that Dragonair was able to handle that Thunder attack, but my luck is quickly running out, Dragonair is getting tired and weak. I could try to use that Ice Beam trick again like I did on Shiftry, but seeing how Pikachu's entrance destroyed the original ice, I don't think it would work well the second time around", Aleksi thought to herself, reflecting to the previous battle and Pikachu's entrance. "I have one more trick I can use to slow down his Pokemon, but after that I'll have to rely on luck". She then pointed to Dragonair. "Dragonair! Mist!", Aleksi yelled. Dragonair roared and then suddenly the blue orb around its neck began to glow. When this happened, a large mist appeared, shrouding the entire field. Evan and Pikachu looked around, unable to see where Dragonair was. Evan however did not seem worried.

"Aleksi is using a good tactic, but it's not going to work. Unlike my other Pokemon, Pikachu has acute hearing, it'll be able to detect if Dragonair tries to move in close. Plus, I have another trick up my sleeve", Evan thought to himself. "Alright Pikachu, Charge!". Pikachu began to gather electrical energy. Evan smirked and yelled across the field to where he knew Aleksi would be standing. "Mist was a good trick Aleksi, I'll give you that. But you're underestimating Pikachu. Pikachu's electrical Charge creates an electrical field, which spreads due to the water vapor in the air coming from your mist. In doing so, it'll evaporate. Dragonair won't be able to hide for long. Plus, Charge makes Pikachu's next electric attack twice as powerful!", Evan yelled out.

"Maybe it's you who is underestimating Dragonair!", Aleksi yelled back. Evan raised an eyebrow. As predicted, Pikachu's Charge evaporated the Mist. However, to Pikachu, Evan, and everyone else's shock, Dragonair appeared, right beside Pikachu to its left. Evan gasped.

"WHAT? HOW DID DRAGONAIR GET SO CLOSE WITHOUT PIKACHU HEARING?", Evan asked. Aleksi smirked.

"DRAGONAIR, TWISTER!", Aleksi yelled. Dragonair roared and swung its tail towards Pikachu. Due to the close proximity, Pikachu was unable to dodge. Because of Pikachu's very light weight, the attack was more effective. Pikachu was flung in the air and crashed into the wall to Evan's right. Evan watched in shock. "You're right Evan, Mist was a good trick, but I wasn't just using it to hide", Aleksi said. Evan looked across the field to her. "I knew that Pikachu would be able to get rid of the Mist, all of your Pokemon were capable of that. But the one thing you didn't count on was Dragonair's Biology". Evan looked at Dragonair, trying to understand what she meant by this. In the heat of the battle, he wasn't able to pin-point exactly what she meant.

"Mist makes the field damp, not extremely so, but just enough. Plus it also makes the Pokemon damp. Dragonair's skin is extremely slender and, if given even the slightest amount of water, Dragonair can glide across an even field without making the slightest noise!", Aleksi explained. Evan growled in frustration. Pikachu tried to pick itself up from the ground after falling from the hit. It managed to stand up and panted heavily. Evan looked at Pikachu and calmed himself down. He smiled and shook his head.

"No Pikachu, don't struggle. You're done", Evan said. Pikachu looked up at Evan, confused. Evan smiled. "You're too tired to continue Pikachu. You're not experienced enough for a battle like this, I should of been more careful about your well being. It's alright, we can still win this, you did a fantastic job for your first battle". Pikachu smiled and nodded. Evan then pulled out his Pokeball and aimed it at Pikachu. "Return". Pikachu was quickly returned to its Pokeball. Aleksi smiled, she was proud, and even impressed, by Evan's compassion for his Pokemon. He was very caring, even in the heat of battle.

Something she admired greatly in his character.

Dragonair slithered back to Aleksi. Like she explained, not a noise was made. Evan looked at Aleksi with a smile.

"Well, I have to hand it to you Aleksi, you are without a doubt the toughest person I've ever battled against. You brought down three of my Pokemon in a row! And now...I only have one more Pokemon to battle with", Evan explained. Aleksi smiled. Evan however smirked. "...However, this is where it all ends". Everyone looked on, a mixture of anticipation, confusion, and wonder filling the room. Aleksi herself became somewhat nervous at the words. "You pushed me Aleksi, pushed me to desperation. Now, I'm forced to use my most _powerful _Pokemon. I won't lie, I was hoping not to use it, but you've left me no choice". Evan pulled out one last Pokeball from his belt and held it in his hand. He looked at it intently.

Everyone wondered what this powerful Pokemon of Evan's was. Aleksi however was the most curious. She knew that Dragonair was getting weak and might not be able to handle another fight. All of Evan's Pokemon thus far were powerful. If they weren't as powerful as this unknown Pokemon, then she was in for some trouble. Evan finally looked up from his Pokeball and back to Aleksi.

"Get ready Aleksi...cause here comes a storm the likes of which you've never seen!", Evan said. Aleksi braced herself. Evan threw the ball in the air, and everyone watched in anticipation. The ball burst open. However, to the slight shock of Aleksi, nothing happened. There was no impressive appearance, no major wind storm, no flames or lightning blasted, no clanking, it was just the white light of the Pokeball. Everyone watched as Evan caught the Pokeball and the white light began to take form. The white light disappeared, and everyone gasped.

"Alright Aleksi, let's see how Dragonair does...against it's final evolution", Evan said.

Standing before them was a Dragonite, a powerful looking one at that. The rebels looked on with awe while Aleksi became concerned.

"A Dragonite, talk about your pseudo-legendary!", Riles stated.

"Is Dragonite powerful? I've always heard stories but I've never actually seen one", Brenna said. A few of the rebels looked to Brenna. Angel listened in as well, just as curious as Brenna was.

"Dragonite is considered to be one of the most powerful Pokemon a trainer can have", Riles replied. Trent nodded.

"He's right. Dragonite is a very popular Pokemon to have in the PTA because it's native to Kanto and a very powerful Pokemon. I myself have a Dragonite in fact", Trent stated. Brenna and Angel looked to Trent with shock. "Dragonite are powerful not just because they're pseudo-legendary, and not just because they're Dragon types, but mostly because they're notoriously known for having some of the most devastating attacks. Dragonite can learn moves most Pokemon can't...and if Evan's Dragonite is anything like mine, then Aleksi's in for a fight". Michael, who was also listening in, looked back to Evan's Pokemon.

"All of Evan's Pokemon were trained to the extreme. If Evan's most powerful Pokemon is Dragonite, then it'll be interesting to see how Aleksi handles this", Michael noted. Aleksi quickly tried to think of what she could do. Dragonite was more than a powerhouse Pokemon. It wasn't just extremely fast with a lot of strength training, it was a pseudo-legendary Pokemon. This would not be easy. Dragonair looked at its final form foe with determination. It was common for Pokemon to have a competitive nature towards Pokemon that are the evolved form of themselves. It was in their nature to be competitive, and what better way to prove you're the best than to beat the supposed "best form" of a Pokemon?

Evan's Dragonite merely stood there, ready for commands. Unlike the other Pokemon, which used show to make themselves intimidating, Dragonite didn't need to. It knew how powerful it was, it knew that a show wasn't necessary. Aleksi didn't know if this was a tactic Evan used to make people underestimate Dragonite, or if this was a choice by Dragonite itself, but regardless it worried her.

"Dragonite!", Evan yelled. Aleksi braced herself for the oncoming attack. Dragonite nodded, and then suddenly disappeared. Within a flash, Dragonite flew across the room and landed directly behind Dragonair, its back towards Aleksi. Aleksi gasped in shock, it was so fast that she was barely able to see it. Dragonair by this time had just realized what had happened and gasped. It couldn't believe the speed of its rival evolution. "...Zap Cannon", Evan said. Dragonite opened its mouth and immediately fired a massive ball of electricity towards Dragonair. It was so close that there was no way to dodge this attack. The ball of electricity blasted Dragonair and it was sent crashing into the ground below it.

Dust flew everywhere as everyone braced themselves from the attack. Aleksi looked on in horror, not being able to believe the sheer power of this dragon Pokemon. Evan merely watched on, knowing what Dragonite was capable of. As the dust began to settle, everyone looked to the field to see what had happened. Dragonite remained standing where it had been when it fired the Zap Cannon. Dragonair was on the ground, covered in static from the electric attack, and unconscious. Aleksi gasped.

"It...knocked Dragonair out...in one move", Aleksi said in shock. Watching from the sidelines, Angel and Brenna gasped.

"I can't believe it!", Angel said. Trent and the other rebels nodded, not surprised by the attack.

"Just as I thought", Trent said. Angel turned to him.

"But Dragonair is resistant to electric attacks!", Angel said. Trent turned to look to the young girl.

"It doesn't matter. Dragonair was simply too tired from the previous fighting, it fought three different Pokemon before Dragonite. On top of that, Zap Cannon is simply put one of the most powerful electric attacks around. I'm not surprised in the least that Dragonite was able to do that", Trent said. Aleksi looked on with worry. Although she still had two Pokemon left that could defeat Dragonite, the power of this Pokemon was overwhelming. She was not sure if she would be able to match it. Dragonite turned around, looked at Aleksi, and then spread its wings, flying backwards back to Evan. However, it kept its stare at Aleksi. It was not a stare of fear, nor evil. It was almost emotionless. Aleksi figured this was a reverse psychology trick Evan taught it. Dragonite were normally very happy Pokemon, always smiling, but not this one.

"Dragonite is not known for being a threatening Pokemon, as you know. But it is known for being powerful, and mine is no exception. I didn't want to use Dragonite in this battle because I wanted to have fun more than anything battling with you. But you pushed me to the brink of losing. And I'm simply too competitive to lose that easily", Evan said with a smirk. Aleksi, despite the situation she was in, could not help but smirk as well.

"I understand that. But just so you realize, just because you have Dragonite doesn't mean I'm about to give up! I won't lose this battle that easily either!", Aleksi said.

"And I wouldn't have it any other way!", Evan replied. Aleksi then pulled out Dragonair's Pokeball and aimed it at the Pokemon.

"You did amazing Dragonair, return and rest up!", Aleksi said. She recalled the Dragonair and then immediately pulled out another Pokeball. "Alright, I don't want to use Umbreon just yet. If I can, I want to save it for if I win this match and face Angel. So I'll have to use my other two Pokemon. Let's see how well Dragonite does against them", Aleksi thought. She then threw her Pokeball in the air, allowing it to burst open. The Pokeball released a Houndoom, which roared ferociously. The rebels all shuddered from the sound.

"Houndoom, that's a scary Pokemon!", Sawyer said. Nick nodded, somewhat bothered himself.

"Yeah it is. Powerful too, just that howl sends shivers down my spine", Nick said. Houndoom snorted and looked at Dragonite, ready to fight. Dragonite did not stand down.

"I saved Houndoom from being abused by Rockets years ago, and it's now one of my most powerful Pokemon. Let's see if Dragonite is as powerful as you say it is", Aleksi said with confidence. Evan chuckled.

"Alright, if you insist, ladies first!", Evan said. Aleksi smirked.

"Fine then, Houndoom, Inferno, let's go!", Aleksi commanded. Houndoom roared once again and fired massive flames at Dragonite. Dragonite merely stood still as it was completely engulfed by flames. Aleksi smirked. The rebels began to cover their noses in shock and disgust.

"Ugh! What is that smell?", Milo asked, plugging his nose.

"It's repulsive aye!", Mathinza threw in, doing the same. Darrel was not a fan of the smell either, but did not overreact like Milo and Mathinza. However, he did cover his nose.

"It's Houndoom's flames. They come from its stomach acid, that's why it smells", Darrel explained.

Dragonite remained engulfed by the flames until eventually, it extended its wings and flapped them. The flames were immediately extinguished, leaving Dragonite unscathed. Aleksi and Houndoom growled in frustration. Evan smirked.

"A powerful move Aleksi, but you forget, Dragon Pokemon are resistant to fire attacks. On top of that, Dragonite have a very thick hide which can help repel a lot of attacks", Evan explained. "Now then, it's my turn. Dragonite, Water Pulse!". Dragonite opened its mouth and fired a spray of water towards Houndoom.

"Houndoom, dodge!", Aleksi countered. Houndoom did so with ease. "Now then, Thunder Fang!". Houndoom raced towards Dragonite with great speed, its fangs beginning to spark. Houndoom jumped in the air and prepared to bite into Dragonite.

"Dragonite, counter with Thunder Punch!", Evan yelled. Dragonite raised its fist, which began to spark, and immediately brought it down onto Houndoom just as it reached it. Aleksi gasped as Houndoom was blasted into the ground. Dragonite stood over the demon dog Pokemon, its fist slowly beginning to lose the electricity.

"Ouch, that looked painful", Hunter said cringing.

"One of the unique things about Dragonite is that it can use punch moves, which makes it more powerful", Trent stated. Aleksi became more worried over the battle. Houndoom was not fairing well against Evan's most powerful Pokemon. Dragonite continued to stand over Houndoom, prepared to launch another attack at the ready. Houndoom, who was still on the ground, growled menacingly. Suddenly, it raised its head and opened its mouth towards Dragonite, firing a massive Shadow Ball attack. The unprepared dragon was struck in the chin and sent flying quickly into the ceiling with a crash. Evan stepped back in shock.

"WHAT THE?", Evan yelled in shock. It looked at Dragonite, who's head was not stuck in the ceiling, and then at Houndoom, his eyes wide. "That was a powerful attack!". Aleksi, who witnessed the whole thing, sweatdropped. She chuckled nervously and put her hand to the back of her head.

"Yeeaaah, I forgot to mention to you, Houndoom has a _slight _temper, and doesn't like getting hit...hehe", Aleksi replied. Evan collapsed onto the ground with a thud. Houndoom snarled as it got up and immediately jumped back several feet. It knew that Dragonite was not out of the fight just yet. As expected, Dragonite pulled its head out of the ceiling and flew back down to the ground, landing sternly on the floor. The two Pokemon looked at each other with a fire in their eyes. Their energy high and their competitive nature blazing, these two were prepared to go all out for victory.

**A bit of a sudden stop there, but I wanted to end it on a cool note. ;) Well, what do you think thus far? I won't lie, there is A LOT of work put into these last couple chapters in order to get Pokemon attacks, weaknesses, resistances, and factoids correct and realistic. I understand that Dragonite, and a lot of these Pokemon in fact, are popular with other people and are even some Pokemon that people requested for with their OCs. I would like to state that these Pokemon were ones I determined for myself since the beginning of the story, so please don't be upset if it seems like I'm stealing them for you, I'M SORRY! "With Houndoom and Dragonite rearing for more, will these two Pokemon make a battle of the ages? Which trainer will come out victorious? Find out next time on EVAN AAML's "R"!". I am HOPING that the next chapter will be the end of the battle, I'll do my best to make it that way at least. Then I will hopefully be able to start the battle between Angel and the victor! I do hope that you are all enjoying the battles! Please be sure to F.A.R., (Favorite, Alert, Review), and check out my Twitter account. I will see you all next time my friends! :D Take care! I'M ON SUMMER VACATION!**

**sincerely,  
evan, a fan of aaml -EVAN AAML**


	64. Chapter 64

**Alright, this will be the last chapter of the Pokemon battle. I loved writing it, but my goodness it'll be good to be able to relax a bit afterwards, it's been really hectic writing the attacks and strategies. Especially given that this is Memorial Weekend. I hope that all of you will be sure to thank a veteran or current soldier for their service, and remember those who sacrificed everything for our freedom. Also, as a little side note, I would like to send out a special little "thank you" of sorts to author lulu halulu! Allow me to explain. As shocking as this may be to many of you, I personally, despite having terrible insomnia for the past 2-3 years, have NEVER stayed up an entire night without ANY sleep. However, after realizing that lulu suffers from the same problem I do, I decided to stay up with her one night and talk via Twitter. And so, lulu halulu is officially the one and only person to EVER get me to stay up an entire night, bravo! XP Not much point in me dragging this out since a lot of you don't even read the A.N.s anyway, so let's begin!**

**-EVAN AAML**

Houndoom and Dragonite continued to stare each other down, not one giving the other a moment of hesitation or fear. Their trainers looked on differently, not as fierce enemies, but friendly rivals. They were deeply enjoying the battle they were having, and it showed in their emotions. Aleksi however was also hiding some concern. She still had an advantage of an extra Pokemon while Evan was down to his last. Plus she knew that Houndoom would put up a fierce fight against Dragonite. However, what concerned her was that Evan's Pokemon was much stronger than she anticipated. It already proved itself by defeating her Dragonite, although battle worn, with one blow. It also gave Houndoom a run for its money with the counter attacks it made. Evan was very good with his strategies and she would have to be on her guard for the rest of the battle if she wished to come out triumphant.

"This battle is really intense, I've seen plenty of Pokemon battles in my day, but this one is one of the best by far", Ashley stated, leaning in on her seat and looking at the combatants ahead of her. Since she had always been a fan of Pokemon battling, watching contests like this always made her excited and filled with a desire to battle herself. It had been years since she used to participate in the Pokemon League of her home region, and she missed it dearly. She couldn't wait to get rid of Team Rocket and return to battling. Looking at Ashley was Ryoto, who could not help but slightly chuckle at her excitement.

"It's been awhile since you battled huh?", Ryoto asked causally. Ashley turned to him, somewhat shocked that he of all people was bringing up a conversation with her, but smiled and nodded.

"You bet. I haven't had a Pokemon battle like this since...well, before the Rocket take over", Ashley said.

"Well, I'm sure you'll get some battling in when we fight Team Rocket", Ryoto said. Ashley somewhat became more serious now.

"I know we will, but...that's not Pokemon battling...that's war", Ashley said, now bringing her attention back to the battle before her. During this, Evan was thinking of a new tactic to use against Houndoom. Houndoom had surprised him and Dragonite with its uncoordinated Shadow Ball attack, but Evan knew that this was not something that would be a constant in this battle. However, Houndoom's power was evident, and he had to finish the fight, soon.

"Alright, let's try to finish this fight as soon as we can Dragonite, Extreme Speed!", Evan commanded. Dragonite nodded, and spread its wings out. Aleksi and Houndoom braced themselves. There was a pause before suddenly, Dragonite disappeared with a blink of an eye, and struck Houndoom on its right side. Houndoom flew and crashed into the right wall of the room. Aleksi gasped, unable to comprehend the speed. Evan said that Skarmory was his fastest Pokemon, but Extreme Speed made Dragonite appear super sonic. "Good job Dragonite, now finish it up with a Dragon Rush!", Evan said. Dragonite roared, covering itself with a bright light, and then charged at Houndoom with great speed. Houndoom, not even able to get over the Extreme Speed attack yet, didn't even see the attack coming.

Dragonite tackled Houndoom with ferocity. Aleksi gasped. Dust covered the entire field from the impact, and the rebels watched on in anticipation, wondering if Houndoom made it out alright. Both moves were very powerful, and since they came from Dragonite, they packed an even bigger punch. Aleksi and Evan watched on, wondering themselves if this battle was already over. However, when the dust settled, Evan gasped, and Aleksi smirked.

While Dragonite had in fact struck Houndoom full force, Houndoom managed to grip onto Dragonite's arm with its fangs. Dragonite winced in pain, though its thick hide protected it from most attacks, Houndoom's fangs were among the sharpest. Aleksi chuckled while Evan growled.

"Houndoom can be a very stubborn Pokemon, as you noticed. Alright Houndoom, Crunch!", Aleksi yelled. Houndoom's fangs grew in size and then it took a deeper bite into Dragonite's arm. Dragonite howled in pain while Houndoom gripped tighter.

"Dragonite, shake it off!", Evan yelled. Dragonite pulled away from the wall, pulling Houndoom out of it in the process, and began to try to shake Houndoom off of it. But the more Dragonite shook, the more Houndoom crunched down on its arm. "Aqua Tail!". Dragonite's tail suddenly became surrounded in water. Dragonite raised its tail and wrapped it around Houndoom's neck. The water began to seep in Houndoom's mouth, causing more and more damage. Aleksi grew concerned. If Houndoom didn't let go, it could very well drown.

"Houndoom, let go!", Aleksi yelled. Houndoom was frustrated, with did as it was commanded. It released Dragonite's arm. However, it was still wrapped in Dragonite's Aqua Tail, and taking damage from it.

"Alright Dragonite, finish this battle with a", before Evan could finish, Aleksi thought of something and yelled.

"HOUNDOOM HYPER BEAM ATTACK!", Aleksi yelled. Houndoom immediately opened its mouth and unleashed the most powerful Pokemon attack, directly into the close Dragonite's face. Dragonite released Houndoom and flew back into the back wall, several feet away from Evan. Evan covered himself from the impact. Houndoom fell to the ground, coughing heavily from the water that had filled its mouth. Fire types were, for the most part, more sensitive to water from the inside than the outside. "You alright Houndoom?", Aleksi asked with extreme concern. Houndoom continued to cough for a bit, but then growled and nodded. It was ready for more, despite being hurt. Aleksi smiled. "Way to go Houndoom!". She then looked across the field to where Dragonite had crashed.

Hyper Beam was the most powerful Pokemon attack, and having being struck by it from such a close range, Aleksi knew that Dragonite took some heavy damage. While she doubted that such a powerful Pokemon would be taken out of the battle this easily, she had a feeling that Dragonite would not be as imposing as it once was.

"DRAGONITE ZAP CANNON!", Evan suddenly yelled. Without warning, a large ball of electricity was fired from the dust cloud that appeared when Dragonite crashed. Aleksi and Houndoom both gasped in shock, unprepared for the sudden attack. The Zap Cannon struck Houndoom, causing major damage.

"HOUNDOOM!", Aleksi yelled in shock.

"Follow up with Dragon Claw Dragonite!", Evan yelled. Dragonite suddenly flew out of the dust cloud, its claws long, sharp, and at the ready. With tremendous speed, it flew towards Houndoom. As if time slowed down, Dragonite reached Houndoom and raised its claws on its right hand. Then, with great force, it slashed at the demon dog Pokemon. Houndoom yelped as it was struck by Dragon Claw and then flew backwards, landing right beside Aleksi. Aleksi looked at her Pokemon wide eyed, shocked that Dragonite was not only able to recover from a close range Hyper Beam so quickly, but was able to counter attack with two direct attacks.

Dragonite flapped its wings and then remained motionless on the field. Evan looked on with a smirk, although secretly he was also concerned. He had not anticipated such a powerful attack from Houndoom.

"I'm lucky that Dragonite was able to counter like that so easily. But Hyper Beam certainly did a number on it. I'll have to be extra careful now. I heavily underestimated the power of Aleksi's Pokemon. If Dragonite gets hit by more attacks like that, then it won't last long", Evan thought to himself. "Houndoom took a serious beating so far, and I would be surprised if it lasted very long in this battle, but Aleksi still has another Pokemon left, and who knows what it could be. If I'm going to win this thing, I have to attack quick and hard before Dragonite takes another hit".

Houndoom began to slowly pull itself off the ground, wincing in pain. Aleksi became concerned, knowing that Houndoom wouldn't be able to fight for very long. However, she knew that its stubborn attitude would keep it going for a little while more. She had to come up with a new plan by then. Suddenly, something came to her. She recalled back when she first rescued Houndoom what moves Team Rocket had tried to make it learn. Not surprisingly, it was tortured into learning many powerful attacks. Some attacks however, were not meant merely for physical force, but could also be used as a means of torture to use on other Pokemon or people. Although she was not a fan of the strategy, they were in a controlled environment where it would not be as big of an issue as it would be in the field.

"Houndoom, Toxic!", Aleksi yelled. Houndoom immediately opened its mouth and unleashed a purple haze that spread quickly towards Dragonite. Dragonite flapped its wings to blow away the haze, but while some of it disappeared, most of it went around Dragonite and encircled it. Evan gasped as the dragon Pokemon was poisoned.

"Uh oh! Toxic automatically poisons its target! Now, with every move that Dragonite makes, it'll lose more and more health and energy!", Evan said in concern. Aleksi sighed, while this didn't guarantee the victory for her, it did make things much easier. Dragonite became dizzy and now had trouble moving well. This was the first time that Dragonite showed significant weakness in the battle. Evan growled in frustration. He knew that he had to end this fight, now! "Alright Dragonite, time to end this, Draco Meteor!".

"WHAT?", Trent asked in shock. Several rebels grew worried now for Aleksi and Houndoom. Others looked to Trent and the others, wondering what the concern was about.

"What's Draco Meteor?", Brenna asked.

"It's considered to be one of the most powerful dragon type moves known to man!", Ashley stated. Angel gasped and turned to Aleksi.

"Be careful Aleksi!", Angel yelled. Dragonite roared and raised its hands, causing the entire field to shake and tremble. Aleksi and Houndoom tried to stand their ground, but found it difficult. Suddenly, the sky began to cloud up and get dark. Many of the rebels became scared as they watched the clouds. While their safety was ensured, the idea of such a powerful attack being performed so close to them still made them concerned. The clouds began to roar with thunder and suddenly, large meteors began to form and fire down from the sky. It was as if Heaven itself was attacking. Houndoom dodged meteor after meteor, even blasting several of them with attacks, but there were so many. It soon found itself struck by several large meteors.

"Houndoom!", Aleksi yelled. After a few more seconds, Dragonite lowered its hands and slumped, panting heavily. It was losing more health from Toxic and was not able to continue the attack. Evan watched on in concern, uncertain if the attack was enough to defeat Houndoom. As the dust settled, everyone watched on in anticipation. Soon however, they got their answer.

Houndoom laid on the ground, unconscious.

Aleksi looked on in shock, barely able to comprehend the power of Dragonite. She had always heard of the power of pseudo-legendaries, and while she had witnessed some of this power first hand before, she never experienced it like this. She shook in fear, looking at the dragon Pokemon.

"How...how can I beat a Pokemon like Dragonite? How do I beat a pseudo-legendary?", Aleksi asked herself. Evan, upon hearing this, crossed his arms and looked at her.

"It's simple Aleksi...you can't!", Evan exclaimed. Aleksi gasped. Was it as simple as that? Could she simply not be able to win? Although this was not a battle with lives on the line, she still felt the same fear, the same adrenaline rush she would feel if this were one of those battles. Her hands shook, until she balled them into fists. No, she refused to believe this. She _knew _she could beat Dragonite. Slowly, she pulled out a Pokeball and aimed it at Houndoom.

"You did fantastic Houndoom, return and rest!", Aleksi said. The hell hound was then returned. The rebels all gasped at the battle before them, unable to believe the intensity it showed.

"Hot damn! This battle is crazy man!", Milo said.

"I know, I can hardly believe it! A real good fight between the two of them, most impressive!", Riles threw in.

"They both have certainly proven their Pokemon battling skills, that's for sure!", Sawyer stated. Aleksi looked at Dragonite, seeing the pain that it was now going through. She knew that it was injured, and would move much less often now due to Toxic's effects. However, while this was a great tactic to slow Dragonite down, it did not make it any less dangerous. It could still attack with extremely powerful moves. Aleksi had to make sure that her final Pokemon would be able to match it blow for blow, and she felt that it could do just that. Aleksi pulled out her final Pokeball, gripping it tightly, and smirking.

"I hope you're ready Evan, because this is it, the final battle! After this, one of us will come out triumphant! Go Pokeball!", Aleksi yelled, throwing her Pokeball to the middle of the field. Evan and Dragonite watched as the ball burst open, and Absol appeared. Evan couldn't help but chuckle.

"Absol? Man, what is it with you and dark types huh?", Evan asked. Aleksi stuck her tongue out at Evan in reply, which resulted in a laugh from him. "Well regardless, this won't be easy, Absol are very powerful dark Pokemon. Ok Dragonite, do you think you can last just a little bit longer?" Dragonite nodded its head, despite being in pain. Evan nodded back. "Alright, that's good to hear!" Aleksi smirked.

"Too bad we won't give you the chance to fight! Absol! Double Team!", Aleksi yelled. Absol immediately began to run circles around Dragonite. As it did so, copies of Absol began to appear. Dragonite looked left and right, trying to figure out which one was the real one. Because they were all moving so quickly, it was not able to see clearly. Evan himself looked as well, but could not tell. "Alright Absol, now Razor Wind!". Absol, while still running, began to fire blade after blade towards Dragonite. Dragonite was struck by each blade, unable to dodge the razor sharp wind. Evan growled.

"Dammit! It's so fast! Aleksi's using my own strategy against me! We have to put a stop to this! Dragonite! Earthquake!", Evan yelled. Dragonite roared and immediately stomped on the ground. In doing so, the ground began to split in multiple directions. Absol, who was still running in circles and attacking, tripped over one of the cracks made in the ground and began to skid across the floor in pain. Aleksi gasped as the Absol copies disappeared. Evan smirked. "There you are! Now I got you right where I want you! Dragonite, Ice Beam!". Dragonite opened its mouth and fired a beam of ice towards Absol. As it tried to stand up, it was struck, causing it to freeze to the ground.

"No!", Aleksi yelled. Absol looked at itself in shock. Its entire lower body was now stuck to the floor. Ryoto looked on with his own level of shock.

"Impressive!", Ryoto said. Several of the rebels looked at him. "Aleksi knew that with Dragonite being poisoned it wouldn't be able to move around as much, robbing Evan of his main strategy. She then went on to use the same exact style of fighting that Evan had been using the entire battle; using speed with powerful attacks. However, Evan countered in the same way that Aleksi has been battling the entire fight; slowing down the opponent. They're reading each other with such skill!".

Evan smirked now at Aleksi, who had grown from being confident to once again being concerned.

"I give you credit Aleksi for using my plan against me, but that means that I can use your own strategy against you. Now, both Pokemon are, for the most part, immobile. You know what this means don't you?", Evan asked. Aleksi did nothing more but nod. Angel, watching this conversation, turned to Sawyer in confusion.

"What does Evan mean by that?", Angel asked. Sawyer turned to look at Angel.

"Well, both Pokemon can't move. So they both know how the fight has to end. Each one is going to have to fire powerful far range attacks until either one is able to move or, more than likely, one faints", Sawyer explained. Angel's eyes grew wide in shock and she turned back to the field. After all of this battling, after seeing powerful Pokemon after powerful Pokemon, it came down to merely this, a shooting gallery style battle. She gulped as she watched the last remaining fighters with anticipation, wondering who would come out victorious.

Aleksi looked on, thinking her way through the battle. She had hoped that using Absol and Evan's own strategy would prove to be extremely effective early on, and while she did land some crucial blows, they weren't nearly enough. She didn't anticipate Evan picking up on it so quickly. She should of known though, this was probably not the first time someone had done this same trick on him. Regardless, she still had to try to finish this fight. She knew that if she did nothing, then the ice would eventually melt until Absol could merely break it. On top of that, Dragonite would lose tons more health and energy from Houndoom's Toxic. But she knew that Evan wouldn't allow that. She knew he would attack with everything he had within that time. She had to use attacks that would take down Dragonite as quickly as possible.

"Absol! Ice Beam!", Aleksi yelled. Absol opened its mouth, preparing to fire the ice attack.

"Woah! Dragon Pokemon are weak to ice attacks! That's the perfect move!", Nick stated. Evan however was prepared.

"Dragonite! Fire Blast attack!", Evan yelled in response. Just as Absol fired its beam of ice towards the dragon Pokemon, Dragonite unleashed a massive x-shaped fire attack. Both attacks collided with each other in mid-air, causing an explosion. Aleksi and Evan covered themselves as the debris flew by. It was during this time however, that Aleksi spotted something. It was only for a split second, and it was not a guarantee. But, seeing this, Aleksi suddenly felt something in herself she had secretly doubted ever since she started this battle.

The ability to win.

Not wanting to lose this opportunity, or to give Evan the chance to see what she saw as well, Aleksi acted as quickly as she could. It was incredibly risky, but she knew Absol could pull it off.

"ABSOL! HYPER BEAM!", Aleksi yelled. Evan panicked immediately.

"DRAGONITE HYPER BEAM ATTACK!", Evan commanded. Both Pokemon opened their mouths and a white light began to form. All of the rebels gasped and braced themselves.

"Oh no! EVERYONE PREPARE YOURSELVES!", Riles yelled. Everyone gripped onto their seats and held on tight. They knew that this would be explosive to say the least. Suddenly, the two Pokemon fired their attacks. The Hyper Beams collided in mid-air. The second they touched, they unleashed a massive explosion. Aleksi quickly looked to Absol, and saw what she had hoped for. As the explosion rocked the field, Aleksi yelled something. However, due to the noise of the attacks, no one was able to hear her. Evan looked at the explosion, covering himself from the blast. He turned to his left to see many of the rebels covering themselves. Some of them however managed to keep their eyes on the field. They were all watching, hoping to see something come from the collision of the attacks.

It was then, that Evan realized that something _was _happening.

Evan's eyes grew wide in shock as suddenly, Absol appeared to the left of Dragonite, its back towards the rebels. Evan, Dragonite, and the rebels who managed to keep their eyes open long enough all gasped in shock, they had no idea how Absol broke free. Absol suddenly became shrouded in circles of bright light, something that made Evan panic even more. There was no way, no way a Pokemon like Absol was powerful enough to unleash this attack immediately after a Hyper Beam. No way it could unleash a Giga Impact.

"DRAGONITE, DODGE THE ATTACK!", Evan yelled against the sound of the explosion. Dragonite immediately spread its wings and tried to fly, but suddenly cringed and fell back down. It had taken too much damage from Toxic, it couldn't move. Absol then ran forward, straight towards Dragonite. To the shock of the unaware rebels, another explosion occurred, this one being more tame than the Hyper Beam collisions, but none the less destructive. The rebels were uncertain of what was going on, some even jumped to the conclusion that Team Rocket was attacking them that very second. However, to their luck, the noise and vibrations of the attacks began to wear down.

The rebels slowly but surely began to uncover themselves, relaxed their muscles and opened their eyes. Once they did, they all immediately gasped. The field was in shambles. Although still structurally sound, the explosions, added in with the several other attacks throughout the battle, had taken their toll. However, this was nothing compared to the shock they felt from the Pokemon. Absol stood on the ground, in-between the rebels and Evan. It panted heavily, as if it had just ran an entire marathon non-stop. Absol faced the wall ahead of it, where Dragonite remained. It had crashed into the wall, and laid there, motionless.

Unconscious.

"Wha...what the hell...happened?", Milo asked, his eyes wide in shock. He not only couldn't believe that Evan had lost, but couldn't believe the magnitude of the final battle.

"I...don't know", Mathinza said, words escaping him. The rebels all began to talk among themselves, trying to figure out what exactly had happened. Evan looked to Dragonite, his eyes wide in shock. This was the first time that Dragonite had ever lost a match. He turned to look at Absol, who was not paying attention to the shocked trainer. It continued to pant heavily, how it was even able to stand was nothing short of a miracle. Evan looked to Absol, then to Dragonite, and occasionally to even Aleksi, trying to figure out in his head what had happened. Suddenly, it hit him. He turned to Aleksi, who stood still. She herself was still absorbing what had happened.

"You...you used the explosions to your advantage...didn't you?", Evan asked. Aleksi, still trying to get over the adrenaline rush, (which began to make her dizzy), nodded.

"After the Ice Beam and Fire Blast collided...I noticed something...something that I hoped you wouldn't. The ice around Absol, it cracked. It was small, barely even noticeable, but it was there...I knew then, that I had to act. I knew that a collision of two Hyper Beams would create an explosion large enough to not only make the crack bigger, but give Absol some hiding. And so...when the attacks collided...and the ice cracked...I had Absol use Giga Impact...", Aleksi explained, reflecting back to the entire scenario. All of the rebels listened to her explanation, unable to believe it themselves. There was a long moment of silence in the room. The only noise came from the panting of Aleksi and Absol, along with an occasional sound coming from the room settling. No one said a word...until finally, Angel spoke up.

"WAY TO GO YOU GUYS! CONGRATS ALEKSI!", Angel yelled. Suddenly, all of the rebels began to cheer. Evan sighed heavily. Despite having suffered what he considered to be a hard loss, he was still smiling. He was proud of Aleksi for defeating him. He pulled out his Pokeball and aimed it at Dragonite. Dragonite was immediately called back in. He looked to his Pokeball with a smile.

"Dragonite, you did superb. An excellent battle. Rest up now", Evan said. As he placed the Pokeball back onto his belt, he just happened to casually glance down to the floor, and caught eye of something. On the ground, laying against his feet, was his cigarette. The same one that Aleksi had managed to put out earlier in the battle. Evan couldn't help but chuckle as he slowly picked it up. Despite the explosions, the cigarette managed to survive. Evan looked at it intently for a bit and saw that it had actually dried since it fell. Evan smirked. "Well, you may of beaten me Aleksi, but you haven't stopped my smoking habit yet!", Evan said to himself, putting the cigarette in his shirt pocket.

He glanced over across the field just in time to see Aleksi pull out her Pokeball and return her now exhausted Absol. However, just as she did this, she fell down to her knees. Evan gasped slightly and ran across the field. Just as Aleksi began to fall backwards, Evan slid across the floor and caught her in his hands. Aleksi sighed heavily as Evan held her in close so as to not let her slip and fall. She looked up at Evan with a weak smile.

"Sorry...about that. I guess that battle took a lot more out of me...than I thought", Aleksi said. Evan smirked

"I'm not surprised, that battle was intense. But...you did great there Aleksi, really great", Evan said with a smile. Aleksi smiled as well.

"Do...do you think it worked? Do you think Angel got some confidence back?", Aleksi asked. Evan looked up from Aleksi and looked over to Angel, who was looking at Aleksi with some concern. She knew that she was alright, but was still worried for her "sister". Evan however could tell, by looking at her eyes, that there was something there. He smiled.

"Yeah...it definitely worked", Evan said. He then looked back down to the young girl in his hands, the young girl, who's beauty was suddenly beginning to become more and more apparent. He wasn't sure how, but despite her being so tired and drained from the Pokemon battle, she still looked just as...beautiful as ever. Despite this, Evan kept his cool. "You best get some rest then so that you'll be in tip top shape to face Angel". Aleksi smiled even more. She sighed, closed her eyes, and leaned into Evan's chest. Evan sweatdropped, a large blush crossing his face. Aleksi was so tired that she wasn't even aware of what she was doing. Wallace approached the two, followed closely by Sawyer and Angel.

"She must really be tuckered out!", Wallace said.

"Do you think she'll be alright to battle me? Or should we post-pone it? I don't want her to get worse!", Angel said with concern. Evan however shook his head.

"Nah, she'll be fine and ready to battle you, after a quick rest", Evan said. Sawyer giggled.

"Oh, I'm sure she'll be _more _than relaxed there sweetie", Sawyer commented. Evan looked up to her, his blush growing more and more. Sawyer couldn't help but giggle even more. She thought that they were such an adorable pair. Evan, ignoring Sawyer's teasing, picked up Aleksi carefully and began to bring her towards the benches. Angel followed right along side him. As gently as he could, he placed Aleksi down onto the bench and stepped back. Aleksi laid there, completely motionless at first. Angel turned to Evan.

"I think you and Aleksi's Pokemon need some rest too", Angel said. Evan nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, you're right, they're really beat. This battle was crazy", Evan said. Suddenly, Riles stepped up to them.

"If you want, I can take yours and Aleksi's Pokemon down to the medical center to be checked up on", Riles said. Evan and Angel looked at him, shocked that he would offer so easily. "It's obvious that Aleksi can't, and it's not like you'll be battling anytime soon. I'll be quick". Evan smirked and pulled off his belt. He handed it to Riles, who took it.

"Thanks Riles, I appreciate it", Evan said. Angel slowly leaned down to try to pull off Aleksi's belt from her waist, something she found difficult since she was laying down on it. However, she managed to get it off and handed it to Riles.

"Not a problem. Besides, you need as much rest as Aleksi does, even though you don't show it", Riles exclaimed. Evan nodded with a sigh.

"Yeah, I guess so. I am pretty beat", Evan stated. Angel giggled.

"Alright then, I'll be sure to come back as soon as I can then, don't start the next battle without me!", Riles said as he ran off. Evan and Angel waved bye.

"We won't!", Angel said. And with that, Riles was gone. Angel then turned and looked back down to Aleksi, who suddenly began to stir. She looked like she was in pain, though not physical pain. It was as if she was having a bad dream. "Uh oh, what's wrong with Aleksi?". Evan turned and looked at the girl.

"Uh oh, looks like she's having a nightmare or something", Evan said. Slowly, he sat down on the bench, sitting with Aleksi's head resting to his right. He reached over and gently grasped her hand. Aleksi stopped moving and turning and slowly relaxed more, a small smile appearing on her face. Evan smiled back. "Yep, just a nightmare, nothing to worry about", Evan said. Angel smiled.

Suddenly, Aleksi slowly pulled herself closer to Evan, resting her head on his lap and wrapping her arms around his. Evan blushed and sweatdropped as Angel stepped back and giggled.

"Uh...wha?", Evan asked, confused over the whole ordeal.

"Hehe, looks like Aleksi _really _needs you now", Angel said. Evan sighed.

"Well, I guess I won't be going anywhere anytime soon", Evan said with a smirk. Slowly, he tried to pull out his lighter from his pocket. However, just as he pulled it out, Aleksi grabbed it and held onto it tightly with her free hand. Evan looked at her, completely dumbfounded. Angel leaned over to see if Aleksi was actually awake. To her surprise, she was fast asleep. She had done it all while dreaming. "WHA? HUH? I DON'T EVEN!", Evan said in shock and frustration. "EVERY TIME! EVEN IN HER SLEEP SHE STOPS ME FROM SMOKING!". Eventually, he just huffed and leaned back. Angel couldn't hold in her laughter at the boy's misfortune.

"Well, I guess then that I should leave you two alone, I wouldn't want to spoil such a romantic scene between you now would I?", Angel asked. Evan glared at the little girl, who giggled and skipped off, knowing that Evan was stuck there and could not move. However, once Angel was gone, Evan was all alone with Aleksi. The other rebels were too preoccupied with talking to one another to give them much notice now that the battle was over. Evan smiled and looked down at the sleeping girl below him. Her smile was still on her face even as she slept. She gripped the lighter tightly, but Evan's arms softly, as if she knew very well the difference between the two in her sleep.

Her hair slowly slipped down from her head and covered her face. Evan noticed this, and slowly pulled the hair away, revealing once again her flawless features. Evan couldn't help but stare at the girl. There was something about her sleeping that seemed so...peaceful. She laid there, happy as could be, without a care in the world. She looked relaxed, calm and quaint. Evan loved it. Although she was merely sleeping, Aleksi was showing him just what it would be like without the torments of Team Rocket. As silly as it seemed, it made him feel so much happier. Even the smallest glimmer of happiness made everything better in these times.

**Well, I think I'll end it here for now. Sorry for the possible weirdness of the scenes after the battle. I had some trouble writing this chapter unfortunately, I've been, well, distracted lately. I won't go into details. Anyway, I do hope that you all enjoyed the chapter! I realize that the last two battles might of seemed quick and anti-climatic, but I wanted to get the battle scenes over with, it was getting harder and harder for me to be able to write about them with the same attention to detail I had for the other two chapters. I am quite busy here where I live, and so my updating has been affected because of it. Due to this, I would not expect an update very quickly. I will work on it, don't think I won't, but I just need to get some things done first. :) Anyway, please be sure to F.A.R. and check out my Twitter account! And as a final note, to my good friends prettygirl17 and lulu halulu...GET SOME SLEEP! :P **

**Also, I would like to dedicate this chapter to Sierra LaMar, a poor 15 year old girl who was kidnapped early in May. They have arrested their prime suspect, however Sierra has not yet been found. Unfortunately, they are assuming the worst. Please give your prayers to Sierra that she may be returned home safely, and to her family, who are all worried for their daughter. **

**sincerely,  
evan, a fan of aaml -EVAN AAML**


	65. Chapter 65

**Hey everyone! Did ya miss me? (narrowly dodges thrown weapons). I know, I know, it's been FAR too long since the last update! It's my fault entirely, I wasted too much time thinking of what to do in this chapter before coming to a decision of having another character's back story in here, (which Twinkie TUTUS did a MARVELOUS job on might I add!) So my deepest apologies, but I hope you will enjoy the chapter regardless! The ball is fast approaching, but keep in mind there is still some key events I need to have take place, which will all be coming soon. With a glass of wine in hand and ideas roaming through my head, let's get this going. I hope you will all enjoy!**

**-EVAN AAML**

Several minutes passed since the end of the intense battle. Many of the rebels were still amazed and in awe over the ordeal, continuously chatting about it to their fellow allies. Others talked about other things, casual conversations, or, as usual, the war itself. Angel had grown tired of discussing about the war and the battles that would follow suit. As important as it was, and as much as she wanted to be prepared for it, she felt that there was a time and place for everything. She hated the idea of using this brief peace time to still discuss about the war. She supposed that one good thing about her reoccurring concussion was that it was a good excuse to not have to talk too much, although the pounding was annoying.

Discussions of the ball had started, which was something she was more than happy to converse with. One of the best things about the ball was that due to the lack of privacy, discussions about the PTA and the war in general against Team Rocket were prohibited. Finally, something was going to happen where she would be able to have fun and not have to worry about depressing conversations.

She glanced over towards the benches, something she found herself doing occasionally, to see how Aleksi was fairing. She was not overly concerned, as she knew that she would be alright, but the worry was still there regardless. As usual, everytime she glanced over nothing would change. Aleksi would be laying down on the bench, her head resting on Evan's lap, with Evan watching over her carefully. She couldn't help but smile at the sight, given the cuteness of the scene. Already she was debating over plans to get the two together, much like she had thought the same for May and Drew, and Ash and Misty.

Someone who wouldn't need help with a romance, Sawyer, noticed Angel glancing at the two young adults and smiled, slightly nudging her with her shoulder. Angel looked up, seeing the rebel.

"Can't help but watch can you?", Sawyer said. Angel giggled very slightly and nodded.

"Yeah. I'm worried about her, but I know she'll be alright", Angel said. Sawyer nodded in agreement. Angel giggled some more. "Plus, her and Evan look so cute together". Sawyer laughed at this comment.

"Don't they? It's good to know that, despite the world around us, things like love, still survive. They're just as strong as ever", Sawyer said. Angel looked over to a group of rebels and nodded.

"And you would know that as well as anyone else...wouldn't you?", Angel said. Sawyer looked at the young girl, and then turned to face the group of rebels she was looking at. One of the rebels, who was chatting away happily with the others, was Nick. He had mostly recovered from his injuries sustained from the practice fight with Ryoto, and was talking about it with some of the guys, who were all laughing and joking around in joy. Sawyer couldn't help but smile.

"Yeah...I would", Sawyer said dreamily. Angel smiled at the sight.

"I'm happy for you you know", Angel said. Sawyer looked down to her, somewhat surprised by her statement, but also happy. "Where I grew up, there weren't a lot of kids really. My little town was mostly older couples, but we had some younger ones here and there. My parents being one of them. They were always so happy together. They rarely ever had arguments, and when they did, they were usually small ones that didn't really matter. I used to laugh at how they would play jokes on each other, and sigh when one did something romantic for the other. My mom used to tell me stories of when they were younger, and when they first started dating, and it made me become more and more of a romantic". Sawyer smiled, but Angel continued on.

"But, when my parents made me go on the run, I saw less and less of it. Most of the time I was alone. I saw the ugly side of the world. I may of only been in Kanto during my two years, but I did a lot of traveling, and saw some things I was not proud of. I saw people turn on one another, give up their loves or friends just to save themselves from Team Rocket. People...were changing...and I couldn't stand it". Sawyer sighed. "But that's going to change soon. I'm in the PTA now, and we're going to put a stop to this once and for all, so that people like you and Nick can live together and be happy, without having to worry about people like them".

Angel couldn't help but mentally kick herself for bringing up something she just told herself she didn't want to talk about. She wasn't sure what it was that made her want to talk about it all of a sudden. Maybe she was suddenly filled with a passion to change things, an urge to do what was right. She felt weird over the whole thing. Before, she had a blow to her self confidence, she felt useless, and that nothing she did mattered. But, watching Evan and Aleksi's fight, and hearing what people were saying about the war, it fueled here, made her feel like...

Like nothing could stop her.

Sawyer must of sensed this as well, for she smiled while looking at the young girl. She did not know personally about Evan and Aleksi's plan to boost Angel's self confidence up through their battle, but she knew that Angel desperately needed it regardless. She was glad to see that she was beginning to have more confidence in herself and more determination in her goals. Angel looked to Sawyer, not knowing what the older girl was thinking about.

"What's on your mind Sawyer?", Angel asked. Sawyer snapped out of her semi-trance and smiled, looking down at the young girl.

"Oh, nothing sweetie", Sawyer stated, instinctively fixing her hair as a distraction. Angel couldn't help but smile, even if she didn't get a straight answer from her. As Sawyer fixed her hair, she lifted from her neck a chain, which she moved to prevent her hair from tangling in with it. Angel saw this and became curious.

"What's that Sawyer?", Angel asked. Sawyer looked at her, not understanding what she meant, until she saw her point to her chain.

"Oh, it's just my necklace, see?", Sawyer said with a smile, dropping her hair and raising the chain, lifting it from behind her shirt. As she did, two small objects popped out, connected to the chain. Angel looked at them in wonder and awe. One was a small oval shaped crystalline stone, which had different sections colored a different color. Red, Blue, Yellow, and Green. The other item, which clearly was not part of the original necklace like the oval stone but was also a crystalline stone, looked like a ring and was a dark purple in color.

"Woooow!", Angel said, remaking the beautiful colors and looks. Sawyer smiled. "How did you get them?". Sawyer's smile slightly disappeared. Angel saw this, and immediately panicked, though she tried to hide as much of it as she could. She already knew that this would not end well. She could already sense another sad story coming her way, like Mathinza and Evan. "Oh no", Angel said. Sawyer looked at her, seeing that she was afraid of something, and then shook her head.

"It's ok! Really!", Sawyer said, reassuring the little girl. "I got it from my parents, right before I joined the PTA. The ring is my sister's, Caroline", Sawyer said. Angel was still worried over the history of her family however, but she needed to know something, to clear her conscious.

"Are...are they...?", Angel asked. Sawyer looked at her and shook her head with a slight smile.

"No, they're still alive. Actually, they live in a house not far from here, next to my aunt. I don't get to see them very often, because of the dangers of the PTA walking about. But they understand that, and I do get to see them occasionally", Sawyer explained. Angel sighed heavily in relief. Finally, she was hearing a story where someone's innocent family was not murdered in cold blood by the evils of Team Rocket. She had heard nothing but stories of death and destruction, and while Sawyer's back story was probably not all happiness and fun, she knew that at least her family was still safe and sound.

"That's good to hear", Angel said. She then looked back up to Sawyer. "So then, how did you become part of the PTA?", Angel asked. Sawyer looked at her necklace, which she still held in her hand. She looked at the bright colored stones that hung from it, and reflected.

"...It all started back two years ago...me and my family used to live in a beach house on Cinnabar Island. My parents were college sweethearts, and after they got married, they got jobs on Cinnabar. My mom was a dance teacher, me and Caroline were some of her best students. And my dad was a baker, that's where I got my love for cooking from. My parents bought the home, expecting to have a big family. What they got, was me, my younger sister Caroline, and...my brother, Christopher", Sawyer explained. Angel was curious to her apprehension of her brother's name, but allowed her to continue.

"We were always a tight knit family, we would spend everyday together, surfing in the waves off the island, hiking around the volcano, and even sharing battling tips and techniques. My brother was always a good Pokemon trainer. Often we would leave Cinnabar to go visit our aunt and uncle in Cerulean. Mostly we went for the family visits, but really, the thing I loved most about it, was hiking Mt. Moon. I did it everytime we went to the area. I would stay there all day, and then lay out at night, and watch the stars in the sky. It was always an amazing spot to see shooting stars and rare Pokemon. It was my way of...taking my mind off of things. My family was always well aware of Team Rocket's evil and presence, but...when I was on that mountain, and I looked at those stars...I forgot all about them...I just enjoyed the moment of tranquility", Sawyer explained.

Angel had only been to Mt. Moon a few times, although she was well aware of the seemingly magical feeling one got while there. Something about the mountain seemed unearthly, and it made for a wonderful experience.

"It was soon after my sixteenth birthday...when it happened", Sawyer said. Angel snapped out of her train of thought of Mt. Moon and listened back to Sawyer's story. "My parents had allowed me to go to a camping trip for a week, with some other campers, up at Mt. Moon of course. Service didn't reach that high up on the mountain, and it was pointless to send postcards when I was only gone for a week...so I had missed out on a lot...when I returned home".

"Christopher, he was not a believer in Team Rocket. For as long as I can remember, he hated what they stood for. He never exactly went to their faces and detested their ways, but we all knew how he truly felt about them...that's why it shocked us so much...when he left to join them", Sawyer stated. Angel gasped, shocked at the revelation. Sawyer nodded sadly. "I had just arrived back home...when I heard the news. I...I couldn't believe it...I refused to believe it. I ran into my room, and sat on my bed, looking at the pictures of Christopher and us in my room, thinking about all the good times we had, and how they all abruptly came to an end. I didn't understand why he did it, how he could just leave us like that, without even so much as a goodbye. I looked at the pictures, seeing his smile, the smile that, despite what was going on in the real world, would never go away. I held onto that thought, as I cried".

Angel sighed heavily. It reminded her of Emily's story in a way. Having Rocket family was always tough, especially when you were against what they stood for. Sometimes Rocket family members would try to do what was best for their kid, like what Emily's parents did. Other times though, they did just the opposite, and Christopher seemed to be one of those types of Rockets.

"It was two years, until we saw each other again...only it wasn't under the terms we had all hoped", Sawyer said. Angel allowed Sawyer to continue. She looked up to the ceiling, the lights beaming brightly, it reminded her of the sun, that very same day. Suddenly, she was no longer in the training room, no longer even in Pallet Town. She was back on Cinnabar, in the ocean, sitting on her surfboard in her bikini. The light from the ceiling turned into the sun's powerful rays, basking her in light and warmth. She felt the water wrap around her legs and hands, a cooling sensation running through her body.

She had been surfing for a couple hours already. Waves around Cinnabar weren't always the best, but more times than not they would at least give people a good ride. She looked to the shore, looking passed the short section of beach and up the wooden stairs on the small hill that lead to their home. It wasn't particularly large, but it was quaint, and the view was to die for.

Her mom and little sister were working in their garden. Her mom was never exactly known for her green thumb, but the volcanic ash filled soil helped, and she still tried to make some homemade vegetables and fruits. Her sister helped her mom in anyway she could, happily talking or singing as she did. Far off to the side of them, running and jumping around merrily, was Caroline's Arcanine, Beaufort. Beau was a newly evolved Arcanine, and was somewhat small for the species, but was very protective of Caroline and her family. But, like many dog Pokemon, it was also easily distracted by fun. It ran around and played with a Butterfree, which flapped its wings around and avoided the playful dog Pokemon. She was not sure where her father was, but assumed that he was inside working in the house.

Seeing that they were all busy, Sawyer returned to her surfing. She saw a series of waves that were coming to her, and smiled. She turned around and paddled out to the waves. She just managed to reach the first wave when the white caps appeared. Knowing that it was too late to start now, she went through the collapsing wave and went on to the second one. The second one had not yet begun to tip, but from behind it, Sawyer could see that the third wave was much bigger, and would be far more fun. She smirked as she paddled harder, going over the second wave, and began to prepare herself.

As she got herself into position, the wave approached. Sawyer stood on her surfboard, and went along the wave. It pushed her along, gliding her across the water. She felt the breeze through her wet hair and the adrenaline course through her body. It was these moments, that she lived for. As she rode across the wave, she looked back to the shore, wondering if her family was watching her. They weren't, for something else had caught their attention. She saw that her mother and sister were looking down to their right, where the road that led to the city was. Sawyer followed their direction and looked down the road.

And saw a few large Rocket vans heading in their direction, towards the house.

Sawyer gasped, losing her grip on her board. The lack of focus caused her to glide off the wave she was riding and almost fall off into the water. She managed to catch herself, and immediately began to angle herself towards shore. Though the waves currently helping her to shore were smaller than the ones she rode, they helped enough to get her to land as quickly as possible. She got herself into knee deep water before she jumped off her board and tried to run towards land. As she did, she felt her body being pulled back. She realized that it was her board, and immediately ripped off her ankle cord and rash guard. Not even worrying over what would happen to her board, she continued towards the shore.

By this time, she could see that her father had run out from the house, and urged his wife and daughter to do the same. Beaufort, sensing that something was amiss, left the Butterfree be and ran to his master's side. Caroline immediately recalled the Pokemon and the three made their way into the house. As they did, Sawyer's father turned to look to the water. He caught eye contact with Sawyer, who was now just crossing over the shallow waters. Knowing that she was on her way, they hurried inside.

Sawyer ran onto the sand, grabbing her clothes and Pokeball belt that waited for her. She slipped on her pair of shorts, along with her spaghetti strap white shirt and flip flops, and began to place her belt around her waist as she ran up the stairs to her home, not even worrying about drying her body off. She looked over the hill to see that the vans were quickly approaching her home. She knew that she couldn't make it through the front door, and so went for the back instead.

When she reached the door, she yanked it open and ran inside. The first room that you entered from the back door was the Kitchen. It was pretty large, and had a small wooden table with four chairs situated around it. There were shelves and top of the line appliances all around her. She looked out a window to see that the vans had begun to stop in front of their home. She was not sure why they had come, her parents did nothing to break the law in anyway, including their forced rules on the island. They were not harboring rebels, they did not have much in value. So why did they come?

Immediately, she saw her mom and dad, who were trying their best to barricade the front door from the living room. Sawyer's father had a table pushed against the door, and held it in place with his body. Sawyer's mother closed the curtains to the windows, so that the Rockets could not see them from the outside. They didn't know if the Rockets had spotted them, but it didn't matter.

"WHAT'S GOING ON?", Sawyer asked in a panic. Sawyer's mother and father turned to see her coming towards them. Sawyer's father however held his hand out to her, stopping her.

"NO! Sawyer! Go upstairs, and check on Caroline! We'll keep them at bay! Grab her, and get her into the panic room, stay in there with her, and don't come out, no matter what!", Sawyer's father said. Sawyer seemed confused in the panic.

"What? No! I'm not going to leave you and mom down here with them!", Sawyer said. Sawyer's mother turned to look at her.

"Sawyer! Do as your father says! You need to protect Caroline! We'll be fine, now go!", Sawyer's mother said. Sawyer knew that this was a lie, and that they were going to be in trouble. But the panic and confusion of the moment, mixed with her desire to protect her sister, made the decision for her. She nodded, and, with apprehension, began to run up the stairs.

Even as the sound of the Rockets pounding on the door echoed throughout the house.

She had barely made it up the stairs when the sound of the door breaking open reached her. She knew that they had come in. She could hear the sounds of her parents fighting them off, though not much else. Sawyer ran into her sister's room, knowing that this would be where she would hide. As she ran inside, she saw Caroline's Pokeball, containing Beaufort, on the ground near the door. She bent down to pick it up, and then looked to the bedside.

Sitting in a corner, near her bed, was Caroline. She was in the fetal position, shaking heavily and looking at the door. Sawyer guessed that she was getting ready to hide when the sounds of the door breaking open scared her. She rushed to her sister's side.

"Caroline! Come here sweetie, come here!", Sawyer said. She held onto Caroline tightly, making sure that she was protected. She helped the terrified little girl up to her feet, bringing her closer to her bed. She looked into her sister's eyes, the same purple eyes that she had shining back to her, showing fear and worry. "Listen to me Care, we're going to be alright, I promise. But right now, I need you to get into the safe room. Got it? Here, take Beau, he'll protect you. Get into the room, stay quiet, and don't come out no matter what. Now go!", Sawyer said. Caroline looked at her in confusion.

"But what about you? Aren't you coming!", Caroline asked in fear. Sawyer looked down to her little sister.

"I'll be there soon Care, I promise. But right now, I have to go and help mom and dad. I'll get them, and bring them up here as soon as I can. Then we'll all be together, I promise you. But right now, you need to hide", Sawyer said. Caroline shook her head and ran into Sawyer, hugging her tightly.

"No! I won't go without you Sawyer!", Caroline exclaimed. Sawyer appreciated the concern that her sister showed for her safety, but she knew what she had to do. She pulled Caroline away from her, and looked her in the eyes. Caroline looked at her, and saw what she was thinking. She knew that there was no arguing with her. She knew that, no matter what, she was going to go and help her parents. All she could do, was nod.

With that, Sawyer led her to her bookshelf, beside her door. After Christopher had left the family to join Team Rocket, her family had built a panic room in Caroline's room. It was heavily fortified, and would protect them from any attack by Team Rocket. They hoped that they would never have to use it, but now they had no choice. Sawyer pulled open the door, and turned on the light. She ushered Caroline inside the room, and as quickly as she could, closed it. Once the door was closed, it could only be opened from the inside. Caroline would have to let her and her parents in when the time came. But for now, she knew that at least she was safe.

After checking to see that the door was sealed and hidden behind the faux bookshelf, she turned on a heel and bolted for the stairs. As soon as she reached the bottom of the steps, she turned and immediately froze. Her eyes grew wide in shock and fear, and her breathing became shallow.

For standing at the door frame of the front door, was Christopher.

He looked on the floor, with no other emotion than menace and evil on his face. He looked different, he wasn't the same person she grew up with anymore. Team Rocket had changed him, physically and mentally. He stood taller than before, he had bulked up considerably. And he looked clean shaven, like he should be wearing a clean pressed suit instead of a black Rocket uniform. He was still a low level grunt, as shown by his attire, but it didn't change the fact that he was still no longer her brother.

He had not yet noticed Sawyer, which confused her. She then realized that his attention was brought to something else. She looked over on the ground, and she gasped. Laying on the floor, being beaten and kicked, were her parents. There were several more grunts, all standing above them, chuckling as they beat them with no mercy.

And her brother did nothing, but smile.

"CHRIS! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?", Sawyer yelled at the top of her lungs. The Rocket grunts all immediately stopped beating on her parents and looked to the stairs in shock. They reached for their weapons and Pokeballs. Christopher however, merely turned to the stairs. His lack of positive emotion did not change, but he did give a sly and evil smirk upon seeing her.

"Ah! Sawyer! Just the girl we were looking for!", Christopher said, having the guts to sound like it was a pleasant surprise. Sawyer glared at him as Christopher looked on the ground at his parents, and then to the grunts. "Enough boys, you had your fun. We're not here for them". The grunts smirked and stepped away from Sawyer and Chris's parents. They remained on the ground, groaning in agony. They were bleeding in several different spots and were covered in bruises. Sawyer wanted nothing more than to rush to their side, but the grunts were covering her path to them. She instead brought her attention to her brother.

"Chris! Why, what are you doing?", Sawyer asked in shock and anger. Chris merely stepped over to her, walking slowly but casually. She was angered at his coy personality over the whole thing. He acted like he did this everyday for a living...maybe he did.

"Exactly what it looks like I'm doing little sister. I'm spreading the message of Team Rocket, a wonderful one really. I'm gaining support for their cause...by any means necessary. And I'm here for you...and Caroline of course", Chris said, walking right beside Sawyer. She turned to him as he walked passed, towards the back door.

"NEVER! WE'RE NEVER JOINING YOU!", Sawyer yelled. Chris stopped walking and turned to face Sawyer. His fake pleasant attitude was quickly wearing away. "Chris, don't you remember what they did to Aunt Marie and Uncle Max? DON'T YOU? DOES THAT MEAN NOTHING TO YOU?".

Their aunt and uncle were the main reason that Sawyer and her family always visited Cerulean in the first place. While they were hardly the only branching family they had, they were some of the closest ones. While Sawyer would go out and stargaze at Mt. Moon, Christopher would often be playing cards or chess with his uncle. After Christopher had left the family, their aunt and uncle were attacked by Team Rocket agents. No one knew what exactly happened, and there was suspicion that Christopher had something to do with it. Their aunt and uncle were never seen again. Chris looked at the ground for a second, as if thinking, then shrugged.

"Eh...not really", Chris said with no remorse.

"ARE YOU CRAZY?", Sawyer asked. This seemed to strike a cord with Christopher. Being a Rocket, he was supposed to be trained to hide his emotions. They were considered a distraction to the missions at hand. Though most newbie grunts didn't have the training for this yet, and mostly showed off their power with a cocky attitude, Chris was clearly different. He may of been a low level grunt, but he worked to become more than that. Despite this, his patience was growing thin. Perhaps it was because they were family, maybe it was something else, but something made him start to slowly lose it. Sawyer saw this, and, for the first time, she was scared.

Something about Chris terrified her now. The way he had no qualms over hurting his own parents, or how he didn't care about the disappearance of their aunt or uncle. He was no longer even human. But the way he was acting now, it was different, even for a Rocket. He was on the verge of insanity, and it made her fearful for her and her family's lives. Despite this, he kept his cool and continued.

"The Rocket mission is more important than anything else Sawyer. Now then...join us", Christopher said. His smile then slowly but surely disappeared. His eyes gleamed, not in excitement, or happiness, but in anger. While his composure showed nothing, his eyes, they showed everything. It was as if he was borderline to attacking her and ripping her head off right then and there with his bare hands. "...or die".

Sawyer's body was trembling She tried her best to be strong, but found it difficult. She turned slowly to the other grunts. They were no longer looking at her, but at him. She could see the fear in their eyes as well. Chris scared them just as much as he did her. How could it be, that Rockets with the same ranking and training as Chris were scared of one of their own. It was then that she knew.

They knew what he was capable of.

This was why he was seemingly the leader of the group, despite the lack of higher ranking. They were afraid to challenge him, or their superiors liked what they saw in him. She knew that, if she went along with them, it wouldn't be long before she would be just like him. She didn't know what Chris was put through to become as deranged as he is now, but she knew she wouldn't like it. And the thought of Caroline going through the same treatment...

Slowly, she turned back to Chris, her fear still present, but another emotion beginning to take over. She stared him down, not giving the benefit of seeing her fear.

"...No", Sawyer growled. The grunts looked at one another, somewhat shocked themselves at the statement. They cautiously stepped back, not wanting to get in the way of Christopher and his inevitable snap. Chris's eyes did seem to twitch involuntarily at the comment, and Sawyer braced herself. However, just as quickly as it appeared, the insanity in his eyes disappeared. He relaxed himself, which confused Sawyer and the grunts. He shrugged, and slowly began to walk towards the front door.

"Fine...have it your way", Chris said. He then reached down, and grabbed a Pokeball. He casually tossed it behind him, allowing the ball to burst open and then fly back into his hand. Sawyer watched in shock as a menacing Scyther appeared, eyeing her down and holding its blades out. It looked just as maniacal as its owner. It probably suffered from the same insanity as Chris did. Chris walked to the front door, then turned to look at the other grunts, who glanced at him.

"Come on boys, Scyther knows what it's doing. We'll step outside so as to not get in Scyther's way. We'll come back when it's turned her into nothing more than a broken girl, begging for mercy...", Chris said. He then turned to look at Sawyer. "...or Carvanha chow...which ever comes first. Then we'll come back for Caroline". Sawyer gasped. She couldn't let them get to Caroline, she couldn't. She doubted that the grunts alone would ever find her, but she had doubts that Chris would be tricked so easily. While she had faith that the panic room would hold, she couldn't take the chance.

The grunts all chuckled as they walked out of the house, leaving Scyther to contend with the young girl. Sawyer looked to her parents. They were moving, but very slightly. She had to give them time, which meant she had to be a distraction. She looked at Scyther, who began to swing its bladed arms against each other. The blades created a loud screeching noise, and sparks began to fly from the metal contact. It was sharpening them, for a butcher. Quickly, Sawyer reached down for her Pokeball, knowing that she had to act fast. Scyther, however, acted faster. It yelled and flew directly towards her, blades at the ready.

Sawyer panicked and, with quick reaction, grabbed the small wooden table situated right beside her. She threw it with all her strength in the air, putting it in the path between her and the bug Pokemon. Scyther swung its arm and cut the table in two, causing Sawyer to step a few feet back. She grabbed a chair and swung it at the mantis, trying to hit it. Scyther swung its other arm and cut off the legs and half the rest to the chair. Sawyer panicked and swung the remaining bit of chair, which Scyther also cut. It then lunged forward and slashed at her. Sawyer turned her body to try and avoid it, but was still scratched across the side of her rib cage. She winced in pain and felt the scratch. It was large, and bleeding, but not very deep.

Scyther held up its claws, one now bloodied, and lunged once again at Sawyer. She stepped to the side, avoiding the bug, then jumped, avoiding another slash. Scyther swung blade after blade, and Sawyer dodged the majority of them, although a few times she was slightly cut. Eventually, she found herself being backed into the counter top by the back door. She looked at Scyther with fear in her eyes. Scyther gleamed, and then lunged. Just as it reached her, Sawyer acted. Using her balance, strength, and coordination as a dancer, she held onto the counter top and used it as support to jump in the air. Scyther crashed into the counter top head first. Sawyer stepped on Scyther and jumped towards the front door.

Seeing her opportunity, she quickly reached for her Pokeball and released a Pokemon. Just as Scyther shook off the hit to the head, it turned and watched as a Vulpix appeared. It glared at the little fox Pokemon and then lunged forward.

"TOD! FLAMETHROWER!", Sawyer commanded. Tod the Vulpix opened its mouth and fired a beam of flames at the approaching Scyther. It pushed the Pokemon back, causing it to land on the Kitchen floor. Sawyer smirked, knowing that Scyther were weak to fire type attacks. However, her confidence soon turned to shock, as Scyther stood up and swung his blades around, putting out the fire. It looked at its opponents with a glare, looking like it didn't take any damage from the fire attack.

"You have GOT to be KIDDING ME!", Sawyer commented. This Scyther was more powerful than a typical one. Knowing that this would be harder than she thought, she looked to her parents. They were now beginning to move, which she was thankful for. They looked to Sawyer, and saw her injuries, and how she was now battling Scyther. They looked concerned, and Sawyer feared that they would soon intervene. "Mom, dad! Please, go and run! Get to Caroline, she's in the hideout!", Sawyer said.

Her parents looked like they didn't know what to do. They didn't want to leave Sawyer behind to fight this Pokemon, but they knew that Caroline would need them. After another reassuring glance from Sawyer, her parents nodded, and slowly began to make their way to the stairs. Scyther however, would have none of this. It placed its blade in-between the stairs and Sawyer's parents, stopping them. It was about to swing, when Sawyer reacted.

"Tod! Flamethrower!", Sawyer yelled. Tod unleashed another fire attack on the mantis Pokemon. Scyther was blasted backwards, giving Sawyer's parents enough time to run up the stairs. Sawyer saw them leave, and then brought her attention back to her enemy, who was standing up after the attack, not injured, but angry. Sawyer took a battle stance, as did Tod. She knew that she had to end this battle soon, or her, her parents, and Caroline, would all be in serious trouble.

**And that will be that! Sorry once again for the long awaited update my friends! You have all been (for the most part) VERY patient with me, and I appreciate that, you have no idea. I finished this chapter yesterday, but internet troubles prevented me from posting the chapter up. I hope you liked Sawyer's back story, it will continue and most likely conclude in the next chapter. Not much else to post here, so please be sure to F.A.R., check out EVAN AAML's Twitter account, and I will see you all next time! Take care! **

**sincerely,  
evan, a fan of aaml -EVAN AAML**


	66. Chapter 66

**Well I hope that you're all happy with me updating sooner than normal! I really do mean to get these updates up sooner than I do, honestly. I am just so busy that it takes up all of my free time, especially now since I got a job working at Dick's Sporting Good Store. But I try to make sure that every chapter is exciting and heart pounding to make up for it. So then, how about we get straight to it huh? **

**-EVAN AAML**

Sawyer looked on with worry. Scyther was handling Tod's fire attacks better than an ordinary bug Pokemon. Normally it would of fainted by now. But she should of known that a Rocket Pokemon would be stronger than a normal one; especially since it was Christopher's after all. He was always an impressive Pokemon trainer, his Charizard was proof of that, it was one of the most powerful around that they knew of. Luckily for them, they had managed to keep Charizard away from Christopher when he joined Team Rocket. This Scyther was a monster, Sawyer didn't even want to imagine what kind of Pokemon Charizard would be had it stayed with him.

The mantis Pokemon, having handled two Flamethrower attacks already, prepared for round two with the little fox Pokemon. Tod was Sawyer's most powerful Pokemon, but it was still inexperienced when it came to battling tough opponents like Team Rocket. Sawyer had to be careful.

Sawyer looked around, and tried to think of what to do next. Their house was not large enough for a battle, especially one of this magnitude. But Sawyer was afraid of going outside to continue, Christopher and his fellow Rockets might try to fight her at the same time, and she would be overwhelmed. As much as it pained her to admit to it, she would have to continue the fight inside, even if it meant destroying their beloved home in the process.

"Alright Tod, Quick Attack! Let's go!", Sawyer commanded. Tod nodded and immediately began to run around. Scyther, having quick eyes, managed to see Tod move, swiping at it every chance it got. Tod landed on a cabinet and Scyther swung at it, but Tod sprinted away at the last second, and Scyther slashed the cabinet to pieces. Tod then ran on top of the counter, which Scyther quickly attacked. But once again, Tod was too fast, and Scyther was left to destroy the counter. Tod, seeing its opening, ran and struck the bug Pokemon. Scyther however was unfazed.

"Ok, that didn't work. How about Confuse Ray!", Sawyer called out. Tod jumped on the remains of the wooden table, facing Scyther. It glared at the bug Pokemon, and soon, rays began to shoot out from its eyes. Scyther swayed back and forth momentarily, but suddenly, shook its head and, in rage, released a X-Scissor attack. It raised its two claws in a X position and fired a X-shaped attack at the fox Pokemon. Tod was blasted backwards and landed on the ground near Sawyer. She gasped.

"Confuse Ray had no effect? What is this Scyther made of?", Sawyer asked herself. Scyther seemed to be enjoying the young girl's frustration, as it appeared to be chuckling at the sound of her anguish. Sawyer growled. "Alright Tod, let's try Will-O-Wisp!". Tod bellowed and several purple balls of flames appeared in the air. The balls multiplied, and soon, took flight. They flew towards Scyther, who prepared itself. Scyther swung at the flames, which would disappear, but then reappear. Soon, it found itself being pelted by the little flames. Sawyer smirked. Will-O-Wisp was not very powerful, but Scyther was not able to dodge it.

However, to her horror, she found that Scyther could in fact, counter. Scyther began to spin around in circles, its blades pointed in the air. Soon, the spinning increased, and it eventually became almost like a tornado. Scyther was using Swords Dance to blow away the Will-O-Wisp. The little purple flames were all soon extinguished, and the Kitchen was left in shambles. Scyther, still spinning, began to approach Tod and Sawyer. Both managed to dive out of the way just in time as Scyther spun into their living room, destroying more of the house. Eventually, it stopped, and faced its opponents, its blades gleaming and looking sharp.

Sawyer stood up from the dive and looked at Scyther. It was still not damaged nearly enough to faint. She began to grow more and more worried. It appeared that nothing was working. In a panic, Sawyer looked to Tod.

"TOD! USE FIRE SPIN! I DON'T CARE, JUST USE ANYTHING!", Sawyer commanded. Tod, seeing the fear in Sawyer, and knowing the dire situation at hand, nodded. It opened its mouth and unleashed a volley of flames. The flames soon encircled Scyther, spinning faster and faster. From inside the tornado of flames, Scyther was beginning to feel the heat. Sawyer looked on in anticipation, wondering when, or if, Scyther would break free. To her shock, it didn't. Soon, Tod stopped firing the attack, growing tired. It panted heavily as the flames began to die down.

Much of the once beautiful living room was burnt to a cinder. Anything that Scyther had thrown around when attacking with Swords Dance was now nothing more than charcoal on the ground. Though most of the room was still recognizable, there was much damage. However, what shocked the teen and little Pokemon even more was Scyther, or rather, the lack there of.

Scyther had completely vanished from sight.

Sawyer looked on in shock, wondering what could of happened. She first thought that perhaps Tod's Fire Spin, considered by many to be a Vulpix's most powerful attack, was too much, and it completely incinerated the bug Pokemon. However, she doubted this, as it seemed to be able to handle most other fire attacks just fine. She looked onto the ground where Scyther stood, and got her answer.

The floor boards had a huge hole cut through them. Sawyer gasped. Scyther had cut through the floor boards to escape the fire attack. It must of gone into the basement. Sawyer's fears were realized when suddenly, blades popped up from the floor, right in front of Tod. Tod jumped back, still being tired from the attack, as Scyther clawed its way through the floor. It flew in the air and growled in anger and blood lust. Sawyer gasped, her eyes wide in shock.

"Wha...what is this thing? Is it even...real?", Sawyer asked herself. She had never faced a Pokemon more powerful than this one. What scared her even more, was that this was Christopher's Scyther. He, despite being a mad man and a powerful Pokemon trainer, was only a low level grunt. She couldn't even begin to imagine the strength of the Pokemon the higher ranked Rockets had in their possession. However, she pushed this thought aside. She would be lucky to survive _this _battle, she couldn't distract herself with thinking of the other Rockets.

"Tod, are you alright?", Sawyer asked. Tod nodded, ready for more. It was tired, but not very injured, it would be able to handle more. Sawyer nodded in response. She then looked at Scyther. It finally looked like it was battle worn, having some very minor burns on its skin and panting slightly. At least she could tell that she was tiring it out, perhaps there was a way to defeat this Pokemon after all.

"...I don't want to have to do this...", Sawyer said. Tod looked back toward its trainer, wondering what was on her mind. She looked down onto the ground. "...but I'm left with no choice. Tod!...OVERHEAT!", Sawyer yelled. Tod looked concerned over the command, but knew that she was right, there was no choice. Tod faced the angry and prepared Scyther, and suddenly began to glow a bright red. Scyther became slightly worried, but shook it off, and lunged towards the little Pokemon. Tod's body shook and turned a deeper shade of red, until eventually, it was at a maximum. With Scyther just within inches, Tod unleashed Overheat.

It unleashed massive flames that struck Scyther and blasted it backwards. Sawyer herself had to take cover as the flames spread everywhere. Tod had little control over the attack, something as powerful as Overheat needed to be used by a more experienced Pokemon. However, soon enough, Tod was finished. The flames began to get smaller and smaller, until they were nothing more than dancing flames. Sawyer uncovered herself and looked at her little Pokemon. It panted heavily as the bright shade of red slowly began to disappear, and the last remnants of the flames died out.

Sawyer approached Tod and bent down to hold onto it. Tod's body was still hot from the attack, but it didn't bother Sawyer. She could tell that Tod was tired, but saw no visible signs of damage. She held onto her Pokemon tight, appreciating it for all it had done. However, she couldn't relax for long, she had to make sure that Tod was, indeed, done fighting. She looked towards her living room.

The room was entirely black now, although most of the furniture remained standing, it was burnt to a crisp. There were two gaping holes in the floor from Scyther's claws, and she could only imagine how the basement looked like now after the Overheat attack. Pictures and paintings that once hung on the walls or over the fireplace were now mere burnt pieces of paper in frames. Sawyer was actually shocked to see some things not burnt entirely. However, the thing she looked at most, was Scyther.

It laid on the ground, motionless. Sawyer slowly took gentle steps towards the Pokemon, uncertain if it was dead, unconscious, or merely preparing for its next attack. Eventually, Sawyer found herself looking directly at Scyther's face. The bug Pokemon was definitely alive, but out of commission. Sawyer sighed heavily, relieved that the battle was over.

The battle...but not the war.

One thing that caught Sawyer's attention, knowing now that she was at least safe from Scyther, was that she was alone. She looked around, being as quiet as she could be. There was not a single sound. Even the noise of things burning in the room ceased. Why was it, that despite the battle going on, the Rockets had not arrived? Did they really have that much confidence in Scyther, or was it more of underestimating her? Regardless, she didn't like it.

Tod, still tired, but willing to protect its trainer more, followed Sawyer as she slowly stepped outside. The sun's rays hit her body, warming her bare skin to the touch. She would of loved the feeling, if not for the given circumstances. She kept her body hidden by the door frame as she looked towards the Rocket vans, Tod right by her feet. When she caught eye of the Rockets, she gasped.

They were just standing there. Nothing more. Sawyer didn't get it, she was so confused. They were talking, even laughing, not one of them were even paying the most remote of attention towards the house or her. They were chatting away, as if it was an ordinary day, ignoring the fact that there was a fight for survival mere feet away from them. Christopher leaned against the van, talking to the Rockets casually. Sawyer couldn't believe it. He did not look to the house, did not show any concern for his family, who could of been being sliced up by Scyther at this moment for all he cared. He stood there, laughing away with his "friends".

Sawyer couldn't bare to see the sight. He showed no remorse, none at all. She barely survived an onslaught by a Rocket Pokemon, her cuts were bleeding down her body, dripping down her bare legs and onto the ground, her bruises ached and she could barely stand. Yet here was Christopher, smiling and enjoying himself with those monsters. He was so confident in his Pokemon, and so engulfed in the Rocket cause, that he didn't even concern himself with paying attention to the house. Surely they must of heard Sawyer yelling out commands to Tod, and yelling in pain. They just...didn't care.

Tears began to form in her eyes, she was not able to comprehend it. She closed her eyes, and tried to hold back weeping. Her brother truly was gone. He had no concern for her safety, nor the safety of his family. All he cared about now, was Team Rocket. To the point of not even showing the slightest concern to their deaths. Sawyer almost fell to her knees. Her brother, the one she grew up with for years, the one she looked up to, was gone. Changed beyond recognition.

Tod felt the pain its master was feeling, and rubbed its head against her legs. Sawyer cringed at the feel. Not because she hated the comfort her Pokemon was giving to her, but because she knew now, what she had to do. Sawyer stood up, trying still to fight back the tears, as she looked down at Tod, who was ready when she was.

"Tod...Overheat", Sawyer said. Tod nodded. It looked towards the Rockets, who were still laughing and talking, and began to glow a bright red. Sawyer took one final look at the Rockets, at her brother, before turning away. She couldn't stand to watch.

"HEY, WHAT'S THAT?", one of the Rockets yelled. It was at this time that they finally noticed the little fox Pokemon glowing. By this time however, it was too late. Tod was charged up, and fired. Flames shot out towards the Rockets. Sawyer could hear the screams of the Rockets, of Christopher, as they were blasted by the fire attack. Tears poured down her eyes, she could fight them no longer.

After a few seconds, there was silence. Sawyer turned to look at Tod, who was panting heavily, the glow beginning to disappear. She then looked to where the Rockets once stood. There was nothing but a large torch mark on the ground. They had not screamed for long, and she would of known if they were burnt to a crisp. Christopher and the other Rockets were blasted far away, into the distance, away from her and her family.

Sawyer fell to her knees, the tears pouring down her face now. She didn't know if her brother would survive the blast, or survive the landing, but it didn't matter, not anymore.

Her brother, her _real _brother, had died a long time ago.

Tod, while still panting and tired now, still managed to walk over to its master. Sawyer wrapped her arms around her little fox and hugged it tightly. The tears poured down, as she hugged Tod, trying to forget about her brother, and what he had done to her and her family. Just then, it hit her, her family! She had forgotten about them! Still feeling the pain of her brother, she stood up, and pulled out a Pokeball from her belt.

"I can't thank you enough Tod, you deserve a nice long rest, return!", Sawyer said. Tod nodded happily and was soon returned. Sawyer placed the Pokeball back on her belt and ran back through the house. She jumped over broken and burnt furniture, ignoring the still unconscious Scyther, and ran up the stairs. She knew that her parents had run to Caroline by this time, and she imagined that they were all safely tucked away in the panic room by this time.

It was to her shock, when she reached Caroline's room, and saw that the bookcase was wide open. Sawyer's heart rate skyrocketed. Had she missed a Rocket? No, impossible, they all left the house when Christopher released Scyther. Did Scyther come up here while she was outside? She didn't really look when she ran passed, but she could of sworn that it was still there. Regardless of what was happening, she knew that this couldn't be good.

Sawyer ran into the room, and immediately tripped over something on the floor, a first aid kit. She landed on her face on the ground, sighing. Figures that she would fight off tons of Rockets only to meet her end by tripping over a health kit and leaving herself open to attack. She looked up, only to see the mouth of an enraged Beaufort wide open, and a Fire Blast attack forming. Sawyer panicked and yelled.

"IT'S ME IT'S ME IT'S ME!", Sawyer yelled. Caroline, who was hiding in the corner of the room with her parents, saw Sawyer, panicked, and turned to Beaufort.

"WOAH! BEAU, STOP!", Caroline commanded. Beaufort, not realizing that it was Sawyer who had run into the room, immediately stopped the attack. Sawyer sighed heavily.

"Thanks", Sawyer said. Beaufort sat back onto the ground in a more relaxed state of mind while Sawyer approached her family. Her father and Caroline were currently patching up Sawyer's mother. "Are you all ok?", Sawyer asked. Sawyer's father had just finished bandaging up his wife and looked to Sawyer.

"Yes, we're fine sweetheart", Sawyer's father said. He was tired and weary, but calm and collective. "You did an amazing job protecting us back there Sawyer, even though we told you to stay with Caroline". Sawyer sighed.

"I couldn't leave you two down there to fight them off, I knew you would need help. If I didn't, then me and Caroline would be orphans", Sawyer said. Her father nodded.

"We know, that's why we're thankful", Sawyer's father said. Sawyer smiled. "Now then, let's get you patched up too shall we?". Beaufort had grabbed the first aid kit that Sawyer had tripped on coming in and Sawyer's parents began to help Sawyer patch up. Her father tended to her founds on her body from Scyther's claws while her mother wrapped up a sprained wrist she got. The group were quiet for awhile as they tended to one another's wounds, until Sawyer broke the silence.

"We need to leave...don't we?", Sawyer asked, confident in the answer she would hear.

"We do", Sawyer's mother responded. "We talked about it while you were downstairs. We decided to go to aunt Elizabeth's, she lives in Pallet Town, do you remember her?". Caroline and Sawyer both nodded. She was one of the aunts that they barely got to see, but they were familiar with her.

"She has a bigger home there than we do here, she could accommodate us for a little while while we find a new place to call home", Sawyer's father said.

"We'll take Chris's old Charizard to get there, we have to move quickly", Sawyer's mother explained. Sawyer looked at her mother with some concern.

"But Charizard won't be able to carry all four of us though, even if we didn't have luggage. He's not strong enough for such a flight", Sawyer said. Her parents sighed, they knew she was right. In their haste, they hadn't thought about the smaller details. All three of them thought of what to do while Caroline nervously began to pet Beaufort. She was aware of the situation, but was scared and didn't know how to react to it quite yet.

"Hmm...uh, I know!", Sawyer said. Her parents and Caroline looked to her, wondering what she had come up with. "Caroline can ride on Ace, it evolved into a Pidgeot, remember?". Her parents were glad that they had another Pokemon to ride, but there was still concern.

"But what about you deary? Pidgeot is only large enough to carry one person, and we won't leave you behind", Sawyer's mother said in protest.

"It's alright, I'll go by ground. I'll ride dad's Sharpedo through the water, and then when we get to land, I'll...ride on Rex. I'll be fine", Sawyer explained.

"Don't be ridiculous, Rex isn't big enough to be ridden on!", Sawyer's mother said.

"She can ride Beau", Caroline explained. Sawyer and her parents looked to Caroline, who was nervously petting Beau. "Beau is small for an Arcanine, but it's still more than enough for Sawyer to ride on. Besides, it would only be in a Pokeball on the way over here anyway". Sawyer and her parents knew that she was nervous over the whole ordeal, and while they wished that Beau stayed with her for at least comfort, they knew that this was their best plan. They nodded in agreement.

"Well...alright. Let's go pack everyone", Sawyer's father said. The four them separated, going into their own rooms to prepare themselves for their journey. They made sure to pack only the necessities, as they didn't want to make it any harder on their Pokemon. Although they hoped that they would be able to return home soon, deep down, they all had their doubts.

Sawyer made it back to her room, and immediately began to get to work. She grabbed her blue back pack and threw in on her bed. It was the same back pack that she took with her everytime she went to Mt. Moon to stargaze. She used to laugh, thinking that it was magical because it always seemed to have an endless amount of space for the useless things she would bring along with her. Attached to the back pack were several different colored bandannas. Each one from a different place, each one signifying something big in her life. One she got from the hospital the day her sister was born, one from a small stand the first time she went to Mt. Moon, and many others she couldn't begin to explain.

She looked around the room, and began to fill her back pack. She threw in basic necessities, such as toiletries and clothes, (making sure to finally change out of her bathing suit and putting on more fitting attire). She threw in some things from her closest, such as her green tennis shoes and a jacket, along with things such as a mirror and her favorite stuffed animal. She also managed to stuff in her laptop, knowing that she would need it for communication, it would be safer than using a phone now. She also stuffed in her spare sets of Pokeballs. She doubted that she would catch any Pokemon anytime soon, but it was better she had them just in case, especially if Team Rocket came back.

Sawyer began to see that her so called infinite spaced bag was finally filling up. She couldn't help but laugh at the sight, after all these years she finally managed to fill the damn thing to the brim. The last thing she decided to throw into the bag before shutting it was a family portrait. It was taken a few years ago, and it had her entire family in it. She looked at it for a few seconds, seeing the smiling faces of her parents, sister, and even Christopher. She placed her fingers delicately over Christopher's face, sighing. At least Christopher wouldn't change in this photo. She delicately placed it in the bag and closed it tight.

As quickly as she could, she attached a sleeping bag and some pillows onto the clips on top of the bag, (it was her camping bag after all), and placed water bottles in both pockets on the side. She had finished packing, placed the bag on her back, and left for the door. When she reached it, she took one final look at her room. Despite the rest of her house, her bedroom had little changed to it. She looked at all the stuff that she had to leave behind, that she might not ever see again. She sighed, turned off the light, and closed the door behind her.

The trip went by without any problems. Caroline, being the only one to ride the much faster Ace, made it to Pallet Town first. She quickly explained to her aunt their situation, just as her parents arrived. Sawyer, having to take the water and ground, took much more time to arrive, but also did so without any confrontation. Sawyer's aunt was more than happy to let them live with her for the time being, and even helped them look for a new home in the area.

Sawyer's aunt, having lived in Pallet Town for some time now, had grown used to the people she lived with, and introduced Sawyer to Prof. Oak. It was then, after explaining her story to him, that he introduced her to Ash. The two had talked for most of the day, casually walking around town as if they were friends, but really talking about the PTA and who they were. Ash of course didn't want to force Sawyer into the group against her will, but he did offer her a spot in the organization if she wanted it. Sawyer, not wanting to become like Christopher, immediately agreed to it.

Sawyer's parents tried to make sure that the two did not meet, but it couldn't be helped for long. Her parents were very social on Cinnabar Island, and they knew well about the tales of the PTA. They were concerned for their daughter's safety, especially after having lost their only son to Team Rocket's cause. However, when the two did meet, her parents were unable to hide her from it any longer. That night, when Sawyer came home, her parents sat down with her, and talked.

"Sawyer, we want to talk to you", Sawyer's father said. Sawyer, knowing what this would be about, immediately opened up.

"I want to join!", Sawyer yelled. There was a moment's pause before Sawyer looked again to her parents. Her outburst was random and loud, but she wanted to get her point across. She felt bad however for it, and so went into more detail. "I...I know that it's dangerous, and that you are probably scared of me joining...but I want to become a part of something more. The PTA can really help people, and I know that I can help others just like they do. I don't expect you to understand completely, but I know that I can do so much good with them. I want to protect people, to let them know that they're not alone, and that there are people fighting for their freedom. I know it's dangerous...but it's something I just have to do".

To her shock, her parents merely listened and nodded. She had expected them to explain to her why they didn't want her to join, or why it was too dangerous. But this was not what she was expecting, they were listening to her, in fact, if she didn't know any better, it appeared like they were encouraging her.

"...We know that you want to sweetie", Sawyer's father said. Sawyer looked at her parents, wondering what it was that was going through their minds. "I would explain to you why I don't very much like the decision, but I know it would fall upon deaf ears. You've made up your mind on the matter". Sawyer's mother then stepped in.

"We just want you to know Sawyer, that...we've talked it over, and...we support you and your decision", Sawyer's mother said. Sawyer, unable to believe the words coming out of her own parent's mouths, approached them and sat on the chair beside them. "We know that you really want to do this, and we also know that you will be able to do so much good for people when you join". She then looked to her husband and held his hand tightly, to which he did the same. "But we will miss you terribly, so we decided to give you something to remember us by".

"What? Mom, dad...how could I ever forget you?", Sawyer asked. Sawyer's parents smiled.

"We know that you wouldn't, but we wanted to do this anyway, to show the bond we have as a family", Sawyer's father said. Sawyer's mother then pulled off a necklace from around her neck, and handed it gently to Sawyer. The young girl looked at the necklace intently. She knew that her mother had never worn the necklace before, and yet it looked old; like she had owned it for many years. The necklace was made out of what appeared to be crystalline stone and in an oval shape. The center was cut out, and in an oval shape as well. Making up the necklace was four different colored stones, the colors being red, green, yellow, and blue. She gazed at it in wonder.

"They're made up of evolutionary stones sweetie", Sawyer's father explained, seeing some hints of confusion in his daughter's eyes. "It's not enough stone to make a Pokemon evolve however. We had it made soon after you were born. It has Thunder stone for me, Leaf stone for your mother, Water stone for you, and...Fire stone...for your brother".

"Unfortunately, this was made years before Caroline was born, so we don't have a stone on it for her, which was why we gave her her ring", Sawyer's mother explained. Sawyer looked at her father and mother for a few moments, before once again looking at the stone. She couldn't believe an item as beautiful and wonderful as this expressed her family so well. Slowly, tears began to form in her eyes. Her parents, seeing what she was going through, sighed and opened their arms to her. Sure enough, Sawyer ran into her parents and wrapped her arms around them, giving them a tight but loving hug. All she was able to do, was quietly say thank you.

She was inducted into the PTA soon afterwards.

It was only a couple days later when she was assigned her first mission. It was a small one, but important. Her, along with some other rebels at the Pallet base, were to meet up with several members from a smaller base in Kanto to spy on a Rocket shipment up north. She went home to say goodbye to her parents and Caroline, knowing that she would be gone for some time. Because she had to stay at the base now for safety protocol, she hardly ever got to speak to her family let alone see them. Although it was understandable, it caused her sister to miss and worry over her more and more. The day she visited to say goodbye, her sister pulled her aside. Sawyer looked at her, only to see tears beginning to form.

"Caroline? What's wrong?", Sawyer asked. Caroline could hold it in no longer, and began to cry, tears cascading down her cheeks.

"YOU CAN'T LEAVE!", Caroline yelled, her emotions getting the better of her. Sawyer sighed heavily, afraid that this would happen. She felt terrible, but knew that she had to leave, her teammates counted on her. She put her hands on her sister and pulled in for a gentle hug.

"I'm sorry, but I have to my little love...but I'll be home soon...I promise", Sawyer said. Caroline looked up to her from the hug. The tears had not stopped, but she seemed to have slightly calmed down.

"But", before Caroline could even finish the statement, Sawyer put her finger on her sister's lips, silencing her.

"No buts Care", Sawyer said softly yet sternly. She then smiled, seeing the pain in her sister's eyes. "I'll be home soon enough. I will miss you so much, but I have to do this, not just for the PTA, but for everyone, including you, and mom, and dad. Everyone". Caroline looked down onto the ground, her tears not stopping. Sawyer felt a pain in her heart at seeing her sister like this, but knew that it couldn't be helped. Caroline then wrapped her arms around Sawyer and engulfed her. Though four years younger, Caroline was almost as tall as Sawyer was, only being a head below her.

"I can't lose you too!", Caroline whispered. Whether Sawyer was meant to hear this or not, she wasn't sure. But Sawyer regardless wrapped her arms around her tighter and smiled.

"You won't Care, you won't", Sawyer said. Tears then began to form in her eyes as well, which she mentally laughed at. Her and her sister were so very much alike, crying at emotional things like this frequently. A part of her didn't want to leave, a part of her wanted to stay with her sister, and hang out as sisters should. But she knew better, she knew that she was in the Pokemon Trainer Alliance now, and that she was needed elsewhere.

Slowly, Caroline pulled herself away from Sawyer. She watched as Caroline pulled something off of her finger, and then gently placed it in Sawyer's hand. She looked at her for a few seconds, the two girls having tears in their eyes, before she nodded, turned on a heel, and ran off; running to some other place in the house. When she was gone, Sawyer looked into her hand, and saw what she had given her.

It was her ring, something she was never without. The ring was relatively small, and like her necklace, was made entirely of stone; Moon stone. Sawyer had always wondered why, especially since she was the one that always visited Mt. Moon, that her mother had given a ring such as this to Caroline. She was never jealous, but wondered what the cause behind it was. It wasn't until she got her necklace, that she knew. This was her form of the necklace, her piece of family that she carried. Sawyer smiled and, without hesitation, pulled her necklace off, disconnected the chain, and placed the ring in it so that it was close to the family stones. She smiled as she placed the necklace back on and held the two stones in her hand.

"...I love you too, Caroline".

Suddenly, the walls around the house collapsed. The low, dark ceiling was replaced with a much higher one, filled with lights. The furniture and decorations were replaced by PTA allies, and soon, Sawyer found herself back in the training room. Angel stood in front of her, her eyes gleaming. The story she had just heard brought tears to her eyes. But, unlike the stories of so many others, these tears were caused by joy. Sawyer smiled, still looking at the necklace and the two stones.

"They still live in Pallet Town, and, although I never really get to see them much anymore due to security and protection, I know that they all still support me, and will me on. That's why I fight, that's why I still have the spirit to continue, even when I'm down. Because I know that I have people I'm fighting for, who love me...and who I love in return...just like you Angel", Sawyer said with a smile, putting the necklace back in her shirt and placing her hand on the little girl's head, rubbing it and messing up her hair. Angel smiled and ran into Sawyer for a hug, which she was more than happy to return.

Angel was now filled with even more confidence. She knew that, somewheres in the Veridian Rocket base, her parents were in there, thinking of her, and supporting her. She had to keep fighting, she couldn't give up, because she had people to fight for. She had her parents, who she loved with all her heart. And she had her friends, who she loved just as much. Evan and Aleksi's battle, along with Sawyer's story, made her feel strong again, made her feel confident, and now, she couldn't _wait _to get back to training.

As if someone heard her thoughts, a sound caught her attention. Angel released Sawyer and looked behind her, (Sawyer turned around at the sound), and saw Evan approaching them. He had a smile on his face, and the once wet, but now dry, (and unlit) cigarette in his mouth. Standing beside him, rubbing her eyes, was Aleksi. She was leaning over somewhat and yawned. Angel and Sawyer looked at each other and giggled at the sight.

"Well, as you can see, Aleksi finally woke up. I'd say that she'll be ready to battle in a few minutes Angel", Evan explained. Aleksi yawned and stretched her arms out in the air. As she did, she raised an eyebrow and looked in her hand.

"How did I get a hold of this?", Aleksi asked. Everyone looked and saw that she was still holding onto Evan's lighter. He gleamed and immediately snatched it from her hand.

"THANK you!", Evan exclaimed. Aleksi was confused, but also annoyed that Evan had snatched it like that. As quickly as she could, she snatched it right back from him with a smile.

"Oh NO you don't!", Aleksi said. Evan gasped and immediately tried to grab it from her. Aleksi turned around so that her back was to Evan, trying to keep the lighter as far away from him as possible. Evan wrapped Aleksi in his arms, trying to grab the lighter back. The two giggled and fought with each other over the little thing, and Angel and Sawyer couldn't help but giggle as well. The two, despite the constant denials, were clearly very fond of each other.

Suddenly, Sawyer felt arms wrap around her as well. She however didn't fight back, as she knew who they belonged to. She smiled and leaned into the arms as Nick's head appeared to her side. The two looked at each other lovingly as they shared a brief yet romantic kiss. Angel sighed. All around her there was romance, and she couldn't help but get affected by it. As Evan and Aleksi continued to flirtatiously fight over the lighter, someone else approached them. The group turned and looked to see Riles approaching with great haste. He was panting somewhat, and held a single Pokeball in his hand.

"Ha...ha...give me a second please", Riles said as he panted. The group laughed somewhat as he tried to recover, clearly Riles was no runner. However, he did soon recover, and held out the Pokeball to Aleksi. "I brought your belts to the medical center, and I took your one prepared Pokemon for Angel's battle...am I...interrupting something?". Aleksi and Evan, realizing that they were still wrapped up in each other, immediately broke apart with large blushes across their faces. Evan took his lighter back, while Aleksi took her Pokeball from Riles, prompting giggles from the others.

"No, we weren't doing anything important, thank you!", Aleksi said, the blush still apparent, but the annoyance clearly evident. She then turned to face Angel, a smile across her face. "So tell me Angel, are you ready?". Angel looked up to her, a large smile across her face. With new found confidence and a clear reason to fight, she nodded.

"Yeah! Let's do it!", Angel said, her voice filled with nothing but confidence.

**BAM! Look at that, a quick update for you guys! I do really like the way these past two chapters turned out, dare I say. Please be sure to thank Twinkie TUTUS for such a wonderful job on her OC's back story, it was all her doing! :) As a side note, due to some rather serious internet issues I'm dealing with, please accept my apologies early. There are chances that I will not be able to respond to reviews, private messages, or even get the chance to SEE said responses until this is resolved. I am working on it, but it'll be awhile I'm afraid. But I digress, next chapter will be the much anticipated Angel V.S. Aleksi! I should warn you, it won't be very long, you'll see why. Then I will get to the smaller details I want to cover, and then before we know it, BALL! :) So until then, please be sure to F.A.R., check out my Twitter account, and I will see you all next time! Peace!**

**sincerely,  
evan, a fan of aaml -EVAN AAML**


	67. Chapter 67

**(Pant...pant...pant). GOD I'M EXHAUSTED! Don't get me wrong, I am BEYOND THRILLED that I was able to get a job. ESPECIALLY for a place as awesome as a sports store. But because the store is being built from the ground up, I have been working 12 hour days for several days straight, setting up the store to their specifications. I didn't realize how SPECIFIC they have to be! I hope that if you are to visit a store like that, you appreciate the design that goes into it, you never know who was the one who put it all together! ;) But I digress, this isn't about me, this is merely me saying what's been going on. Because of my large work schedule, (everyday), expect few updates, as I am unfortunately far too busy. :( I will however, work on them when I am not working. And as an ending note, I would like to thank KrazyKat101, who has come up with official names for the pairings of Evan/Aleksi and Nick/Sawyer! These names are CigaretteShipping, (an obvious reference to Evan), and SugarheartShipping, (a reference to Sawyer's baking and heart injury). Thank you KrazyKat101! :D I hope you like the names! **

**-EVAN AAML**

The two girls walked to their designated spots on the battlefield. Sawyer, Nick, Riles, and the other rebels took their spots on the benches while Evan decided to, for one reason or another, stand behind and to the left of Aleksi, (who took the same spot she had against Evan). Angel figured that he merely wanted a better view of the battle, although she also thought that perhaps he also wanted to be close to Aleksi. To her however, it didn't matter. She was just glad to be able to finally battle against Aleksi. Her sudden found confidence in herself made her excited, something she had not felt a lot of recently.

It almost seemed like it was planned out for her.

However, it didn't matter. She was pumped now, and ready to show Aleksi, Evan, and everyone else that she had what it took to be a PTA rebel. She looked at the benches, seeing the many rebels all sitting around, excitement in their eyes. She looked at Milo, Riles, the twins Luke and Logan, and Brenna, who all cheered for her. She looked at Ryoto, Nick, and Darrel, who did not show as much emotion, but were interested in the battle. And she looked at people like Sawyer, who merely smiled. Angel knew that no words were needed, she knew already what Sawyer was thinking about, and she appreciated every thought.

Angel then looked across to Aleksi and Evan. Evan smirked at the young girl, giving her a thumb's up with one hand, while with the other hand reaching into his pocket and pulling out his lighter. He then lit the cigarette that was still hanging from his mouth. Angel wondered if the cigarette, after having been wet, then dried, then smoked again would taste any different, but by the looks of Evan's face, it was not anything particularly bad if it was. After taking in a puff and exhaling the smoke, Evan spoke.

"Alright, this will be a one on one battle, obviously. Everyone knows the rules, so I won't go over them. You girls ready?", Evan asked. Aleksi nodded with a smile.

"You bet!", Aleksi said.

"I'm ready!", Angel yelled in excitement. Evan smiled. He was glad that she was filled with happiness and excitement now. He nodded.

"Alright then, go whenever you're ready!", Evan yelled. Aleksi pulled her Pokeball off of her belt and looked at Angel.

"Ok Angel, I hope you're ready for a tough battle, because that's what you're going to get! I won't go easy on you just because we're friends!", Aleksi exclaimed. Angel smirked, pulling her necklace out from under her shirt.

"I would hope so Aleksi!", Angel said. Aleksi tossed her Pokeball towards the field while Angel pressed the button on her necklace. Soon, their Pokemon appeared. Angel's Ledyba buzzed happily in the air, ready to battle while Aleksi's Umbreon shook off the feeling of being inside the Pokeball and looked at its opponent with a fighting spirit. "Are you ready for a good battle Ledyba?", Angel asked her bug friend. Ledyba buzzed merrily, making Angel giggle. "That's good to hear!". While the two conversed with each other, Aleksi smiled.

"It's great to see her feeling so confident and happy now. She does a good job at masking it usually, but I'm her best friend, I know when her confidence is down. Ever since New Island, she hasn't had that strive that she had before. It really changed her. I'm just glad that me and Evan were able to help her feel better", Aleksi thought to herself. She turned to look at Evan as she thought these things. As if he had read her mind, he looked to her with a smile and nodded, the smoke from the cigarette floating in the air slowly. She nodded back with the same smile. Aleksi then brought her attention back to the battle.

"As happy as I am for Angel, I still can't make this too easy for her. So let's run down this battle. Ledyba is a flying bug type combo, which makes it a tough battle for Umbreon since it's weak to bug type Pokemon. That also means that ground type attacks won't work on Ledyba. But then there's more. Ledyba has those fists, which means that it can do punch based fighting attacks. Umbreon is weak to fighting type Pokemon too, so this battle is going to be really tough. I know that Umbreon is more powerful than Ledyba, but I can't let my guard down, especially since I know Angel's no push over when it comes to Pokemon battling", Aleksi thought to herself.

"Hey, are you ready?", Angel asked from across the room. Aleksi snapped out of her train of thought and looked over to see Angel, who was fully prepared. Her excitement made her just a little impatient, which Aleksi couldn't help but snicker over. Sometimes she would act more mature than the other PTA rebels, but other times, she would act like the twelve year old girl she is.

"Yes, I'm ready Angel, I guess I'll start things off huh?", Aleksi said. She then raised her hands and slapped herself gently in the face to prepare herself, as she always did. After shaking off the initial smacks, she looked back to the battlefield, pointing to Ledyba. "Umbreon! Shadow Ball attack!". Umbreon opened its mouth and fired a large black sphere towards Ledyba.

"Ledyba! Light Screen!", Angel commanded. Ledyba hovered in the air and created a yellow wall in front of it, which the Shadow Ball collided with. The sphere tried to push through it, but to no avail, as it soon exploded. "Now Ledyba, Silver Wind!". Ledyba removed the Light Screen and then began to beat its wings vigorously. Soon, silver colored bands of wind were unleashed towards Umbreon.

"Umbreon, dodge!", Aleksi yelled. Umbreon jumped out of the way of the attack, just in time. Aleksi looked at Angel with a smirk.

"Well, it looks like you've been paying attention to my battle with Evan earlier", Aleksi said. Angel smirked right back.

"You bet, I even learned some new tricks. Ledyba, Toxic!", Angel commanded. Ledyba flapped its wings and began to unleash a purple toxic haze. Aleksi panicked.

"Oh no! Quick Umbreon, Rain Dance!", Aleksi called out. Umbreon bellowed and summoned forth dark clouds. Soon, a heavy drizzle covered the field. The toxic smog began to move slower in the now thick air, the humidity causing it to be weighed upon heavily, until soon, the smog dissipated. Angel grew somewhat annoyed that her tactic didn't work, but kept her cool. Aleksi meanwhile sighed heavily. "Phew, that was a close one. Angel has been really paying attention! She tried to weaken Umbreon with a poison ailment just like I did to Evan's Dragonite", Aleksi thought to herself, reflecting back to the battle earlier.

"You might have stopped that one tactic Aleksi, but I still have plenty more where that came from!", Angel said, still filled with confidence. Aleksi smiled.

"I'm sure you do Angel, let's see what you've got!", Aleksi responded.

"Fine by me, but first...Ledyba, blow the clouds away!", Angel yelled. Ledyba did as it was commanded, and flapped its wings heavily towards the clouds. Soon, the clouds themselves dissipated, and the rain stopped. Aleksi smirked, genuinely impressed.

"That was a good move by her. She knew that if Rain Dance was still in effect, then Ledyba's wings would of been wet, and couldn't fly. She stopped it before that happened", Aleksi thought to herself.

"Alright Ledyba, let's try something else, Flash!", Angel called out. Ledyba's wings suddenly opened up and within the blink of an eye, the entire field was blinded by a bright light. All of the rebels covered their eyes, unable to see in the light. "Now then Ledyba, Focus Punch, let's go!". Ledyba pulled its fist back and it began to glow. Aleksi grew more concerned. Angel knew that fighting attacks were powerful against Umbreon, and she counted on Flash to prevent Umbreon from countering properly.

"Umbreon! Try to dodge!", Aleksi yelled. Umbreon prepared to avoid an oncoming attack, but the bright light prevented it from seeing one coming. Suddenly, Ledyba buzzed by with quick speed, its fist at the ready. Umbreon just managed to catch eye of Ledyba just as it was punched in the face by the bug type. Umbreon was sent flying backwards and onto the ground. The flash disappeared, and Ledyba was seen buzzing in the air, pumped up and ready for more.

Aleksi looked at Umbreon with concern. Although it was the only hit so far that had landed, it dealt a heavy blow and caused a lot of damage. Umbreon would have to be careful and try to avoid close combat with Ledyba if she intended to win this battle.

"Angel's gotten a lot better with battling. She has really been taking a lot of mental notes. Let's see how Aleksi can handle this battle now", Evan thought to himself, the smell of the smoke going up his nose, relaxing him.

"Ok Umbreon, Swift attack!", Aleksi commanded. Umbreon opened its mouth and unleashed a barrage of stars towards the bug Pokemon. Evan smirked.

"Ah, she took a trick from my book, using an attack that can't miss to deal damage. If that's the case, then she'll try to use another attack immediately afterwards to finish up", Evan thought. Angel prepared herself.

"Ok Ledyba, we prepared for this, Bide!", Angel commanded. Both Aleksi and Evan gasped. Ledyba crossed its arms over its body and began to glow. Not even trying to dodge the attack, Ledyba was struck continuously by the Swift attack. As the stars continued to hit Ledyba, it continued to glow brighter and brighter. Eventually, the brightness reached its peak, and Ledyba unleashed a massive attack.

"Umbreon, Protect!", Aleksi called out. Umbreon braced itself and covered itself with an invisible shield just as the attack struck. Smoke and dust blew everywhere as the spectators tried to see what had happened. Angel and Aleksi looked on with anticipation, each of them hoping for the other's failure in the attacks. When the dust settled, Umbreon was seen still standing its ground. Although panting heavily, it looked unscathed. Angel sighed.

"Shoot, it didn't work!", Angel said with minor frustration. Aleksi and Evan looked to each other wide eyed. They couldn't believe that Angel had done such an amazing counter.

"Unbelievable! Angel saw my strategy in using Swift so often, that she already came up with an effective counter against it! She knew that she couldn't dodge, so she had Ledyba use Bide to take the damage and use it as a weapon. If Aleksi was not amazing with counter attacks and quick thinking, then she would of lost right then and there!", Evan thought to himself.

"It's amazing how Angel was able to come up with that tactic! She's gotten so much better just by watching! I was hoping that me and Evan would be able to boost her confidence, but I didn't realize we would raise it so high!", Aleksi said with a smile on her face.

"Don't get too comfortable Aleksi, I already have another trick up my sleeve!", Angel said. Aleksi and Evan gasped. Another one? So soon? "Alright Ledyba, Sunny Day!". Ledyba buzzed and soon unleashed a bright light in the sky. The others wondered what plan she was thinking up now.

"Umbreon, stand your ground, get ready for anything!", Aleksi stated. Umbreon did as it was told and braced itself. As the sky got brighter from the Sunny Day, Angel smirked.

"Alright, part one is done, now time for part two! Ledyba, Double Team!", Angel commanded. Aleksi gasped as Ledyba suddenly began to multiply and fly around the room. Umbreon looked back and forth, trying to determine which one was the original, but to no avail.

"Angel is using another one of my tricks, using Double Team to confuse the opponent and make the next move harder to predict. But why then did she use Sunny Day? Unless...", Evan said. Suddenly, Evan's thoughts were brought to life, as Angel called out to Ledyba.

"Time to put out plan into effect Ledyba, Solar Beam!", Angel commanded. All of the copies of Ledyba suddenly stopped flying around, encircling Umbreon in the center of the field. The Ledyba opened their mouths and balls of light began to form. Aleksi gasped.

"Oh no! Angel used Sunny Day as a way to make Solar Beam charge faster! And I still don't know the original Ledyba!", Aleksi yelled. Umbreon, due to the multiple numbers of Ledyba, was unable to determine which Ledyba was the real one. Only the real one would be able to launch the Solar Beam, but by then it would be too late to dodge. Suddenly, all of the Ledyba disappeared, and the one directly in front of Umbreon unleashed the attack. Solar Beam fired directly into Umbreon, causing a small explosion and for the small Pokemon to fly backwards towards Aleksi.

Umbreon crashed onto the ground while Aleksi looked on in worry for her little Pokemon. Umbreon was strong, but they were underestimating Angel's strategy of copying off of her and Evan's battle. On top of that, Ledyba was seemingly more powerful than originally thought.

"It's hard to believe that a twelve year old can adapt so quickly to a Pokemon battle and use what she has seen to her advantage! There's no way Angel will leave this battle with a broken spirit, no matter if she wins or not", Evan thought. He took another puff from his now slightly shorter cigarette. The fumes from the drug causing a sense of relaxation for him. Although his battle was long done with, he was still feeling tensed up from it, and watching this one only added to it. Smoking helped him relieve this feeling.

Angel was thrilled that she was doing so well in the battle. She knew that Ledyba was a strong Pokemon and could hold its own in a battle if it needed to, and with her new found "copy cat" strategy combined with her own tricks, she knew that she could very well win this training session. But one thing she learned was to never assume something early on. She knew how good Aleksi was, especially after seeing her victory against Evan. Angel knew that she couldn't let up now, it could cost her.

Angel looked at Umbreon, who slowly began to pull itself off the ground. It still had the strength to stand, which meant it still had the strength to fight. She knew that Umbreon was Aleksi's trump card, it would be harder to defeat than any of Aleksi's other Pokemon. However, she also knew that Ledyba had the advantage. Umbreon was weak to bug and fighting types, and added to the fact that Ledyba could fly, it was a triple threat to the dark type Pokemon. However, Aleksi was no pushover. She had skills, skills that most people on the planet didn't have, let alone the PTA. Angel would have to watch out for her if she intended to win this.

Umbreon managed to finally pull itself up and looked at the flying bug Pokemon, ready for another round. Aleksi looked at Angel and Ledyba, wondering what she could do next. Angel had seen her battle Rockets with Umbreon, she knew some of its attacks, and she knew a lot of her strategies from battling Evan. She would have to come up with something new now, or at least something different. And she knew what to do.

"Umbreon, Confuse Ray!", Aleksi yelled. Umbreon closed its eyes for a second, only to open them up again. A colorful array of psychic waves came forth towards Ledyba.

"Oh no! Ledyba, dodge!", Angel called out. However, it was already too late. The rays moved too quickly, and made Ledyba confused. It flew in circles, shaking its head and trying to shake off the feeling. However, all it ended up doing was flying high and crashing into the ceiling, or buzzing irregularly in different patterns. Aleksi smirked. Although the tactic was a small one, it was an effective one. Now, every single move that Ledyba did came with the risk of injuring itself. Angel growled in frustration.

"Shoot! She did something similar against Evan and his Dragonite. She used a move that would cause damage to Ledyba over time. This meant that she had to end the battle quickly. However, the difference between the Toxic attack on Dragonite and Confuse Ray on Ledyba was that this attack had a chance of turning Ledyba's attacks against itself. "Ledyba, try to shake it off! Focus Punch!", Angel called out. Ledyba had heard the command, and began to focus its energy into its fist. However, the confusion proved itself difficult, and Ledyba only ended up punching itself in its confusion.

Oh boy, Angel had a good grasp on the battle before, but now she's in quite the little mess", Milo pointed out from the sidelines. A few of the other rebels nodded in agreement.

"It'll be interesting to see how Angel can get herself out of this problem", Hunter threw in, paying close attention to the battle. Brenna and Sawyer watched on in worry. Brenna leaned forward, her hands folded together as she watched, her knee bouncing on the ground in impatience.

"I hope Angel can recover from this", Brenna said with concern. She had become close friends with Angel since they met, and seeing her struggle like this was hard on her. Sawyer looked at Brenna, and then to the battle field. She had confidence that Angel could find a way out of this mess, but what she had worry with was how soon she could do this.

"I hope so too", Sawyer said in reply. Angel, meanwhile, began to show signs of panic. Although Ledyba's confusion could end at any moment, she knew that Aleksi would not let up on her. And while she wouldn't want her to in anyway, she was still feeling concern over the battle. Maybe she _was _in over her head with this battle. Feeling all the confidence in the world wouldn't help you if you weren't skilled enough for something, could it?

"Umbreon, Shadow Ball!", Aleksi commanded. Umbreon fired away a dark sphere, which struck the confused bug Pokemon in the chest. It flew to the ground, still confused and in a daze. Angel watched on, trying to think of a new plan, but her brain was fuzzy. Nothing came to mind, her panic made her lose her concentration and focus, much like the Confuse Ray did to Ledyba. Aleksi turned and looked to Evan, concern in her eyes. She could see the panic Angel was feeling, and was not sure of what to do. Aleksi knew now that she could win the battle, but it wouldn't be worth it at the cost of Angel's broken confidence.

Evan seemed to show some signs of concern as well, but tried to keep his cool. He gave Aleksi a look, as if to say that she couldn't quit now. If Aleksi threw the match, then Angel would feel as if she won only out of pity, which would not build her confidence at all. It could also prove to her that him and Aleksi had this plan to make her feel better. He wasn't sure if this would upset the poor girl or not, and so would much rather avoid the conflict altogether. Even though he felt bad for urging Aleksi to continue something like this, he knew it was for the best.

Angel looked on with her concern and fear growing more and more. She felt as helpless as when she was on New Island. When she made those mistakes, and it cost the team dearly. She knew that she had to learn from those experiences, this was what training was for after all. But if she couldn't even manage to win a practice battle during training, how could she expect to fight to save her parents and world peace in Veridian? Her heart began to race faster and faster, her brain no longer using logic, she had to act on pure instinct. She closed her eyes, tightened her hands into fists, and yelled the first thing that came to mind.

"LEDYBA, BUG BUZZ!", Angel yelled at the top of her lungs. Aleksi gasped while the others showed a mixture of pride in her skills and shock at such an outburst.

"Bug Buzz?", Brenna asked.

"It's a bug attack, one of the most powerful out there, something that could win her this match if it hits", Sawyer explained.

"Of course, it has to hit first. And with Ledyba being confused, that's no longer a guarantee", Ryoto threw in. He watched the battle, knowing that Angel was battling now with only desperation, and wondering how it would all turn out in the end. Ledyba buzzed back up into the air, still injured from Umbreon's attack, and still confused. It tried to focus, but found it difficult to see very well. From its vision, all it could see were blurs. However, after some focusing, it locked onto one of the blurs, and then began violently vibrating its wings. Everyone in the room, including Angel, covered their ears, as the high pitch noise from the attack got to them. The force wave of the vibrations flew out towards its target.

"UMBREON, DODGE!", Aleksi yelled through gritted teeth. However, Aleksi would soon find out that yelling this command out was pointless.

Because the attack wasn't aimed at Umbreon at all.

Evan, who had closed his eyes from the ringing in his head due to Bug Buzz, finally managed to open his eyes, just in time to see the force wave of the attack flying towards him. His eyes widened in shock, he had no time to run. With the power of a hurricane gust, Bug Buzz blasted Evan backwards. Aleksi, Angel, and the other rebels all watched in horror and shock as Evan flew backwards, into the window leading to the hallway. His body with the addition of the Bug Buzz, shattered the window, and Evan flew out into the hall.

Ledyba, hearing the sound of broken glass, immediately stopped the attack, and fell to the ground, so confused as to its surroundings that it didn't even know what to do. Aleksi gasped in shock and immediately bolted for the now open space where the long window was once placed, not even bothering to use the door.

"EVAN!", Aleksi yelled in worry. Immediately, several rebels including Riles, Nick, Trent, Milo, and Wallace ran out the door to see if Evan was ok. By the time they had reached him, Aleksi was already by his side, checking him. The entire span of the hallway where the window once covered was now rittled with broken shards of glass, some large, most small. Evan was on the ground, laying on and covered in the same glass.

"Aleksi, get out of the glass, you'll hurt yourself!", Wallace scolded. Nick and Trent rushed over and grabbed Aleksi by her arms, pulling her away from Evan. She tried to fight back, but to no avail.

"NO! I HAVE TO MAKE SURE HE'S OK!", Aleksi yelled, her voice nearly cracking from the strain. Milo rushed over to Evan's left while Wallace to his right. Both of the two made sure to not touch the glass.

"Milo, help me lift him up will you?", Wallace said. Milo nodded and slowly, the two lifted Evan up from the floor by his arms. His flat rimmed hat, which had come off when he was blasted through the window, laid motionless on the floor. Glass that was stuck to the PTA black shirt he changed into began to fall off, making a light noise as it fell to the floor. Milo and Wallace were relieved at first...until they saw the spots of blood on the floor.

Unfortunately for them, Aleksi saw this too.

"HE'S BLEEDING!", Aleksi yelled in shock. Wallace sighed.

"The glass cut his back up, honestly it's a good thing Bug Buzz weakened the windows, otherwise he would be in much worse condition", Wallace explained. Aleksi once again tried to pry herself free, but to no avail, Nick and Trent held on tight.

"EVAN! EVAN! PLEASE, SAY SOMETHING!", Aleksi yelled. Tears were now beginning to form in her eyes. She had still not quite recovered from the battle she had with him earlier, despite the nap. Her emotions here high from the lack of rest, and the stress of this sudden situation only made matters worse. However, she did get some relaxation, when Evan mumbled. None of the rebels were able to make out what he had said, so they kept silent, in case he spoke again.

"I guess, that's why they call it, a window pane", Evan said through gritted teeth. Milo and Wallace sighed heavily at the terrible pun. Aleksi smiled and nearly lost all energy in her body. Had Nick and Trent not been holding her, she would of fallen to the floor.

"He's fine", Riles said with a sigh, also finding the joke Evan said to be terrible.

"How you feelin' man?", Milo asked, showing concern for his friend. Evan smirked, although Milo could tell that he was in a bit of pain.

"Not too bad. I always wanted to know what it was like to be thrown through a glass window...don't think I want to try it again", Evan explained. Milo couldn't help but chuckle a little bit.

"Anything else you ever wanted to try?", Trent asked, trying to lighten the mood, but mostly just curious. Evan turned to him.

"Yeah, I always wondered what it would feel like to get shot. But I don't plan on having that happen anytime soon", Evan said with a chuckle. As he said this, Wallace slowly began to lift the back of Evan's shirt up, to see the damage. As expected, there were several cuts along his back, mostly vertical ones going down his back. All of them were bleeding, some more than others, but none were to the extreme. Wallace sighed.

"Alright, good. You need to get that checked up on, but you'll be fine", Wallace said. Evan chuckled.

"Of course I will be, I can't be in the medical wing when there's a ball to be had!", Evan said jokingly. Milo and Wallace lifted Evan to his feet. Though his back hurt from the cuts, and began to hurt even more from standing up straight, he still managed to hold himself up with his own power. He looked over to Aleksi with a smirk. "I'm sorry Aleksi, hope you don't mind dealing with me during the ball like this". Aleksi, who's tears were now beginning to slowly come out, could only nod with a smile. She then ran over to Evan and embraced him.

"Of course! I'm just glad you're alright!", Aleksi said. As soon as she wrapped her arms around him however, he winced in pain. Aleksi gasped and immediately released him, backing up a couple steps. "Oh my god! I'm so sorry!". She smacked herself mentally for immediately forgetting Evan's injury. Evan however, remained light-hearted over the matter and merely smiled.

"It's ok, I'm fine", Evan said. There was a moment's pause before Evan realized something, and turned to Aleksi, a more serious expression on his face. "What about Angel?".

As if on cue, Angel reached the door to the training room. Evan, Aleksi, and the other rebels turned to look at her. Sawyer and Brenna were by her side, Sawyer keeping a hand on Angel's shoulder as she stood there. Angel looked on with nothing on her face but shock. She couldn't believe that, in her panic and fear, she would have Ledyba do something so dangerous, and end up hurting one of the people she cared about most. She hurt him, blew him out of the room through a window. Evan and Aleksi looked at Angel, fear and concern spreading across their faces. They knew that this accident was something that would haunt her.

Angel looked to the ground, saw the broken glass, Evan's hat and burning cigarette on the floor, and saw the puddles of blood. Her eyes widened, her heart began to race, she felt cold sweats on her face and terrible thoughts ran through her head. She made Evan bleed, she injured him, one of her best friends, and she could of killed him. Tears began to form in her eyes. In her panic, in her fear, Angel could only think of one thing to do.

"Angel, listen, this isn't your", before Evan could finish, Angel bolted. She pulled away from Sawyer's grasp, and ran down the hall, sobbing uncontrollably as she did.

"Wait, Angel!", Aleksi yelled.

"Come back!", Sawyer threw in. All of the rebels in the hall could only watch on in concern as Angel ran away. She bolted down the hall, not slowing down, not turning around to see their faces, she just kept on running, tears sliding down her face as her feet pounded on the ground beneath her. Aleksi, watching her disappear in the distance, covered her mouth, tears almost forming for her as well. She turned and looked to Evan.

"Evan...", Aleksi said. Evan sighed.

"I know...we failed", Evan said. The rebels looked to them in confusion, although their comments were minor to their attention compared to everything else that had just transpired. "Listen, there's not much we can do for her now. Let's leave her alone for now. She needs time alone for this, she needs to let her emotions out, not let them build up inside of her. Afterwards, we'll talk to her. We can't let her think that this was her fault", Evan explained. Aleksi listened to him, and then nodded when he finished.

"Ok, if you're sure...", Aleksi said. Her concern for Angel was unmatched, but she knew that Evan knew what he was doing. She looked into his eyes, and she could see the same concern for the same girl. Evan nodded, and that was all Aleksi needed to know that he was right.

"In the meantime, you need to go to the medical wing and get patched up", Wallace said sternly. Evan sighed.

"Yeah, I guess we'll have to stop training for the day. Besides, people have to get ready for the ball and everything. As soon as I get patched up, I'll grab Angel and talk to her. I need to go and do some business in town anyway. I'll bring her along with me, help take her mind off of things", Evan said. Aleksi and the others nodded. Slowly, Wallace and Milo helped Evan walk down the hall, in the opposite direction from Angel. As they walked, they stepped on and crushed more glass that was on the ground. Riles walked back to the training room, to talk to the other rebels and let them know what was going on. Sawyer, Brenna, and Aleksi looked back down the hall where Angel had run, only to see emptiness. Angel had already ran upstairs.

Nick turned to see the girls. He knew that the three of them were concerned for the little girl, he was as well. But he also knew that she would be alright. Evan was right, she needed time to cool off, and that meant time alone. Slowly, he put his hand on Aleksi's shoulder. Aleksi turned to look at the boy, showing him the concern in his eyes. Nick gave her a gentle squeeze with his hand, showing that she would be alright, and that they should leave. With that, he nodded, and released her. He began to walk down the hall, following Evan, Wallace, and Milo. Trent shrugged and followed Nick as well, trying to avoid as much glass as he could in the process.

The girls watched as the boys left. They turned around, looking back down the hall to where Angel ran, hoping that they would see her again. Not to their surprise, she didn't appear. They then looked to each other, and then began to follow the boys. As they walked, Aleksi stopped momentarily. She bent down and gently picked up Evan's hat. She shook it off for a brief second to get any possible glass shards out of it, and then held it in her hand as she continued her walk. As the small group of rebels began to leave, on the ground, remained Evan's cigarette.

The cigarette, which had survived being soaked from Evan and Aleksi's battle, and then being thrown through the window, laid motionless on the ground. The tip of the cigarette was red, though the color was slowly fading. Without Evan there to give it life, it slowly began to lose it. As the rebels all left the area, the cigarette slowly began to smoke, until it died out altogether.

**AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAND DONE! :D I hope you all enjoyed the update! I apologize for the lateness, (as usual), what can I say? I've been busy working! Well, was the chapter what you expected? Probably not, in which case, GOOD! That was what I was going for! Angel is a character who is going through a lot, and I am building up her character while at the same time giving her challenges she must face constantly. Anyway, this marks the end of Evan's training, next chapter we will get into the small little plot holes I want to fill in, along with further development on some characters and some foreshadowing. As an Author's Note, I would like to say that there is a chance that an update to "Christmas The Sequel" might be in the works soon! I did make a promise to have a "Christmas in July" thing, but I never expected to be working so much. So I will see what I can do for that, don't hold your breath! As a final note, I would please like you all to send your prayers to those who list their lives in the terrible Aurora shooting in Colorado. I know I am a bit late for the mention, but better late than never. Please think of the families of the ones lost, and have them in your prayers. I appreciate it. Until next time my friends, this is EVAN AAML, saying to please be sure to F.A.R., check out my Twitter for updates, and until next time!**

**sincerely,  
evan, a fan of aaml -EVAN AAML**


	68. Chapter 68

**USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! Sorry folks, I am currently watching the Olympic games of London on t.v. and I LOVE it! I am a HUGE fan of sports, and the Olympics are the best of the best. It's something I always look forward to when they come on, and when they do come on, I am hooked instantly. I hope that all of my readers, fans, and friends are watching this as well, and rooting for their home country as I am now. In your reviews, why don't you tell me what your home country is and why you're rooting for them. :)**

**-EVAN AAML**

Time seemed to fly by since the incident occurred. It was close to mid afternoon now, and everyone was taking the time to relax or prepare for the ball that would come tomorrow. The rebels, although distracted with talks about who they would take to the ball, what they would wear, and what they would do, still seemed to discuss about Angel under hushed tone. Word never spread about the unfortunate suicide that took place earlier, due to Ash's insistence of keeping it under wraps to so as to not scare the rebels. However, he wasn't able to stop the spread of the discussions with Angel's panic and Evan's injuries.

Aleksi, Sawyer, and all the other rebels who were there when it happened did what they could to try to stop people from talking about it, but they could only do so much. They had not seen Angel since she ran off, and grew more and more concerned for her. They took to Evan's advice in leaving her alone for the time being, but this did not quell their worry. Angel was young, someone at her age could be affected by even the smallest of jeers. With so much on the line for her, the pressure was on. Aleksi and the others feared that this pressure, could be the end of her.

Many people felt pressure to win, pressure to do well in front of their peers, their friends and family. Since they were fighting for peace, losing was not an option. It was because of this that Angel felt outcast to everyone else. She felt as if she was making mistake after mistake, mistakes that could cost one of her friends their life. She almost cost them the victory at New Island, and now she could have put Evan out of commission for their upcoming battle in Veridian. How could someone who made so many mistakes be useful in their mission to save the world from Team Rocket? Would anyone be able to rely on her?

Did they have a choice?

Angel sat in the medical wing, looking on the floor as her feet dangled just above it. They kicked back and forth slowly, gently, as she was lost in thought. People walked passed her, most in a hurry, some taking their time to look at the girl and whisper things to one another. Angel heard every word. Most were not said in pity, none in anger or spite, but she knew better. She knew that each person had less and less respect for her.

She felt relieved to a point that no one had tried to approach her or even talk to her. Though a small part of her wished someone would ask if she was ok, most of her wished that everyone would leave her alone. She didn't know if Aleksi and the others didn't come for her because they didn't know where she was, or if they were purposely avoiding her; and at the moment, she didn't care.

But if she wanted to be left alone, why was she there?

She was beating herself between her options. Part of her wanted to run someplace alone and away from people, sit in a corner and just die. Another part of her wanted to approach people, apologize for what she had done and promise to make it up to each and every one of them. And another part of her wanted to simply leave the PTA, so that she wouldn't disappoint anyone ever again. Regardless, she wanted to apologize to at least one person, one person, and then maybe she would leave.

It was then that the door to a small medical examination room opened. Angel looked up to see the door handle being pushed towards her, and then saw the face of a young adult step passed the door. This adult was still wearing the same outfit he was wearing when Angel blasted him through a window and cut his back up from the glass. Evan just so happened to glance to the seat behind the door and saw the young girl catch his eyes. He raised an eyebrow, legitimately surprised to see her there.

"Angel?", Evan said. Angel felt an odd sensation in the way he said her name. Immediately, she regretted even waiting for him to appear. She could tell that he was angry, that he was hurting from the injuries that she had given him, and that he didn't want to speak to her. She looked back down onto the floor, tears threatening to come out. It was to her surprise then, when Evan released the door and stepped in front of her, bending down as low as he could without getting his knees on the floor.

"Hey, what's wrong?", Evan asked sincerely, a small smile on his face. Angel looked at him, though she wished she didn't. She seemed confused, how could he be smiling after what she did to him?

"What's wrong?...are you serious?", Angel asked, shocked and even somewhat angered. Evan couldn't help but give a slight chuckle.

"Yeah, I suppose I should of expected that huh?", Evan said, looking down momentarily. He then looked back up to the little girl. "Listen, Angel".

"I'M SORRY!", Angel suddenly yelled. Evan was taken aback by the sudden outburst. Tears began to form in the girl's eyes, she cursed herself for once again appearing weak in front of the much stronger rebels, but she couldn't help herself. She put her hands to her face and cried more, unable to control herself any longer. "I SCREWED UP, I KNOW! I'M SO SORRY! I CAN'T HELP MYSELF! I'M JUST NOT READY FOR THIS! I'M NOT READY FOR ANY OF THIS!".

Evan put his hands on Angel's shoulders and held her gently but firmly. Angel struggled for a moment, but her loose emotions prevented much of a challenge.

"Hey, hey, it's ok sweetie, really!", Evan said reassuringly. Angel shook her head, the tears not stopping at all.

"No! It's not!", Angel said. Though she was no longer yelling, she was as emotional as ever. She almost seemed to be shaking, as if she was terrified. She looked at Evan now, her face red from emotion. "I am nothing but a screw up Evan! That's all I've done since I joined you all! I made so many mistakes on New Island, and I hurt you! I am so sorry Evan, I know you must want to never forgive me!".

"Angel, what makes you think that? I was never angry at you, not once", Evan said. Angel looked at him, confusion in her tear filled eyes. "I knew that it was an accident Angel, accidents happen! I don't blame a single bit of what happened on you! And I'm alright anyway, see? Here, tap it". Evan turned his body around so that his back was facing Angel. She looked at him, filled with skepticism but mostly fear. Evan smirked. "Really, it's ok, go ahead". Angel was still not certain, but eventually reached her hand out and touched his back. Evan didn't so much as flinch.

"You see? Nothing. Really they weren't even big cuts. I'll be fine", Evan said as he turned back around to face the little girl. Although she was relieved that Evan was alright, this still did not take away from the fact that she was the one that put him in this position to begin with. Had it not been for her, he wouldn't have cut his back up at all. If it weren't for her, a lot of bad things wouldn't have happened.

"But Evan...", Angel began. She was cut off.

"No buts Angel", Evan said. He then put a hand to Angel's chin, raising it up slightly. Angel's tears were now dripping down her face from the constant stream. Evan smiled. "Angel, what you have to remember is, you're twelve years old. _Twelve_! You are the youngest person in the _entire _PTA! Do you know what _I _was doing at twelve? Watching Pokémon at the Safari Zone. That's it. You have already done so much, things that even most adults on this planet wouldn't have done. Mistakes are bound to happen to anyone, that's why we learn from them to make ourselves better", Evan explained.

"Evan, I've made mistake after mistake! I try to learn from the ones I make, but it doesn't change that I just can't do this!", Angel said.

"You're wrong", someone suddenly stated. Both Angel and Evan turned towards the door where Evan had come out of. The door was long closed by now, and approaching them from down the hall was Ash. Sitting on his shoulder, as usual, was Pikachu. None of the two knew how long he had been listening in on them, if at all. He stopped when he was only a couple of feet away from the rebels and looked down at Angel. It was clear that he was concerned for Angel, but his eyes did not show the same sympathy as Evan's did. His eyes showed something more, as if he had been here before.

"Anyone can do anything their heart desires. If you believe in yourself, and put your heart into everything that you do, then you can accomplish anything. The second you begin to doubt yourself, then you've already lost", Ash explained. Evan looked back to Angel with a nod.

"He's right Angel. Believing in yourself is the key to any victory. You have a determination unmatched by anyone here to better yourself as a rebel and as a person. You train harder and harder each day. All you need to do is believe that you can do it", Evan stated. Angel was still crying by this point, however it had slowed down since.

"But...people say different. I know, I'm only a child to them, and that I can't do a lot of things that they can do. It's just...overwhelming. I want to save my parents, I want to help you guys, I want world peace...but maybe...this is too much for me to handle. I don't think I _can _do this", Angel said. Ash stepped forward now. Evan stood up and stepped back as Ash took his spot and looked at Angel. He bent down much like Evan did, looking at Angel intently. Pikachu looked at her as well, his eyes showing sympathy for the young girl.

"Don't ever let someone tell you that you can't do something. Not even me. You got a dream. You _got _to protect it. People can't do something themselves, they want to tell you that you can't do it. You want something, go get it. Period", Ash stated. Angel's eyes grew wide in shock. She couldn't believe that Ash would speak like this to her. It was then that she could tell, that Ash _was _here before.

She had forgotten about Ash's dreams, about how he had wanted to become a Pokémon Master. And then when he took over as the head of the PTA, there was even more pressure put on him. She felt that her pressure was immense, but she must have been nothing compared to the pressure Ash was currently facing. And yet, despite the years and years of this stress, he always kept his cool. Maybe he was right? Maybe there was a point in what he was telling her after all.

"Angel, you have been through so much in the past few days. Most people would of given up by now, but you're still here. You have dreams, you have goals, and you want to get to them. There may be times when things get tough, when you're back is to the wall and you think that you're alone. But you have it in yourself to be able to do whatever you want. You can achieve a greatness that no one else here can. You have what it takes to save your parents...you have what it takes, to save the world", Evan explained.

Angel could do nothing more but stare at the two young adults. Both of them smiled as Ash stood up, Pikachu giving Angel a thumbs up with a positive "Pikachu!". Angel felt something, like a twitch in her body. It was small at first, barely noticeable, but it was there. Slowly but surely, it grew and grew. She knew what this feeling was, but she was so unused to it, that it somewhat surprised her. This feeling that surged through her body and gave her a feeling of something more, something that she wished for all this time.

Confidence.

For the first time in what felt like years, a smile crossed her face. Her tears still covered her face, but these were tears of old, no more new ones formed. Ash and Evan watched as Angel wiped her face with her dress and then looked back to them, a new confidence filling her.

"Angel!", someone called out. Angel, Evan, and Ash turned towards the other side of the hall to see Aleksi approaching them. It was clear that she was still worried for her "little sister", as her pace towards them was quickened as soon as Angel caught her eyes. She immediately rushed to her side, but suddenly stopped. She looked at Angel, and then at Evan, as if she was uncertain of what to do. Evan could see the apprehension, and smiled.

"It's ok, we were just talking", Evan said. Angel nodded.

"Yeah, I'm feeling much better now", Angel explained. Aleksi sighed heavily in relief and immediately sat next to Angel to give her a hug. Angel quickly hugged her back tightly. Evan couldn't help but smile at the sight of the two girls, as did Ash and Pikachu.

"You have no idea how worried I was for you Angel!", Aleksi said while still hugging her. Angel tightened her grip on Aleksi. Angel felt that, no matter what would happen, Aleksi would always be there for her when she needed it.

"Thank you", Angel whispered, trying to fight back more tears. Ash and Evan remained silent, not wanting to interrupt the moment between the two. They understood the importance behind it, and didn't want to ruin it for them. When the two finally separated, Evan stepped forward.

"So Angel, I need to go into town to pick up some things, would you like to come with me?", Evan asked. Angel, Aleksi, and even Ash looked at him in bewilderment.

"Yeah, you mentioned that earlier Evan, what do you have to pick up?", Aleksi asked, curious. Evan smirked.

"Wouldn't you like to know?", Evan asked. Aleksi gave him a scowl. Ash turned to Evan, his expression showing concern.

"Listen Evan, I don't need to tell you how risky it is to go outside the base. I won't stop you, but you know what you should and shouldn't do", Ash warned. Evan turned to Ash with a nod.

"I know. But don't worry, I'll have Angel backing me up, right?", Evan asked, turning to Angel with a wink. Angel, feeling much better now due to the pep talk, nodded with a smile and a giggle.

"You bet!", Angel said. Evan gave a thumbs up in return. Aleksi stood up abruptly from the chair and looked at Evan with a glare, she was not finished with him. Her curiosity was getting to her, and she was still annoyed at Evan's insistence of not telling her exactly what they were going to do.

"Well maybe I want to come too! You can't stop me!", Aleksi pointed out. Evan was going to counter her, but Ash stepped in.

"Actually Aleksi, I was meaning to talk to you about something. I'll need your help with something important, sorry", Ash explained. Aleksi looked puzzled, and somewhat disappointed. But Ash's expression told her that this was not something small or pointless, he really did need her help.

"My help?", Aleksi asked. Ash merely nodded in response. Aleksi looked to Evan and Angel, sighed, and then turned to Ash. "Alright, I'll stay and help". Evan smirked.

"Don't worry, you'll find out soon enough what we're getting anyway, it's nothing too important", Evan said. He then turned to face Angel. "I'll just get changed and then we'll be off. I talked to a few of the guys and they said that they want to come too, hope you don't mind". Angel shook her head.

"No, not at all", Angel said. Evan smiled.

"Alright, good. Let's get going then. We'll see you all later!", Evan said, turning around and waving goodbye. Angel hopped off of the chair and followed close behind. The two walked down the hall, passing Aleksi in the process. Aleksi watched as they walked away, and then turned to face Ash.

"So what was it that you needed my help with?", Aleksi asked. Ash took a step closer to Aleksi, so that the two were only a couple of feet away from each other. He put his hands in his pockets, a sign of him in deep thought. Pikachu turned to look at its trainer, knowing that whatever he was going to talk about was about business.

"Do you remember at the meeting, when we needed information, but couldn't get it since Ryoto wasn't there?", Ash asked. Aleksi nodded. "Well, when I heard that he had left the infirmary, I went to go talk to him. After I found out that he went to training, I left to go and find him. It just so happened that when I got there that Evan had his accident, and the training ended. So I talked to Ryoto about the information we needed on the base. However, we came to a problem".

"What problem?", Aleksi asked.

"Even the highest ranked of Rockets don't get to see every part of a base. Giovanni is so paranoid that he is probably one of the few people on the planet who knows the layout of the base like the back of his hand. This means that there were parts of the base where Ryoto never even got to see. Plus, since the bounty was put on his head, Team Rocket has made some modifications to their base", Ash explained.

"That means that the base could be entirely different from what Ryoto remembers", Aleksi said.

"Exactly", Ash said.

"So then, what do you want me to do?", Aleksi asked.

"Until we know the entire layout of the base, we can't afford to attack it. You are one of the best rebels in the PTA, you always find a way to get what we need. What I need you to do, is get blue prints of the layout of the Veridian base. I don't care how you do it, but do it soon", Ash said. Aleksi looked at Ash with some shock. Ash was always someone who planned out everything, he never did something if he didn't know every little detail. Him giving her permission to get the blue prints anyway necessary showed her that he was desperate, a trait that she wasn't even aware that Ash could have.

"So then, can I count on you to get the blue prints?", Ash asked. Aleksi looked down to the ground, deep in thought. She always found a way to get what the PTA asked of her, but the short time frame and the increase in Rocket security in the area meant that there would be no way she could do this alone.

However, there was someone who could help her.

Aleksi hated the idea of it, she was hoping to never have to rely on _him _for anything. But she knew that if anyone could get what she was looking for, it would be him. She could probably get the information she needed by tomorrow if she started right now, but there was some hesitation in wanting to.

"Yes, I can get it", Aleksi said. Ash raised an eyebrow to the way she said this. He could tell that she was not pleased over something, but what it was and why he hadn't a clue.

During this, Angel patiently waited for Evan and the others. Evan had told her to wait at the garage, since they would be taking a car into town. Although she still didn't know what it was they were going to get, Angel was still excited. She didn't like staying in the base for most of the day, and anything that would help take her mind off of what she did to Evan and her other mistakes would be greatly appreciated. As she waited, Milo was still working on his cars. Since training was postponed, he has been doing what he loves, repairing the many vehicles in the garage.

Angel sat in a wheeled office chair that was stationed at a small desk not too far from the door that led into the base. The desk was littered with vehicle layouts and some small car parts that Angel did not recognize. She spun in the chair to the left and right as she watched Milo work under the same sports car that he was under when Angel first met him. The car was lifted slightly off of the ground by a few jacks, which allowed Milo to slide under the low car with a wheeled cart. He stopped momentarily to look at Angel.

"So, when are you and Evan leaving?", Milo asked. He was not annoyed that Angel was waiting in the garage, and had no problems with the younger girl. But she preferred working on cars alone, and it felt odd to him that someone would be watching him, especially a girl who was too young for him. Angel looked to him and shrugged.

"I don't know. He said that he had to change out of his PTA clothes, and he's probably grabbing the other guys that are coming, so I'm not sure how long he will be", Angel replied. Milo sighed in a slightly annoyed way and pulled himself out from under the car. His white muscle shirt was covered in more oil and grease, as were his jeans and boots. He wiped his hands off of a dirty white rag attached to his belt and then opened the hood to the car. He looked inside at the engine of the car to see what he could work on.

"Figures, Evan can be quick if he wanted to, but he never wants to", Milo stated. Angel felt a little bit hurt that Milo didn't want her around. She thought back to training, how she had been knocked unconscious easily by Darrel, and how she got easily flustered battling Aleksi and ended up hurting Evan. She wondered how many people looked at her as a nuisance now. Milo must have sensed that Angel was feeling offended, for he spoke up again. "Listen, it's no offense to you Angel, I'm just not used to company like you", Milo stated. He truly felt bad, but he did not know how to talk to kids well. Angel however merely scoffed with a sly grin.

"Let me guess, you're used to girls a lot older and prettier than me?", Angel asked. Milo couldn't help but smile with the slyest of smiles and chuckle.

"Yeah, I guess so", Milo said.

"So then, who do you want to take to the ball Milo?", Angel asked. Milo pulled himself out of the hood of the car and leaned back into it, thinking.

"That's a tough one little girl. I mean, any lady here would be lucky to be able to go with me, but I can't just pick any ol' girl. I have to pick _the _girl", Milo said. He thought for a moment. "Tell me, do you know which girls are already taken?". Angel now tried to think.

"Hmm, well, I know that Aleksi and Sawyer both have dates", Angel said. Milo shook his head.

"I saw that coming, oh well, guess they lose out on a wonderful chance", Milo stated. Angel continued.

"And I'm guessing that Misty will go with Ash, and May will go with Drew. But as far as I know, everyone else is open", Angel finished. Milo grinned.

"So that leaves pretty much every other girl in the base open. I have plenty of chances!", Milo said. Angel sweatdropped and chuckled nervously.

"Hehe, yeah, I guess so", Angel said. Just then, the door opened, and Evan appeared. He wore his usual attire this time, the white unbuttoned shirt with the yellow undershirt and baggy blue jeans. The blood was no longer there, which Angel was thankful for. He stepped down the few steps as Mathinza, Brian, and Hunter, (who was off his crutches now, but used a metal handled cane to help walk), followed close behind. These must have been the guys who wanted to come as well. Evan approached Angel with a smile on his face and an unlit cigarette in his mouth.

"So, you ready to go Angel?", Evan asked. Angel jumped off of the chair with a smile and nodded.

"You bet!", Angel said. Evan then turned to look at Milo.

"Hey Milo, which car should we take?", Evan asked. Milo looked around the garage.

"Well, you got five people with you, so you'll need a bigger car. Ash said that we're not allowed to take the Professor's vans again because Rockets might recognize it. You can probably take one of the jeep down there", Milo said, pointing towards the farther end of the garage. There were a couple jeeps in the garage, all of them roughly the same. Evan nodded.

"Sounds good to me", Evan said. Milo walked away from the sports car and over to the table where Angel was sitting at. Above the table was a closed metal cabinet. He opened the cabinet and inside were several hooks, which held the keys to all of the vehicles. He looked for a moment before pulling off one of the key rings and tossing it to Evan, who caught it easily.

"Take the black one, it doesn't have any marks on it that will trace it to Prof. Oak", Milo stated. Evan nodded.

"Alright, thanks. Let's get going!", Evan said. Angel and the others walked towards the end of the garage and opened the doors to the jeep. Evan got into the driver's seat while Brian sat in the passenger seat. Mathinza, Hunter, and Angel sat in the back seat of the jeep, with Angel being in the middle, Mathinza behind Evan, and Hunter behind Brian. The jeep had a canvas over the jeep, but it was something that could be removed if they wanted it to be. It reminded Angel of the jeeps she rode in on New Island as they escaped the base, it was only missing the large "R". Evan and Brian rolled down the windows as Evan started the engine.

Milo opened the garage door and waved goodbye as Evan began to drive off. Angel turned and waved goodbye back as they pulled out of the driveway and down the small winding road. Angel looked to the forest that surrounded them. She was having flashbacks to when she was leaving the base two nights ago, when it was dark out and she could barely see anything. She was sitting next to Jonny at that point, and reflected once again to her friend who had died. She turned and looked at Hunter, who sat in the same spot that Jonny sat in in their jeep. She sighed. Hunter, who saw this, looked at Angel with some confusion.

"You alright Angel?", Hunter asked. Like Milo, Hunter was not used to dealing with children, and felt somewhat awkward with her spacing out staring at him. He was friends with Angel, and respected someone as young and innocent as her being in the PTA, but still did not know how to talk to her. Angel shook out of her trance.

"Huh? Oh, no. Sorry, I was just...thinking", Angel said. Evan, who had heard Angel, looked back to her from the rear view mirror.

"What about Angel?", Evan asked.

"I...don't think I should bring it up", Angel said.

"If it's about what happened to Evan, it's alright Angel, we know that it was an accident", Brian said. Brian was not there when this all went down, but had heard about it from rebels at the training session. He felt bad for Angel having to deal with something like that. Angel however shook her head.

"No, it's not that. I feel terrible about that, but that's not what I was thinking about", Angel said. A part of her wanted to talk openly about her thoughts, but for the most part, she was nervous about the responses that people would give, and afraid that they wouldn't be able to help. The truth was, she had trouble dealing with the deaths of her friends. She tried to push the feelings aside, especially when so many of her other friends were recovering from near death injuries. But in light of Vanessa's suicide, she began to debate whether bottling it up was truly the best idea.

"It's alright Angel, you can talk about it if you want", Mathinza stated, looking at the young girl. Angel turned and looked at the skinny teenager. She recalled when Mathinza opened up to her about the deaths of Serena and the rest of his family, and what it did to him. But then she remembered how it had really helped him to let it all out. Maybe talking about it more openly would in fact help her.

"Well...I was thinking...back to a couple of days ago...", Angel said. The rebels knew that this was about New Island, but what exactly they were not sure. Angel then turned back and looked to Hunter. "When we were leaving for New Island...Jonny sat beside me like you are now". The others understood then what was on her mind, and sighed. Brian was also in the car with Angel and Jonny, and understood what she was going through. Jonny was someone who everyone seemed to get along with, he had that effect on people.

"Angel, dealing with a death is never an easy thing. Everyone handles it differently, and some people need time to cope with the loses. Everyone lost so many friends only two days ago, some of us will take weeks, months to recover from a loss like that. I'm still coping from my father's loss, and that was several months ago", Evan explained.

"There are people you can talk to inside the PTA Angel, we have grief counselors, people who can help you. And you have us", Mathinza explained. Angel nodded, but looked to the floor of the jeep.

"I know, it's just hard to bring it up", Angel said.

"It's never something easy", Evan said. There was a moment of silence before Evan spoke again. "Listen, later today, is the memorial service for those who died in the New Island mission. It'll be outside on Prof. Oak's land. We're trying to keep it low-key so as to avoid attention, but you should come Angel...it might do you some good". Angel had not heard about this memorial service going on, probably because, like Evan said, they wanted it low-key. But if anything would help her, this would be it. She wanted to pay her respects to those who gave their lives so she could save her parents.

"...Ok, that sounds good", Angel said. Evan nodded.

"Alright", Evan replied back. The group remained silent for a while longer while Evan drove the jeep. They had made it to the main roads of Pallet by this time and were going through the small town. As usual, there was nothing much going on. The sun was shining brightly in the sky and there was a nice breeze going through the windows, blowing Angel's hair around. Her ponytail bobbed up and down as they drove over the unpaved roads. Occasionally, they would spot a Pallet Town citizen walking about or working in their yards. They would wave at the rebels, knowing who they were. Despite the paranoia the rebels had in the car, they were shocked to see that there appeared to be no Rockets anywhere. Either Pallet Town was not a spot of importance to them,

or they were in hiding.

Hunter, having enough of the silence, sighed in annoyance. He lightly tapped the back of Brian's headrest with his cane to get his attention.

"Hey, do you mind turning on the radio, I can't stand all this quiet", Hunter said. Evan couldn't help but chuckle.

"You'd never be able to live in a place like Pallet Town", Evan said. Brian, Mathinza, and Angel laughed as Brian turned the radio on. At first, it was nothing but static. Brian turned the dial to the radio to try to find a station that came in. Pallet Town was so small, that it didn't have its own radio stations, and was not near any towers to speak of. It didn't matter much anyway, since all radio stations were controlled by Team Rocket anyway. However, as Brian continued to turn the stations, something caught his attention. It was the first thing that wasn't static, so Brian stopped turning the station. It appeared at first to be a radio talk show. Evan, hearing the voice, grew a large smile.

"No way!", Evan said. The rebels turned to him, confused.

"What is it?", Angel asked. Evan slowly turned the radio up.

"This is the anti-Rocket pirate station!", Evan explained.

"No kidding? I haven't heard him in awhile!", Brian said. Angel raised an eyebrow.

"There's a anti-Rocket station?", Angel asked.

"I didn't even know that", Mathinza said.

"The radio host is actually a friend of mine, we grew up together in Fuchsia City. He was always a big fan of music and radio, always wanted to become a famous rapper. When Team Rocket took over, he fled, and created Kanto's only radio station not under Rocket control. He's hidden in the woods somewhere, so Team Rocket can't find him. And his radio waves are altered so they can't get a fix on them. He manages to take over a random station during random times so that it's hard to catch a pattern. He always talks about things that the PTA and other rebel groups have done, boosts moral, and plays anti-Rocket music", Evan explained.

"Well in that case, turn that sucker up!", Hunter said with a smile on his face. Anyone who hated Team Rocket was a friend of Hunter's. Brian turned it up, just loud enough so that they could hear it without others outside hearing it as well.

"Welcome back everyone! It's DJ Peace here on the Kanto airwaves! As always, I'm here safe and sound from Team Rocket's clutches, and I'm gonna stay here and give you all updates on what's been going on in the world that's making us closer to freedom! Some of my sources confirmed for me that the attack on New Island two days ago was in fact a PTA job, you heard it here first! I won't give away too much so that the PTA don't get stopped, but word is they orchestrated the assault and took action! The array, which was brought down within hours of the attack, is currently trying to be constructed again by Team Rocket. The Island and the miles of sea around it are on severe lock down, but word is they are having a lot of trouble with the repair work, GOOD!", the DJ said. Hunter laughed.

"HA! I like this guy!", Hunter said with a chuckle.

"I'd like to give a shout out to my friends in the PTA, I won't say their names for safety, but they know who they are!". Evan smirked at the comment, he knew that his friend was talking about him along with others. "Here's a new rap I came up with a week ago, ready for its world wide premiere! Hope you all enjoy!", DJ Peace stated. There was a pause before suddenly, music began to play. It was upbeat and began to build up and up.

"Well, I'm glad there are people out there besides us who are keeping people hopeful", Mathinza said. Angel smiled, she was also glad that there were people out there, letting people know that Team Rocket isn't all mighty, and that there are people out there who was fighting for freedom. She remained quiet as the rap began.

"At least, if I die, I'll know...that I did what I was free to do...what about you?".

**I hope you all enjoyed the quick update! I had some free time, and wanted to get this out as soon as possible. :) I am having some issues updating "Christmas The Sequel", so we'll see how that comes along. I'm also still, as always, busy working, so my apologies for that. I know that it seems like the events of the last chapter were ended abruptly in this one, but I wanted to move on with the rest of the story so that we can get to the ball. Worry not, there will be more to come with Angel's recoveries. On some good notes, fan-fiction has FINALLY brought back their spell checker, and updated it at that, making it very nice! I am using it on this chapter to see how well it works. If it works well, then it will save me and a lot more people the trouble of having to find other spell checkers! **

**Also, as stated above, the Olympics are on. And I would like to hear what you think about them, along with what teams you're rooting for. But also be aware that I am making my OWN Olympics! That's right, my friend lulu halulu, (a native of Canada), and I have been having some "differences" in opinion as to who is better, Team USA or Team Canada. So, we are having our OWN Olympic battle on Twitter! So choose your sides now ladies and gentlemen, EVAN AAML and Team USA, or lulu halulu and Team Canada! ONLY THE BEST SHALL PREVAIL! (*note, this is not to be taken seriously, the REAL Olympics should be). (*double note, that being said, I will still win lulu! :P). Anyway, I hope you loved the update, please be sure to F.A.R., check out my Twitter account, and I will see you all next time!**

**sincerely,  
evan, a fan of aaml -EVAN AAML**


	69. Chapter 69

**Welcome back everyone! I am glad to see that everyone is liking the more recent updates as of late. Let me tell you, it's NOT easy! I am trying to update "Christmas The Sequel", but I am finding it difficult to do so, so my apologies as I continue to work on that. I should also be trying to work on the update for "The Alphabet Game", I'll see what I can do for that. Not much else to mention in this, the Olympics have come and gone, as well as one of MY favorite specials of all time, SHARK WEEK! So I suppose I have nothing more to watch for a while, but here's the update you've all been waiting for! :D**

**-EVAN AAML**

As the jeep rolled over the stone and dirt roads of Pallet, the rebels inside looked out to see the countryside. The people were all hard at work in the fields or in their gardens. Occasionally, small Pokémon such as Pidgey or Rattata would be seen enjoying the nice weather. Angel looked on in wonder. How could it be that, in a world torn by war and overrun by a dictatorship, there could be a place so peaceful? It was almost as if Team Rocket didn't exist in this town. The only signs of Rockets anywhere were the occasional Team Rocket propaganda poster displayed on town signs, and even they were weather worn and aged. Pallet Town was proof to Angel that there were people who refused to let Team Rocket affect their everyday lives. And if one small town like Pallet could live this way, then everyone could.

The pirate radio station had since been stopped, and the radio turned off so as to avoid hearing more Rocket talk. Evan explained that DJ Peace could not stay on any radio station for too long for fear of having his location discovered. Angel was slightly disappointed that the one radio station that gave people support was so short and not always guaranteed to be on, but she understood the reasons behind it. Since the car was for the most part silent, Angel decided to speak up to get conversation going.

"Hey Evan, you never told me what it was we were going to get in town", Angel said. Evan smiled, and Angel could swear that there was a blush hidden on his face, but it was hard to tell due to the sun shining down on it.

"Well, we decided that we were going to pick up corsages for our dates for the ball", Evan explained. Angel sighed.

"Aww! That's so sweet Evan!", Angel said with a smile. The boys all chuckled and picked on Evan for the comment, to which Evan brushed off. Angel turned to look at the other boys. "So who are you all going with if you're getting corsages as well?".

"Well, I'm going with Ashley. I happened to bump into her right after she got out of the E.R. to go to training. I couldn't go since I was working on something for the Veridian attack, but I asked her if she wanted to go with me, and she agreed", Brian explained. Angel smiled, glad to see that the two both had dates. The ball was something meant for fun, people didn't need to be a couple to go together. While Angel wanted people like Evan and Aleksi to go together, she was just happy that her friends had other friends to go with. Angel then turned to Mathinza.

"And what about you?", Angel asked.

"Hehe, honestly, I haven't asked anyone yet...little bit shy to", Mathinza said. The guys all began to laugh out loud, which caused Mathinza to blush. "Oh shut it! I'll get a date, I just don't know when is all". Angel gave Mathinza a reassuring pat on the leg.

"Don't worry Mathinza, you'll get a date", Angel said. Brian turned his head back just enough to look at Hunter behind him.

"Hey Hunter, didn't you say you were going with Catie?", Brian asked. Hunter nodded, though there were some signs of annoyance in his expressions.

"Yeah. Not like I had the chance to ask anyone to it anyway! Catie was the one put in charge of putting me through physical therapy, so she's the only girl I ever get to really talk to. And she asked me anyway", Hunter said.

"Really?", Evan said, genuinely shocked.

"I'm surprised, I thought she got annoyed by you Hunter...no offense", Angel said, realizing the harsh words she had just said. Hunter shrugged it off.

"I guess she likes a handful of trouble", Hunter said with a grin and chuckle. Everyone in the jeep laughed. Soon enough, Evan spotted what they were looking for.

"Ah, there's the town's little flower shop!", Evan said. Everyone in the jeep looked and could see the small building ahead of them. It stood alone for the most part, as did many of the little shops in town. It was made of stone and was covered in ivy leaves and vines. It had small square windows and a chimney stack that rose to the sky. Connected to the house was a small greenhouse, where the flowers were stored. In terms of flower shops it wasn't very big, but it was quaint, and probably had what they were looking for.

"It's weird, Pallet Town seems so much bigger than it really is once you go through it", Angel said. Brian nodded.

"Yeah, I know what you mean. A lot of the rebels here have never had the chance to really look around. Pallet Town isn't big in terms of population or things to do, but it's got a lot of land for a small town, and there are a few surprises here", Brian explained. Evan drove the jeep into the parking lot and then turned the engine off. Everyone in the jeep stepped out and closed the doors.

The door to the little flower shop was green and wooden with a gold-colored door handle. The flower shop was decorated to look like an old English Tudor. Evan approached the door and knocked on it. There was a moment's pause before the door opened. A beautiful young woman stood at the door. She was older than Evan and the others, but looked like she could be their age. It reminded Angel of Mrs. Ketchum. She had long brown hair that reached below her shoulders and bright green eyes. She stood relatively tall and had a beautiful smile on her face. She wore a white apron with a green button up shirt under it, (the sleeves were rolled up). She also wore a long tan skirt and black slip on shoes.

"Hello, and welcome to the Pallet Town Flower Shop! I have to say, it's not common to get shoppers here", the woman said with a smile and a giggle. Evan smiled.

"I could imagine", Evan said. The woman stepped aside as everyone entered the home. There was a wooden table in front of them, probably where she worked for the most part. On this table was a cash register and some papers, along with little note cards; probably for those who wanted to write notes with their flowers. Behind this table was another wooden table, which had pots and vases along with some flowers. She was probably making a bouquet before they arrived.

"So, is there anything I can help you with?", the woman asked politely. Before the men could reply, Angel took in a deep whiff of the building and smiled.

"It smells so nice in here!", Angel stated. The guys, not expecting the random statement, turned around with quizzical looks on their faces. The flower shop girl giggled, covering her mouth as she did so.

"I get that a lot. Why don't you go and visit the garden, you'll get to smell all the flowers we sell", the shop owner said. Angel smiled.

"Sure!", Angel said. The shop owner pointed to a white door that was to the left of the outside door. It was a screen door with a glass window attached to it.

"Right out that door is the garden, feel free to look around", the shop owner said. Angel walked over and opened the door. She stepped inside the greenhouse, closed the door behind her, turned, and gasped. The greenhouse was adapted to look more like a secret garden than a greenhouse. The town that Angel grew up in had a flower shop as well, but their greenhouse was just that. All it had was shelves with flowers on it. This one however was nicely decorated and had their flowers set as if they were a part of the "garden" itself. Angel walked down the stone steps and onto the floor. The floor was made of pebbles with stone slates placed accordingly for a walkway. All spots that had flowers were soil.

Angel looked around, making sure to take in the different smells of the different flowers. So many different aromas hit her that she found it difficult to tell which was which. Since she was raised on a berry farm, and since her mother worked as a trainer at the Celadon Gym, she was used to plants and flowers being in her life. She looked around and tried to see if there were any flowers she recognized. As she did, she stopped by a small little pond. It was clearly artificial, but made to look natural. There was a little rock that sprouted water into the pond, like a small babbling brook. In the pond were lilies, which floated lazily on the water's surface.

Angel bent down to look at the flowers, but as she did, she spotted something odd. There was a small patch of grass in front of the pond, but in the grass were five tall leaves that just stuck out of the ground. It appeared to be a weed of some kind, but Angel found it odd that there would be weeds in a greenhouse. She touched the leaves gently, wondering if it was a non-flowering plant. To her shock, as soon as she did this, the leaves moved! She gasped as suddenly, the leaves began to shake back and forth. The ground began to move, though only slightly. Before Angel knew it, a small blue ball popped out of the ground.

"Oddish!", the Pokémon exclaimed. Angel giggled. She should have known that it was a grass Pokémon.

"Well hello there!", Angel said with a smile. The Oddish, skiddish at first, merely looked at her. But seeing Angel's smiling face and non-threatening demeanor, it smiled and hopped up and down.

"Oddish! Oddish!", Oddish yelled. Angel giggled more. She always seemed to have a way with Pokémon, even to a point of almost understanding what they were saying. Such a thing was considered impossible, but there have been cases where people seemed to have a connection with Pokémon. Ash and Pikachu were such an example.

"So then, you must be the flower shop keeper's Oddish, are you the protector of the secret garden here?", Angel asked. Oddish smiled and waved its leaves around, a probable yes. Angel giggled more.

"Well then, I suppose you wouldn't mind showing me around huh?", Angel asked. Oddish gave her a salute with one of its leaves and then merrily walked along the path, Angel following. The Oddish waddled down the path of slate stones, its leafy head bouncing as it did so. Angel looked around the garden with awe and curiosity. Most of the flowers looked wet, a sign that the flower shop owner had just watered them. The room was very warm and humid, giving her a feeling of relaxation and peace. All of the flowers looked untouched, as if despite what was going on outside in the real world, nothing would change this room.

Thinking about it made Angel seem happier, as if Team Rocket couldn't make _everything _worse.

Though the "tour" was brief, it did give Angel enough time to see the entire garden. Oddish clearly was not used to visitors, as it probably hid when people came to purchase flowers. However, it enjoyed being with Angel, and she in turn enjoyed being with it. As Oddish brought Angel back to the front of the garden, Angel smiled and bent down to its level.

"Thank you Oddish for the tour, I really liked it!", Angel said with a smile. Oddish smiled back.

"Oddish!", Oddish exclaimed. Angel giggled. Suddenly, the sound of a door opening echoed in the small garden. Angel turned around to the entrance to see Evan approaching her. He had a small plastic bag in his hand.

"Enjoying the garden?", Evan asked. Angel nodded.

"Yeah, me and Oddish here were just", as Angel turned around to show Evan Oddish, she noticed that the small plant Pokémon went missing. All that was left was the small weed that was present before. "...Oddish?". Evan approached her and bent down to her level.

"An Oddish huh? Must be the store owner's. Oddish are shy, it's probably underground", Evan said. He then noticed the weed in the ground. He slowly brought his fingers to the plant and gently stroked the leaves with the back of his index finger. The plant seemed tense at first, but then relaxed and acted like a typical plant. Evan smirked.

"There you are", Evan said. Angel smirked, even from looking at the leaves he could tell Oddish was there. He knew a lot about plants too apparently. He left Oddish to stay in the ground and brought his attention to the little girl. "Well, we got what we came for, so we're ready to leave when you are". Angel stood up, prompting Evan to do the same. She nodded.

"Alright, let's get going then", Angel said. Evan nodded and made his way to the door. Angel did the same, but made sure to take the time to turn around and wave goodbye to the weed. "Bye Oddish!". The weed remained motionless for a bit, until it waved slightly. Angel smiled as she left. Evan and Angel entered the flower shop once again, where Mathinza, Hunter, and Brian were waiting. All three of them had small bags in hand. The shop owner stood behind the counter, smiling at Angel.

"Did you enjoy the garden?", the woman asked. Angel nodded.

"I sure did! Your Oddish gave me a tour and everything", Angel said. The woman seemed slightly stunned, but not overly so.

"Oh really? Oddish is really shy, I'm sort of surprised, but I'm glad to hear it", the woman said. Then, as if she remembered something, she turned around to the table. "Oh, and before I forget, I made this for you". Angel seemed confused and curious as the woman placed something behind her back and then approached Angel. When she reached the little girl, she stopped and held out a small tiara made out of small white flowers. Angel gasped and smiled as the flower shop owner placed the tiara on her head.

"It's beautiful! You made this for me?", Angel asked, looking at it rest on top of her head. The woman nodded.

"Yep, I felt that it would look good on you. It's made out of a small flower called Angel's breath, I thought it was fitting", the flower shop owner said. Angel giggled. I don't think she quite realized just _how _fitting it was.

"Thank you so much!", Angel said, giving the woman a slight bow. The woman merely giggled.

"It was my pleasure!", the woman said. With that, the boys made their way out of the store, followed closely by Angel. The shop owner waved goodbye as they left the building.

"Well she was really nice", Mathinza said as they walked to the jeep.

"Oh yeah, it's nice to know that Team Rocket hasn't changed everyone in the world", Brian said.

"Alright guys, we ready to head back to Prof. Oak's?", Evan asked.

"Actually, I'm kind of hungry, think we can stop at the shop in town before we head back?", Mathinza asked. Evan thought about it.

"Well, Ash said to be careful while out here, but I guess that would be fine", Evan said. The group then re-entered the jeep and made their way out of the small little parking lot. They gave one last wave goodbye to the flower shop, (just in case the woman was watching them leave), and went about their way.

"So, you guys all got your corsages?", Angel asked. The boys nodded.

"Yep, got a green one to match Aleksi's dress", Evan stated.

"Mine's...well, I don't know colors too well, I'd say this is a maroon, but I don't know", Brian said with a chuckle. The guys laughed as well.

"I got a yellow one for Catie's dress. I'm guessing it's the right type, if she doesn't like it...well, then tough", Hunter exclaimed. Angel then turned to Mathinza. Since he didn't have a date yet, she knew that he didn't have a dress color to base his choice off of.

"And what about you Mathinza?", Angel asked.

"Oh, well, the flower shop girl gave me this white one, she said that it would pretty much match with almost any dress color", Mathinza explained. Angel nodded.

"And she's right, good thinking", Angel remarked.

"Alright, so we're heading to the shop, then going home, correct?", Evan asked, wanting to make sure that everyone was aware of what they were doing.

"Yep!", Angel stated. The others were in agreement as well.

"Alright then, cause we're already at the shop", Evan stated. Angel looked out the window to see the shop directly in front of them. It was one of the bigger buildings in Pallet Town, which of course was not saying much. However, since it was the only shop in the town, it must have been quite popular. However, at the time being, there didn't appear to be anyone shopping there at the moment since there were no cars outside of it. Evan parked the car not too far from the front door and everyone exited the vehicle, making sure to leave their flowers inside of the car.

"We'll have to make this quick, as it is we shouldn't even be here", Brian stated. Evan nodded, pulling out from his shirt pocket his box of cigarettes.

"Agreed. We'll go in, get what we need, get out, and make it back to base as quickly as possible", Evan said. He pulled out an individual cigarette from the box and placed it in his mouth. As he put the box back and pulled out his lighter, Angel, Mathinza, and Hunter approached him and Brian.

"I wonder what kind of things they have inside", Mathinza said.

"Only one way to find out now isn't there?", Hunter said with a chuckle. Mathinza sweatdropped. Evan by this time had just finished lighting his cigarette and placed the lighter back in his pocket. He took in a breath and the smoke filled his lungs. He then let the smoke out and nodded.

"Well, let's make this quick shall we?", Evan said. The group then approached the door. Brian was the first one to reach it, and opened it wide for everyone to step inside. As he opened it, a bell that was attached to the door rang. As they entered the store, a younger gentleman from behind the counter looked to them. He was a few years older than the group, possibly about as old as the flower shop owner. He wore a white apron over his brown shirt and blue jeans and had messy brown hair. He smiled as the group entered the store.

"Hello, welcome to the Pallet Town Mart!", the shop owner said. Angel quickly approached the mart owner and smiled.

"Hi! I know you! I'm friends with Eli, he says hi!", Angel stated. The shop owner seemed stunned by the sudden exclamation, and even more so by the fact that she knew Eli, but smiled anyway.

"Well that's great! Haven't heard from Eli in a while, tell him I said hey back!", the shop keep said. He then came to a realization. "But then, if you know Eli, then that means...", before he could finish, he was interrupted.

"We're just aides at the lab", Brian said with a smirk. The shop owner looked over to him, and then smirked back, understanding the meaning behind the lie.

"Right...just aides", the shop keep replied. Many of the people in town were aware of the hidden PTA base at Prof. Oak's lab. However, despite their knowledge of this, none of them ever admitted that they knew, especially to Team Rocket. They were all a part of a close community, they protected one another. Evan took a step closer.

"Hey, do you allow smoking in here?", Evan asked, not wanting to be rude. He was aware that a lot of people didn't like smoking inside their establishments.

"Well, technically no, but I open all of my windows, so as long as you stay by an open one, I don't mind", the shop keep said. Evan nodded and immediately made his way to a window at the end of the store, to make sure that his smoke did not leave a smelly trail. The shop keep then looked to the other rebels. "Please, help yourself to purchasing whatever you want in the store, I'll be here at the front if you need me".

"Thanks, will do!", Mathinza said. He then smiled and went about his way. "Now then, which way to the snacks...". Angel couldn't help but giggle at the sight. Hunter slowly walked off as well, his cane clicking on the floor as he stepped. Angel and Brian went about their own way, and the group dispersed.

Angel looked over the many shelves, wondering what was there. Because she had no money, she wasn't expecting to get anything anyway, but she felt that there was no harm in looking around anyway. The shelves were lined with many different goods. Several isles were for snacks, drinks, and other types of edibles. A good portion of the store was designed for travelers and trainers, including things such as Pokémon food, Pokéballs, and stat builders. Since this was the only store in the area, it also had plenty of things for the locals, such as farming equipment and products. The little girl had not been in a mart for sometime now, and had lost the familiar feeling of it.

When she was younger, her and her father would often travel to the large mart in Celadon City to sell their berries. Because it was the largest mart in Kanto, they had lots of room for their large quantities, and they were able to get more money out of it as well. She would love to look throughout the store and occasionally, her father would buy her a little treat. This store was much much smaller than the one in Celadon, but still had the basic needs.

Angel could hear the sounds of refrigerated doors opening and bags being crumbled. She knew that this was Mathinza, getting as many little snacks as he could. She hoped that he had enough money for them. She could also hear the sound of Hunter walking up and down the isles, his cane tapping the ground every time he took a step with his left leg. As she continued to walk, she saw that she had made it to the back of the store. The back walls were lined with farmer's tools and large bags of what could have been seed. She turned to her right and saw Evan, standing by the small open window. His cigarette was propped in his mouth, and he looked outside, the sun shining brightly on his face.

Angel could tell that he was in deep thought, but what about, she didn't know. He might have been thinking about the important missions they might have to do soon, he might have been thinking about the assault on Veridian. There was even a chance that he was thinking about Aleksi, or even just the day's events. Angel was tempted to ask him, but decided against it. Her curiosity had gotten her in enough trouble, why tempt more of it?

Suddenly, the sound of a bell ringing echoed throughout the store. It was the same sound that she had heard when they entered the building. More customers had entered the store. Angel did not think much into this, until she heard voices coming from the front of the store.

"Hey, I already told you people, I don't want you in this store if you don't intend to pay for what you want!", one voice stated. This sounded like the shop keep's voice. Angel could hear the stern voice, but she also seemed to sense a bit of nervousness and worry in it as well. This wasn't good.

"Oh, really? Well that's just a shame isn't it? And here I thought we were friends!", another voice stated. Angel did not recognize this voice. She looked over to Evan, who was turned away from the window and looked towards the front of the store. Due to the placement of the isles, neither one of them could see the shop keep or the apparent trouble makers. Angel wondered who it was that was causing this trouble. It obviously wasn't anyone in the PTA, no one there would be this mean to locals around here. She guessed that it was probably local punk kids, but she was afraid that that could have been wishful thinking.

As the people at the front of the store continued to talk, Angel tried to maneuver her way around to get a glance at the people causing trouble. She tried to keep quiet, just in case. She was not certain if the other boys she was with were trying to see them as well, or even knew about the new customers. She couldn't hear them at this point, so she figured that they were also trying to hear in on what they were all saying.

"Listen, I don't want any trouble", the shop keep said.

"Well then, if you didn't want trouble, you shouldn't of said anything when we came in!", the same voice from before replied in an instant. There was something about the way he spoke that she didn't like. Maybe it was just the arrogance behind it, but there seemed to be something more, as if the owner of this voice was aware of something. It was as if he _knew _he could cause trouble and get away with it.

"All I ask is that you pay for what you take", the shop keep said. Angel inched closer and closer to the front.

"Oh, you want us to pay? Why didn't you say so? You see guys, all he wanted was for us to pay!", the voice said. The others all laughed. There was a moment's pause before the voice continued. "Ok then, we can pay...but unfortunately, we don't have any cash on us at the moment. But tell you what, why don't you open a little..._tab _for us. I promise we'll pay you back _next time _we decide to visit. Hell, we might even bring some more..._friends _to your lovely establishment here". There was a long pause. "...I thought so".

Angel by this time had finally managed to get closer to the front of the store. She knew that putting herself within view of the trouble makers would only make for more trouble, so she tried to remain hidden. She took cover behind a small candy display and peeked through it to see who it was that was making threats to the shop keep. When she did, she gasped.

It couldn't have been them, could it? Certainly they wouldn't still be here in Pallet Town, especially after what happened at New Island. But there was no mistaking them.

They were the same teens she saw a few days ago, the same teens Jonny protected her from...the same teens he thought were undercover Rockets.

She had no doubt in her mind, although she had only seen them for a moment, and from a distance, she was good at memorizing faces. They were even wearing the same clothes they wore that very same day. The one who had been doing all the talking thus far had blonde hair and blue eyes, something that made him look upper class, but she doubted that he was. He had a smug grin across his face, like he knew that he had power and wanted to show it. This was a common trait among Rockets, especially lower leveled grunts. He wore blue jeans and a simple white t-shirt with clean light brown boots. His attire was extremely clean, and showed off his muscled body.

There were two others behind him, one of which was a bit taller than the blonde haired one, and bigger as well with a tan complexion. He had short brown hair that was almost in a buzz cut and wore a long sleeve black shirt that confined to his heavily built body. Like the blonde haired teen, he wore blue jeans and clean light brown boots. The third teen was a bit smaller in frame than the other two, and about the blonde teen's height. He had a back pack on his back and had black hair that went just passed his ears. He wore a black and white unzipped jacket with a white t-shirt underneath it and had the same lower attire as the other teens. All three of them seemed to glow in arrogance and power, and it terrified Angel.

Angel knew that she had to get back and warn the others about these teens. They didn't know that her and Jonny had seen them before, and they had to let Ash know that they could have been spies. The blonde haired teen glanced over to the upper corner of the store and happened to see a large mirrored circle that hung just below the ceiling. This mirror was put in place so that the shop keep could see people at the back of the store, in case of shop lifters. However, it also allowed the teen to see Angel hiding from behind the candy display case. The blonde smirked and motioned to the bigger teen. He nodded and walked over to the candy display. Angel gasped and slowly backed up, uncertain if they knew she was there or not.

She soon got her answer when the large teen knocked over the candy display, causing Angel to scream. The teen could only smirk as he lowered his arm and grabbed Angel by her ponytail, lifting her up high in the air. Angel screamed in pain, it felt like her hair could be pulled from her scalp at any second. The teens merely stood there, laughing hysterically.

"PUT HER DOWN!", someone yelled. The teens stopped laughing and looked around to see that they were now surrounded. Evan stood by the door, his cigarette burning in his mouth like the rage he was feeling. Brian stood right in front of Angel and the large teen, prepared to fight. Mathinza stood under the mirror, no longer holding onto any snacks. Hunter leaned on his cane near the front counter where the shop keep stood. The teens looked around, no longer showing amusement. Brian cracked his knuckles in his hands.

"Do you want him to ask again?", Brian asked, referring to Evan. The teen who was lifting up Angel no longer had the smug grin, but rather a look of hatred. None the less, he dropped Angel. She fell onto the ground with a thud and immediately put her hands to her head. Saying that her scalp was hurting was an understatement, but she would recover. The large teen stepped back, closer to the other two.

"You guys don't realize what you're doing", the big teen said. His voice was somewhat rough, something that probably came with his large size.

"Oh, I think we do", Hunter said with a grin. The blonde haired teen merely smirked. Evan, Brian, and Angel walked over towards Hunter and Mathinza while the teens stepped back, closer to the door. The shop keep stayed behind the counter, but positioned himself closer to the rebels.

"You guys must think you're pretty tough with numbers on your side", the blonde said with a smirk.

"Big talk coming from the guy who attacks little girls, aye?", Mathinza stated. The blonde merely chuckled lightly. Angel could tell this wasn't a laugh to play off nerves, no, he was not experiencing nervousness at all.

"Tell you what...you guys take your little..._friend_ there, walk out of this store right now, and we'll pretend this little mishap never happened...what do you say?", the blonde asked. The rebels all looked at each other for a moment. This was the exact kind of trouble that Ash wanted to avoid, that Ash warned Evan about. He glanced over to the shop keep, who looked a bit nervous. It was clear that he was used to these teens.

"...And what about him?", Evan asked, referring to the mart owner. The blonde smirked.

"You don't need to worry about the store or him, it's not your business", the blonde said. Evan merely stood there, his cigarette burning away more and more, much like his patience. Ash warned him about this kind of trouble...

But they were already in it.

"...I don't think so. You guys need to leave...now", Evan said. The teen who had until this point been quiet slung the back pack off of his back and dropped it on the floor, letting it land with a loud thud, and everyone tensed up. The blonde teen held his hand out to the teen who had dropped the back pack, seemingly telling him to hold off. It seemed to have done the trick, for the teen nodded and relaxed. The blonde teen, still smirking, slowly approached Evan. Brian, Mathinza, and Hunter prepared themselves, ready to defend Evan if need be.

The blonde teen approached Evan until he was within a foot of him. Angel stood behind Evan, watching in worry. Evan kept his arms near her, preparing to hold her back and protect her from any danger. The blonde gave a cocky smile to Evan as he looked at him. He knew that they were way in over their heads. He reached forward and snatched the cigarette out of Evan's mouth. The teen continued to stare at Evan and smile as he turned the cigarette around and placed it in his mouth, taking in a puff.

Everyone watched as the blonde pulled the cigarette out of his mouth and then blew the mouthful of smoke into Evan's face. Evan, being used to the smoke from his own habits, didn't even flinch. The teen held the cigarette back towards Evan with a raised eyebrow, as if asking if he wanted it back. Evan didn't move or make a noise, he just kept his eyes on him. The teen shrugged, took another puff from the cigarette, and then flicked it onto the ground. He let the smoke come out from his nostrils and then looked back to Evan and the others with the same smile, that same smile that glowed with arrogance.

"I hope you came here to find trouble...because that's exactly what you have".

**I apologize for the long wait my friends! I have been quite busy with work, and since my college classes begin next week, I will have less and less time to do this stuff. However, don't think that I have forgotten about you! I will continue to work on and update this story, just like I intend to for my other stories! I hope that you did enjoy the update! I worked hard on it over the past couple weeks! Now as you can see, things don't seem to be looking good for Angel and her friends. This will lead up to some more development for the plot later on. The next couple chapters will have a bit more of that, along with some sadder events. Anyway, please be sure to F.A.R., (Favorite, Alert, Review), please check out my EVAN AAML Twitter account for updates and news, and I will see you all next time! **

**sincerely,  
evan, a fan of aaml -EVAN AAML**


	70. Chapter 70

**I'll keep the A.N. short, so as you can get to what you really want to read here. School's starting up, so I apologize if my slow updates come out slower. With school, work, and life in general, it can be pretty distracting, especially with fall and the holidays approaching more and more each day. So once again, my apologies. Now then, back to the story!**

**-EVAN AAML**

Ash walked up the stairs that rounded the corner, his little buddy Pikachu on his shoulder as always. After having talked to Aleksi about needing her help, he had decided to do some paper work in the base. However, typical of him, he eventually got bored with it and decided to leave it for later. Misty always did say that for the supposed "leader" of the PTA, he certainly did get away with not doing his work much too often.

He had decided that, since most people were preparing for the ball, he would go upstairs and see how things were coming along. He walked passed the little tables and eventually made his way to the secret passage that was hidden behind the bookcase. Ash reached over to a wall where there were several buttons displayed on a panel. He pressed two of them and then reached the wall. With one pull, he managed to slide the door open. He got out of the secret passageway as soon as he could, closed the door behind him, and then bolted out of the library before the security camera turned back on. Seeing that he was finally safe, he sighed and then looked at Pikachu.

"You know buddy, one thing I _certainly _can't wait for is when I don't have to do _that _anymore!", Ash said with a smile. Pikachu sighed back and nodded.

"Pikachu", Pikachu replied. Ash chuckled at this as they walked down the hall. Once he left the hall, he turned right, then went down another hall before entering a large open room. This would be where the ball would take place. Prof. Oak's lab had a huge lecture hall for meetings with other Professors, but they also used it for large parties. Along the sides of the room were very large and tall windows that showed Pallet Town and Prof. Oak's many acres of land. The center of the room was left open for dancers, but along the sides and towards the entrance of the large room many tables were set up. These varied between round and rectangular tables. Most were already covered in white table clothes, but some had not been decorated quite yet.

At the end of the room was a large fireplace, however this was blocked off by a large stage. On the stage were some instruments, but not many. People all over the place, (mostly aids of Prof. Oak's, but some rebels as well), were running around grabbing thins or setting up for the ball. Some people were on ladders putting up decorations on the walls or windows, others were setting up tables and chairs. Ash looked around the people as he walked on. Many gave him smiled, others waved. Eventually, he found himself reaching the end of the room. Up on a ladder was May, who was holding up what appeared to be a banner. She was trying to stick it to the wall and align it perfectly. Holding the ladder from the floor was Misty, who looked up at her and did not notice Ash.

"Well, looks like things are going smoothly in here!", Ash said, looking up at May. Misty turned around while still holding the ladder and smiled upon seeing Ash.

"There you are! I haven't seen you in a while!", Misty said, genuinely glad to see him. Ash smiled back.

"Yeah, I had some things to do. So how are things going up here?", Ash asked.

"Well, we're a little bit behind unfortunately, but I think we can make it by the ball", Misty said. Ash looked around the room. He could see Tracy carrying a large box filled with some kind of decorations over to a table. Dawn was placing flowers as centerpieces onto the tables that had table clothes on them. Drew was helping a few other rebels string together some decorations, much like the one May was currently trying to hang up. He noticed however that the others were missing.

"Where's everyone else?", Ash asked. Misty, figuring he was referring to their fellow region leaders, looked towards him.

"Well, I know Gary is with the Prof. working on ordering the outfits for the ball. I don't know where Brock or Max are though", Misty stated. Ash nodded, understanding what she meant. Because they were under constant watch, they were not allowed to refer to people being located in the underground lab. To avoid suspicion and curiosity, if someone was located in the base, they simply stated that they didn't know where they were. The answer was ambiguous, but simple enough to be understood. Ash figured that Brock was helping with the cooking for the ball, while Max was probably just fooling around.

"Alright. Well, it looks like you have everything in here under control...oh, by the way, just out of curiosity, when did Evan, Angel, and the others return?", Ash asked. Misty and May looked to him with a confused look on their face.

"What do you mean? They left somewhere?", May asked. Ash raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, they went out shopping real quick, they said they'd be back by now", Ash said. Misty and May looked at each other, something that worried Ash.

"Ash...they haven't been in here", Misty said. Ash looked at Pikachu briefly and then turned around.

"Hey, has anyone seen Angel or Evan return?", Ash asked. He did not know who exactly had gone with them to town, and so merely left it at who he knew was gone. Tracy, who was approaching the area anyway with a smaller box, looked at him.

"We haven't seen them in a while", Tracy said. Ash growled somewhat in frustration and then ran off towards the entrance. Tracy, Misty, and May called out to him.

"Ash!? Hey, wait!", Tracy yelled. He quickly placed his box down and then ran off after him. Misty released the ladder and turned towards them, but did not follow.

"Oh no...", Misty said. May suddenly began to lose her balance and wobble on the ladder. Because Misty had let go, she was unstable on the precariously placed ladder.

"Woah, woah! WOOOOAH!", May yelled. She toppled down the ladder and fell hard onto the ground, the wall decorations coming down with her. Drew and many of the other rebels in the room looked on, some in concern, but most merely sweatdropped at May's clumsiness. Due to her gun injury from New Island, the impact ached. However, she knew that she had to act it off for the cameras, and merely sighed heavily.

"Thanks Misty", May said with sarcasm. Meanwhile, Ash had raced to the front door of the lab. He reached out and grabbed the door handle before hearing someone call him out.

"Ash! Hold on a second!", Tracy yelled. Ash turned to see Tracy approach him. He panted heavily before looking back to Ash.

"What's going on?", Tracy asked.

"Evan and Angel took some people and went out into town earlier to shop. But they haven't returned", Ash said. Tracy began to worry.

"You don't think...", Tracy said. Ash turned back to the door.

"I don't know, but we have to find out", Ash said. He then opened the door and ran outside, Tracy right behind him. They ran down the flight of stairs and were prepared to run into town to look for the others, before something unexpected stopped them. Ash halted, nearly causing Tracy to crash into him and Pikachu to fly off of his shoulder. When Tracy recovered, he looked to Ash to see what was wrong. He and Pikachu then spotted the issue.

Standing in front of the two young adults was a young boy. He had short brown hair that was a mess and dirty, much like his white skin was. The young teen wore a plain white t-shirt with a yin-yang symbol in the center of the shirt, blue jeans, and green tennis shoes. His attire looked dirty and worn, like he had just been through some kind of mini war. Ash and Tracy merely watched in shock and confusion as the teen slowly turned towards them. They did not know who he was, or where he came from, or if he was a friend or foe. The teen removed his black sunglasses, revealing tired and worn looking brown eyes. The teen placed the sunglasses on his head, and then looked to the rebels as if in a daze.

"...Help me...", the teen mustered with little strength. Suddenly, the teen's eyes closed and he fell to the ground. Ash and Tracy were still in shock from what had just happened, but quickly snapped out of it and ran down the rest of the stairs to the teen. They got down onto their knees and flipped the teen over on his back. Tracy checked his pulse on his neck.

"...He's alive, but he looks like hell, he needs medical help!", Tracy said. Ash looked concerned for the teen, but was still worried for Angel and the others. He looked around the area, to see if anyone else was around to tell them what had happened. However, they were all alone. The teen must have walked for a long time to reach them.

"The others will have to wait, we need to get him inside right now! We can't bring him downstairs in his condition, it would draw too much attention. We'll have to bring him into Prof. Oak's Pokémon medical lab for now", Ash said. Tracy nodded in agreement. Ash carefully helped lift the teen onto Tracy's back and then the two ran back towards the lab.

This day was just getting worse and worse.

At the mart, things were looking just as bleak. Angel and the rebels stood firm against the three teens, but they were growing more and more weary of them. While it was not guaranteed that they were Rockets, they were definitely acting as if they were, which gave them reason to act cautious. All three of them continued to smirk and act tough in front of them. While they were not expecting any opposition, it was clear that they were enjoying themselves regardless. Clearly they liked getting into fights, and they weren't afraid to hurt people who got in their way.

Evan continued to stare down the blonde teen, who was clearly the leader of the group. If the blonde were to make a motion, then the three would attack, and he had to be prepared to protect Angel. Numbers were on their side, as they outnumbered them five to three, six if the mart owner were to get involved, (though he could not depend on that). What worried Evan the most was the back pack that the black-haired teen had dropped. It was clearly not empty, as the thud it made when it hit the ground was too loud for that. It might not have been anything dangerous to them, but he did not want to take the risk of thinking that.

"So then, are you all from around here? We've been here a few days now, and I don't recall seeing your faces", the blonde teen asked. Angel was somewhat relieved to hear this. She did not know if they had in fact seen her that day when Jonny protected her, this gave her some peace of mind, if only a little.

"No, we're not from around here", Evan merely stated. He knew that saying they were from the area would possibly endanger the secrecy of the PTA. If they said they were from out of town, then the teens would be more in the dark about their true location.

"Should of figured", the blonde said, not particularly caring, just merely talking. He seemed to enjoy hearing himself talk, Angel wondered if he really was this full of himself, or if he was merely acting like a Rocket to get away with causing trouble.

"So then, what are you all doing here then?", the black-haired teen asked.

"We were invited to Prof. Oak's ball...weren't you?", Mathinza asked, a hint of superiority in his voice. The teen scoffed.

"No, I don't believe we were given the honor...well then, I guess we'll just have to go and..._crash _this little ball, now won't we?", the blonde teen stated with a smirk. Evan smirked back.

"Sorry, invitation only", Evan said, pulling out from his pocket a small slip of paper with his name on it. Prof. Oak had stated that he made invitations to help avoid Rocket suspicion, Evan brought one of the fakes with him just in case something like this happened. The teens seemed to be slightly annoyed by this. If they were Rockets, they would not be allowed to attend the party unless given permission to by their superiors. And no one would have the guts to crash a party pretending to be a Rocket, not if they didn't want to _unexpectedly _disappear the following morning.

"You know, I'm really starting to get annoyed by you", the bigger teen said with some arrogance. Brian, Hunter, and Mathinza braced themselves for a fight. The teens looked at them and immediately began to laugh. This caused the rebels to become more angry, and the shop keep to become more worried.

"What? Do you expect to fight back? What do you have, a little ten-year old?", the blonde teen began. Angel interrupted him.

"I'm _twelve_!", Angel said with annoyance and anger. The teen merely stared at her.

"Big fucking whoop. Then you have a cripple here", the blonde said, looking at Hunter. Hunter gripped his cane tightly. "Yeah, what happened to you?"

"None of your fucking business blondie", Hunter replied. He was getting agitated.

"Woah, temper temper!", the blonde teen said. He then looked at Mathinza. "And _you _look like hell, what, get into a fight earlier?". Mathinza had forgotten about his bruises and scrapes from the training earlier with Nick and Ryoto. However, he knew better than to let them onto how he really got them.

"Yeah, I kicked the asses of some _other _teens who needed to be knocked down a peg or two. Trust me, I don't plan on getting touched again", Mathinza said with a glare. The teens all looked at each other with smirks, pretending to be somewhat afraid and intimidated.

"That's scary!", the bigger teen said in a mockingly scared tone.

"We better be careful!", the black-haired teen replied with just as much jest. Unlike Hunter, Mathinza kept his anger under wraps.

"So really, there's two of you, and I have a feeling that you guys aren't as tough as you think you are", the blonde teen said.

"Try us", Brian scoffed. The trouble making teens looked at the rebels. The blonde teen stepped forward once more, towards Brian and Evan in particular. There was a moment's pause as they eyed one another down.

"...you guys...you don't even know what you're getting yourselves into", the blonde said in a low voice, just above a whisper. "We have...some powerful friends. Friends who can make you just...disappear, like that". He snapped his fingers for emphasis. "If you were smart, you'd skip town now, and pray to god that we don't remember your faces by tomorrow. You guys are trying to start a fight the likes of which you couldn't even imagine...so then, what's it going to be gentleman?".

Once again, there was a pause. The mart owner stared at the group in worry, thinking that a fight would surely break out from it. Angel stepped back to prepare herself, thinking the same thing. She was ready to help her friends if they needed it, but she was hoping that they would be able to settle this without fighting at all. She knew that even a small fight with these teens would result in something far worse if they were who they acted to be. Evan turned and looked over to Brian. The two stared at each other for a moment or two, until eventually Brian nodded. Evan then turned over and glanced momentarily at Hunter, Mathinza, and then Angel. After doing so, he turned back to the blonde. They stared each other down for a moment, until finally, Evan spoke up.

"...Get out", Evan said sternly with a hint of anger. The blonde glared at Evan, as did the other two teens. Suddenly, the large teen charged towards Evan, his hand out in a fist. Brian however was prepared for this. He grabbed the teen's wrist just before it struck Evan. The large teen looked at Brian in shock and anger. Brian merely smirked.

"You call that a punch?", Brian asked. He then made a fist with his free hand and walloped the teen straight in the jaw. "THAT'S a punch!". The large teen stepped back a couple of feet, not prepared for the large punch. He looked at Brian with anger, and then charged once again. Brian scoffed as he raised his foot and kicked him straight in the chest. The force of the kick caused the teen to fly backwards and land hard onto the ground, the breath literally kicked right out of him. The black-haired teen immediately bent down to reach for the back pack he had dropped earlier. However, as soon as he did, he was met by a large metal object sticking straight to his throat. Hunter stood over him with the metal handle of his cane in the teen's throat with a gleam in his eyes and a large smirk spread across his face.

"Oh, please, _please _go for the bag, I'm _begging _you to start something", Hunter said. Mathinza grabbed Angel and pulled her away from Evan and the blonde, bringing her behind the counter with the mart owner. He stood in front of the two, protecting them just in case things were to get out of hand. The blonde looked at Mathinza protecting the two, and then looked at Evan, who stood his ground. The blonde gave him a scowl and then made fists. Like lightning, the teen threw one fist at Evan, to which Evan ducked from. The teen threw another, and Evan slid to the left to avoid. The blonde seemed to have some boxing experience based on his fighting technique, but Evan was able to avoid his punches left and right. The teen's anger made him have less control, which Evan took advantage of. The teen, frustrated, stepped back.

"Alright, ENOUGH OF THIS!", the teen yelled. He then brought his hand behind him, towards his belt. Evan's eyes grew wide, he knew what he was going to do. The teen quickly pulled out a pistol and aimed it at Evan. However, since Evan was prepared for this, he was able to counter. Just as the gun was aimed at him, Evan reached out and grabbed the teen's arm. He aimed the gun towards the ceiling, and then, with his free arm, swung his elbow into the nose of the blonde. The teen stepped back from the blow, and Evan then quickly twisted the teen's wrist, causing him to drop the gun. Evan quickly caught it, pulled the top back to put a bullet in the chamber, and then aimed it at the blonde haired teen.

This had happened with so much speed that most of the people in the room didn't even realize it had happened until it was already over. The blonde brought his hand to his nose and felt blood ooze out of it in a quick pace. He then looked at Evan with anger and fear as his now broken nose swelled like a balloon. The other two teens looked at Evan with worry, seeing their leader bloody and in danger. Evan clicked a button on the side of the barrel to the gun and the cartridge slipped out from the underside of the handle. It fell onto the floor with a clatter and Evan kicked it away without even looking at it.

"I only need one bullet to place between your eyes", Evan said in a threatening tone. The teen looked at him in a rage. It was obvious that no one had ever gotten the best of him before, especially like this. Evan glanced at the gun, but kept it aimed at the teen. "Glock Eighteen, not a standard pistol for a grunt...are you guys even Rockets?", Evan asked. The blonde looked at Evan in hatred. However, he knew that even with only one bullet in the chamber to the gun, it was all Evan needed to end his life. The other two teens began to back up, closer towards the door, (the black-haired one made sure to grab his back pack), as the blonde haired teen looked at Evan and the others.

"This isn't over! You guys are in for a hell of a lot of trouble now, you all just pretty much put an end to your lives! We'll be back, just you wait, and you're going to pay!", the blonde haired teen said.

"And we'll be ready", Evan said, the gun still aimed at them. The three teens then exited the store and ran off. Evan sighed and then pulled the top of the barrel back once again, ejecting the lone bullet from the chamber. It clicked on the floor and bounced for a moment before gently rolling back and forth on the tiled floor. Evan then walked over and placed the pistol on the counter in front of the clerk. "I suggest keeping this on you now, for safety", Evan said. The clerk looked at the gun for a moment before nodding slowly.

"Do you think they were Rockets?", Brian asked.

"Don't know, but they are serious trouble regardless", Evan said, looking at the gun.

"They said they had powerful friends, so either they're really trying to play off that they're Rockets, or...", Hunter said.

"Or they really are", Mathinza finished, walking Angel out from behind the counter. Evan and the others looked at Angel with some concern.

"You alright Angel?", Evan asked. Angel nodded.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Hope they didn't pull out too much hair, I have to look good for the ball", Angel said with some annoyance. Everyone in the room chuckled a bit at that comment. After the laughter broke down, the mart owner looked at the rebels with a smile.

"I want to thank you all for helping me there, they've been causing trouble for me for some time now, I hope that you scared them away at least for a little while", the clerk said.

"I wouldn't count on that, but you're welcome", Evan said.

"Just be a little bit more careful now ok? And if you ever need help, you know where to find us!", Angel said with a smile. The clerk smiled back.

"I certainly do", the clerk replied. Mathinza walked over and began picking up random snacks on the ground. They must have been the snacks he had grabbed before the trouble makers arrived.

"All this fighting gave me an appetite!", Mathinza said with a smirk.

"Well then, consider those on the house, as thanks for saving me", the clerk said. Mathinza gave him a look of genuine happiness.

"Well thank you!", Mathinza said. The clerk nodded. He then walked over to a small display located behind his counter and pulled out a small box. He turned around and tossed it to Evan.

"Here!", the clerk said. Evan caught the box with one hand. It was a box of cigarettes, the same brand he normally smoked. Evan looked at it.

"Oh no, I can't take these", Evan said. He didn't like the idea of taking something that was free, especially something expensive.

"No, I insist, it's a lot less than I would of lost if those teens had their way", the clerk stated. Evan looked at the box again and smiled.

"Much appreciated", Evan said. He placed the box of cigarettes in his pocket and then looked at the rebels. "Alright, I guess we should be heading back, we already caused enough trouble as it is".

"We'll have to let the others know about this", Brian said. Evan nodded.

"Yeah, I know", Evan said. Angel turned and looked around the store. The candy display she was hiding behind was on the floor and the candy thrown about the isle. There was also some blood on the floor from the blonde teen's broken nose.

"Shouldn't we help clean up first?", Angel asked. The clerk shook his head.

"Nah, you guys get going, I got this. It's not that bad of a mess actually. I don't want you guys getting into anymore trouble than you might already be in", the clerk said. The boys nodded, and then waved goodbye. Angel turned to see the boys leaving, and then turned back to the clerk.

"Alright! See ya!", Angel said, waving goodbye. The clerk did the same, and Angel stepped outside.

To her and the boys' surprise, the trouble making teens had not damaged the jeep when they fled. They weren't sure if this was because they were in too much of a hurry to escape, or if they simply did not think of it. Regardless, they were glad that they didn't have to worry over damages to the car or their corsages. The rebels all hopped in and Evan started the engine. Soon, they found themselves on their way back to the base.

The drive had not taken long, considering the distance it was from the mart to the Professor's lab. When they arrived, they saw that someone was waiting outside for them by the steps to the front of the lab. Thinking that something might have gone wrong, Evan sped up. As they got closer, they could see that the person was in fact Drew. When he saw the rebels inside the vehicle, he flagged them down. Evan pulled up right alongside Drew and Brian rolled down his window.

"What's going on?", Brian asked, knowing that something was wrong.

"Where have you guys been!?", Drew asked, both angered, confused, and worried.

"We went out shopping in town, Ash knew about that", Hunter said, somewhat annoyed at Drew's tone. He assumed that they were merely in trouble.

"You guys know how dangerous it is to do that, especially after you know what! And on top of that, Ash and Tracy found some kid half near beaten to death right here about ten minutes ago!", Drew exclaimed. The others all gasped.

"What!?", they all yelled.

"Yes, we're giving him medical aid right now in the lab, get the car back into the garage and meet us there, be careful with the cameras", Drew said. Evan nodded and Brian rolled up the window. Evan drove off as Drew ran up the stairs to the lab. It had taken only minutes for the rebels to park the jeep, (not giving Milo enough time to explain what had happened to them while they were gone), and make their way to the upper level in Prof. Oak's lab. Once they arrived, they found Prof. Oak, Gary, Ash, (with Pikachu on his shoulder), Drew, Wallace, and Katie. Wallace and Katie were working on a teenager who was lying on a small cot like bed. He had an i.v. placed in his arm and had bandages wrapped around his head and left arm. Katie was currently applying an anesthetic on his cheeks and forehead.

"What the hell happened to this kid?", Hunter asked in shock.

"We don't know, we went outside and he was just standing there, he looked at us, asked for help, and then fainted. Me and Ash rushed him in here as quickly as we could", Tracy said. Ash stood up and approached the gang.

"We went outside to look for you all, what took so long?", Ash asked. He was not so much angry as Drew was earlier, but rather stern like a father to a disobedient child. Angel wasn't sure which of the two was worse.

"We went shopping, but then ran into some...trouble", Evan said.

"Oh great, like what?", Gary asked, knowing that whatever it was wasn't good.

"We went to the mart, but then these teenagers showed up and started harassing the clerk there, apparently they've been doing this for the past couple days", Mathinza explained.

"Trouble makers huh? Little delinquents I'm sure", Prof. Oak said with some annoyance. He was not used to trouble makers in Pallet Town, and didn't appreciate them there.

"They were a little bit more than that, they were armed", Evan stated. The others looked at them in shock and worry.

"Bandits you think?", Katie asked. Angel shook her head.

"No, I don't think so", Angel said. Ash looked at Angel.

"What do you mean Angel?", Ash asked. Angel sighed.

"...A couple of days ago, I was on my way here to the lab, when...Jonny suddenly stopped me. He saw the same teens, and covered me as we walked towards the lab. He thought...that they were undercover Rockets", Angel said. Everyone in the room looked at each other with the same look of fear in their eyes. Because they were limited to what they could talk about due to their surveillance, they kept silent for the most part. It was clear that Drew was none too pleased with them for possibly endangering their secrecy. Gary looked annoyed as well, but it was more like he expected more bad luck to happen to them. Ash on the other hand looked more terrified than anything. Pikachu sensed this, and looked at Ash with concern.

"Do you think those teens were the same people to do this to this kid?", Wallace asked the rebels.

"Possibly, I wouldn't put it passed them, though they didn't say anything about beating someone up", Evan explained.

"What do you know about him so far? Has he spoken to you?", Prof. Oak asked Ash. He must have just arrived seconds before Angel and the others did. Ash however shook his head.

"No, he hasn't moved since he passed out. We know he's a Pokémon trainer, we found a belt on him, but otherwise he's a mystery. We'll have to wait until he wakes up", Ash explained.

"Well, unfortunately, I lack the proper medical supplies for him. So I'll have you all bring him to one of my vehicles and bring him to the hospital, they can treat him there", Prof. Oak said. Angel looked at the Professor. She could tell by his facial expressions what he was implying. This was merely a cover, to fool the cameras. They would really sneak him downstairs once they left the lab.

"Right, I agree", Ash said. He then turned to the others. "Ok, let's bring him to the car and get him to some help", he said to Wallace and Katie. Ash then turned to Angel and the others. "You all might as well help set the ball up, I'll have a word with you all later". Angel gulped at these words. It figured that after having gotten over the terrible feeling of hurting Evan, she would have to put up with letting someone else down again. Wallace and Katie began to help prepare the young teen for his short trip. As they did, Ash approached Evan. He leaned in close to that they would be able to speak quietly.

"I don't blame you for stopping those trouble makers, in retrospect, I would of done the same thing...but I hope you're prepared for what might be coming now. Let the others know, we need to have extra precautions now for the ball...and no more shopping trips", Ash whispered to Evan sternly. Evan nodded in response.

"Understood...", Evan said with little to no emotion. Angel looked at the both of them. She felt like this was watching a general yelling at one of his soldiers, it made her wish she could be away from them. Suddenly, Evan spoke up again. "What about...?", Evan asked. Angel raised an eyebrow after Evan asked this. She didn't know what his question could possibly mean. Ash However seemed to read his mind, for he replied.

"Soon, we're making the final arrangements...probably within the hour we'll do it", Ash responded. He then took one last glance at Angel before leaving the room. Angel looked on as the others began to leave as well. One by one, everyone left, until there was no one remaining except for her and Evan. Angel did not know if Evan and Ash were aware of her eavesdropping on their conversation. This was one of her special talents she learned from before joining the PTA, and she became good at doing it without others noticing. She was afraid of prying too much, and so ignored the matter for now. Instead, she brought up something else, something that was bothering her.

"Do you think we made a mistake?", Angel asked. Evan looked to Angel for a moment before sighing. He began to pull out a cigarette for himself.

"Unfortunately, in these times, sometimes even doing the right thing can have the wrong results", Evan explained.

"I'm beginning to feel like, maybe, we should have left them be, let them do what they wanted...at least then we wouldn't be in this situation", Angel stated. She purposely kept out details for the camera's sake. Evan by this time had lit the cigarette and took in a deep breath before exhaling smoke.

"There comes a time when someone has to begin to question whether a choice is right or not, and what consequences may come out of whatever their decision might be. Sometimes, people are afraid of getting in trouble, or don't want to get someone hurt by their actions", Evan said. Angel then turned to look at him.

"...What about you? What do you do?", Angel asked. Evan looked at her, smiled, and then gave her a pat on the head.

"...I ignore it, regardless of what it does to me; I help out whomever I can, whenever I can. And I think that, no matter what, we made the right decision today Angel", Evan explained. Angel sighed and smiled. While this did not mean that they would not have issues arrive later, her conscience was at least clear.

"That's good...", Angel said. Evan smiled and began to make his way to the door. Just before he left however, Angel stopped him. "So then, is there nothing else for us? Do we just wait for the ball?". Evan remained motionless at the door. Angel could only see his back from her position, and watched as a small trail of smoke reached the door frame. Evan sighed heavily and looked down onto the ground.

"No...there's...something else we need to do before that", Evan said without looking at the young girl. And with that, he walked out of the room, leaving a confused and now worried Angel behind.

**I think I'll end it at that for now. So, what do you think? Liked it? Hated it? Tell me in the review! I'm sure there are a lot of questions for you about this chapter, like who the injured kid is, and what will those trouble making teens do. Rest assured, all of your questions will be answered in time. The next chapter will be a little bit more characterization with some characters, and then I hope to get on with the ball! :D I hope you're all as excited as I am! So then, I have school and work coming up, so I need to get some sleep, (as do a lot of you all! You know who you are! ;) ). So until next time my friends, this is EVAN AAML, signing off! **

**sincerely,  
evan, a fan of aaml -EVAN AAML**


	71. Chapter 71

**A lot of people seem to be liking the more recent updates and are asking me a lot of questions about things going on in the story. While I won't be able to answer all of them, I hope this update helps a little bit. The ball will be coming shortly, and with that a lot of things will be going on, so hopefully you will all have a great time reading it! Also, I have a question/request for you all. As I update the stories, I notice that none of my stories have official cover pages yet. So, are any of my readers willing to make one for me? :) I'll start off with "R", seeing as how it's the most recent story. (If you are willing), you can make a cover page for me, and whoever has the best one will have their drawing/picture/etc. the cover page! I'll even give you props in one of my A.N.s! So what do you say? :D Anyway, back to the story!**

**-EVAN AAML**

The sun had dropped considerably since they were last outside. By this time, it was just hitting the horizon, beginning to set. The sky seemed to burst with colors of orange, yellow, pink, and red. Clouds made the sky look hazy, as occasional bursts of sunlight popped through holes in the sky. There was a gentle breeze that blew through the land, which made the leaves and flowers sway gently towards the Professor's lab.

The rebels watched while the grass on the hills waved as the breeze went by, like white caps in the sea. They felt a slight cooling sensation, but the last remaining rays of the sun seemed to give them just the right amount of warmth. It was almost too perfect, for a moment like this.

A moment, of remembrance.

Despite the recent issues of security in Pallet due to the possible undercover Rockets, rebels lined up on the hills of Prof. Oak's estate to look upon the temporary graves of their fallen allies from the New Island assault. Though none of their bodies were placed in the Earth, markers were placed on the ground with the names of those who were lost. Most were just holy crosses made of sticks, some weren't even that. They made sure that it was some distance away from the lab, just in case Rockets should investigate and see the markers.

Despite cries of protest, most of the rebels were not allowed to attend the initial funerals due to security. If too many people were spotted outside, then unwanted attention would surely be given to them. So most rebels stayed indoors, making the final preparations for the ball that would be tomorrow. However, rebels that were close friends or relatives to those who had fallen were out there, along with the original members and current leaders of the PTA. People walked around crying, remembering their friends lost, consoling one another as they looked upon the markers that stuck up from the ground.

Angel stood alone, looking at the mass of crosses that covered the hill. It almost seemed like they were soldiers, standing in rows, awaiting their next orders from their ranked leaders. However, no more orders would be given for these soldiers, their deed was done. They had made the supreme sacrifice, and for this, could now rest in peace. The sun's rays caused the crosses to give off shadows that stretched out a couple of feet behind the markers. It gave Angel a chilling sensation through her body, as if the shadows were the spirits of the people who had died.

As she stood there, she looked around at the rebels. Many of them were crying, trying to hold themselves together. They had with them small little trinkets or pictures, things to place on the markers of their friends and family. Although these were only temporary until the war was over and they could make official grave sites for the fallen, people still placed down their pieces of memories, that was all they had left of them at this point.

Angel began to walk around slowly, making sure to keep to herself. She was afraid to say anything to anyone, uncertain of how they would react. She walked passed May, Drew, and Michael, the latter of whom placed one of the PTA jackets around one of the cross markers. After placing it down, he kept on his knees and looked at the marker, as if lost in thought. May and Drew remained standing, Drew giving May a shoulder to cry on as she leaned into him. Angel didn't interrupt the scene, but did make sure to see the name "Jacob" written on the jacket's left breast. Angel recalled the name, and remembered the rebel who sacrificed himself to save his fellow PTA when they escaped New Island. She left the group be, and continued on.

As she looked around, she crossed marker after marker, grave after grave. It got to the point where she found herself going around people to see the names of those who had died. She reflected back to the names she recognized on the K.I.A. files she saw on the table, their pictures flashing through her mind like a slide show. She wondered if the deceased teens and kids had parents, and if they did, if they were aware of their child's demise. The thought struck a painful chord in her chest. She thought of her parents, and their reactions if they heard that she had died fighting for the PTA.

It was a thought she soon ceased.

She continued to walk on by, and watched as she looked at Dawn and Hunter place down something on a marker, probably for a solider they worked with who died during the escape. She then caught eye of Tracy and Gary, who walked around with flowers, placing individual ones on each marker they walked by, making sure none were forgotten.

She stopped at another marker, a Pokéball belt resting along the arms of the cross. The name "Jeremy" was on the belt. She looked at Aleksi and Brian, who were both looking at the marker. None of them were crying, which somewhat surprised Angel, though she figured that they had spent enough time doing that already. Aleksi's eyes _did_ look worn and red. She noticed that there were no Pokéballs on Jeremy's belt. She wondered if Gengar was inside of the lab with the rest of the Pokémon of the deceased rebels. Prof. Oak said that all Pokémon of the deceased would be given to their respected families. Any of those who did not have families, their Pokémon would stay on the preserve.

Aleksi, who was on her knees, and Brian, who remained standing, both turned around and saw Angel standing behind them. Angel caught a glimpse of them, and then immediately turned around and walked away. Aleksi and Brian watched as she left in a hurry, and then turned to look at each other, wondering what was on the mind of the little girl.

Angel continued to walk, walking passed the crying rebels, passed the people placing mementos, passed the markers, the crosses of those now gone forever. She felt like, as she walked, she was moving to a new direction. As if her walking passed the deceased was her walking to a new chapter in her life, a transition that would change her forever. What she feared, however, was that this transition would be one that would change her as a person, and in ways that she feared.

Fear

Yes, she was afraid, afraid that she was heading down a path she didn't like, a path that would make her into a different person. Would her parents even recognize her by the time this was all over? Would they accept her? Take her in? Or would they cast her aside, seeing as she was not the same daughter they helped raise, helped to grow, and helped escape years before. She was already a murderer, she already hurt so many of her friends, led others to their demise. She felt guilt as she passed by the markers. She wondered, how many of them were looking down at her from the Heavens now, shaking their heads in disappointment?

Soon, she found herself at the back of the temporary graveyard. These were the graves that were closest to the forest. There seemed to be fewer people over here, probably because they had already paid their respects to the people located here. She seemed lost in thought, though she did take the time to look around and to try to gather her surroundings. She looked to the forest, which seemed to explode with fall colors despite the summer season. The sun's rays were shining even through the densest part of the woods, as if no darkness would escape the light.

She wished that the light could quell the darkness in her heart.

She turned around, looking down onto the crosses and markers on the ground. More names, more deceased rebels whose bodies were long gone by this point, but who's memories remained. She looked at the names of those closest to her, continued to gaze at them, until one stood out above all the rest.

Jonny

She slowly walked over to the cross, feeling her eyes begin to water. She didn't know what was possessing her at the moment, it was as if her emotions were taking physical form and controlling her. She felt her body shake, and her energy drain. She reached the marker, the wooden cross made out of sticks that stuck in the ground. Hanging from the arms a belt, not the same one he wore, as it was still attached to his body in the depths of the ocean. This must have been an extra one. The letters on the belt seemed to shine in the dying rays of the sun. She felt herself reaching into her jean pockets, (for her usual sundress had not yet been repaired from the New Island attack, she was still wearing the jeans and long-sleeved green shirt Aleksi gave to her), and pulling out a piece of cloth. It was red in color, both from the shade of dye for the cloth, and the blood that was soaked in it.

She opened the cloth, revealing a stitched up bandanna, the same one Jonny always wore, the same one that Aleksi had found floating in the ocean after his demise, the same one she tore and used for Angel's burned hands. Angel did her best to repair the bandanna to its original glory, and while she failed at doing so, it was close enough. She looked at the bandanna, the image of Jonny's smiling face appearing on it as she did so. She felt the tears now coming out of her eyes as she silently thought back to the rebel who had saved her not once, but twice in the couple of days she knew him.

She slowly bent down and placed the bandanna over the top of the cross, allowing it to rest at ease. The gentle breeze caused the bandanna to sway back and forth, as if showing happiness that it was there. Suddenly, Angel felt her body ache, she fell to her knees onto the soft grass. She didn't know what was happening to her, she seemed overcome with negative emotion. She covered her eyes as tears poured out of them, cascading down her cheeks and through her fingers as she desperately tried to control herself. She tried to see if anyone was watching her, and though she could not see well through her watered eyes, it appeared as if no one was. She found herself gasping for breath, as she bent down and cried more and more.

"Now now, there's no need for tears there Angel", a voice called out. Angel raised her head, the tears suddenly slowing down. Her heart skipped a beat in fear, she felt cold chills spread across her body, and her breath escape her. That voice...

Slowly, and with much apprehension, she turned around to see where it was that the voice came from. Surely it couldn't have been, there's no way. However, as she turned around, as she looked to see who it was that was talking to her, she found herself immediately questioning everything she thought she knew, even her own sanity.

For Jonny stood right before her.

"J...Jonny?", Angel asked, her voice barely being audible even to herself. Jonny smiled.

"You looked stunned to see me", Jonny said. Angel turned around, wondering if anyone else was seeing what she was seeing. No one seemed to be giving her any attention, no one shrieked in terror, there were no screams, nothing about ghosts or spirits. She turned back to Jonny, who was still standing before her. The sun's rays seemed to glow through him. He did not look spiritual per say, it was like looking at a reflection through a pool of water, his body seemingly apparent and see through, though still there. His body looked brighter, like the sun was giving him a glow. He was wearing the last things she saw him in, the same brown jacket, the same black shirt, the same black pants and brown boots. He even had on his red bandanna. Angel looked back to the cross, and saw the bandanna she herself placed on it just seconds before. She then turned back to the apparition.

"But...you're...", Angel began. She debated whether she was really awake right now, she must have been dreaming. She felt like she would pass out at any second. Jonny couldn't help but chuckle slightly.

"Yeah, I know. I suppose I shouldn't be too surprised to see you panic over seeing a dead person huh? I guess not learning to swim was my last regret!", Jonny said with a laugh. Something about this made Angel feel grim, the idea of Jonny laughing over his own death. She laughed nervously, uncertain if this was something she should even be laughing about.

"Hehe...this isn't happening", Angel said, trying to reassure herself. Jonny must have heard this comment, for he looked at her.

"Oh, believe me, this is happening", Jonny said with a smirk. Angel was somewhat fearful at this point, she did not know what to think anymore. Jonny must have sensed this as well. "Listen, I know this is a lot to take in".

"Just a little bit!", Angel said, seemingly losing her sanity.

"But there's a purpose to all of this. Me being here is not just coincidence", Jonny tried to explain.

"But, why here? Why now?", Angel asked. Jonny looked down to her.

"What do you mean here and now? I never left...But then again...you knew I was with you all along, didn't you?", Jonny said with a smile. Angel looked at him, first with confusion, then with understanding. She reflected back to when her and Emily were being attacked by the group of Rockets on New Island. She recalled the feeling that went through her body as she reached for Seviper's Pokéball, and then again when she returned it. Suddenly, it hit her.

"...Yes, I knew. I knew you were there...the entire time", Angel said. Jonny smiled.

"Yeah, I thought so. I knew you would probably catch on, you're a smart cookie", Jonny said. Angel slowly stood up, her strength not yet returning to her fully, but enough.

"So then...you _were _watching over me, you've been by my side the entire time, haven't you?", Angel asked.

"Well, in a way. You were the one that did everything, I was merely...giving you a hand", Jonny said.

"So then, you were the one that willed me to use Seviper!", Angel stated. Jonny nodded.

"You were in some trouble, and I knew that it would come in handy. Seviper was always there when I needed it, and I knew it would help you too", Jonny explained. There was a moment's pause between the two. Angel felt like she was losing it. She put a hand to her heart, wondering if it was in fact beating. Maybe she could see Jonny because she was dead too? Eventually, she brought the conversation back.

"Jonny...are you...?", Angel asked. Jonny couldn't help but smirk.

"Well, let's just say you're not the only Angel around here now", Jonny said with a smile. Angel couldn't help but giggle at this, which made Jonny smile more. Angel then began to look around at the other crosses and markers.

"So then, the others here...?", Angel asked. Jonny looked along the hill solemnly.

"Yes, we are all being watched over with care now. Don't worry Angel, we're all at peace. Me, Jeremy, Jacob, everyone here. We all miss you dearly, but it was our time", Jonny explained.

"...That's good", Angel said. She had long debated over the subject, and while she was not yet positive if this was really happening, it did at least give her peace of mind, knowing that they were in fact at rest. Jonny nodded.

"Yes, however, I'm not here just to let you know that Angel", Jonny went on. Angel looked up to him. "You're beginning to lose it, aren't you?". Angel approached Jonny, still wondering if anyone would think she was crazy for talking to herself, if they couldn't see Jonny like she could.

"...Yeah...I guess so", Angel said. Jonny walked to Angel, his glow not ceasing even as the sun began to set more and more. "I mean, I'm talking to you aren't I? I must be losing it".

"That's not what I mean Angel", Jonny said. Angel sighed. She knew what he meant. "I can sense that you're feeling darkness inside of you Angel. That's not good", Jonny went on. Angel looked up to him, as if he surely could not be so blind that he did not see why she was feeling the way she was.

"How could I not? You've seen what I've done, the trouble I've caused! People have died because of me Jonny! I almost cost us the victory at New Island, I couldn't save my teammates from dying, and even as we returned home, I just kept letting people down over and over again!", Angel said with annoyance and anger towards herself. She was shocked that no one was able to hear her. Jonny sighed.

"Angel, you're not seeing clearly. This isn't your fault, none of this is your fault", Jonny explained. Angel's eyes were beginning to tear up once more, but she looked at Jonny confused, hoping he'd go on. "What happened to us, it wasn't because you made a couple of mistakes. In fact, a lot of us are here because of our _own _mistakes. No one here blames you for what's happened Angel...You have to realize, there comes a price sometimes for peace", Jonny explained.

"But all of your lives!?", Angel asked. Jonny nodded.

"Yes, sometimes, that's exactly what it takes. Listen, unfortunately, life has a way of working in weird ways. It seems cruel, often times unbearable. It's like no matter what you do, worse and worse things happen. But, everything happens for a reason. I assure you Angel, even when things are beginning to look at their worst, it's not the end of it. You will rise against it, and you will overcome", Jonny said.

"But, how do you know that for sure? What makes you so positive?", Angel asked. Jonny smirked.

"Because...you have a guardian Angel now, to make sure that it does", Jonny said. Angel looked at Jonny for a while, not sure of what else to say. Jonny took charge then. "Angel, you have it in you to change the tide of the war. You alone have the power to stop this madness by Team Rocket, and finally save the world from this tyranny. You just have to believe in yourself". Angel fell to her knees, unable to believe such a thing.

"But...how? I'm only a twelve year old girl. What can I do that no one else can't?", Angel asked. Jonny smiled. He stepped forward, bent down onto his knee, and slowly, placed his hand on Angel's heart. Suddenly, Angel was overcome with a sense of warmth. It was the same feelings she had when Jonny was with her before, and it made her feel calm. It was as if the darkness in her was suddenly vanquished.

"The answer to that...lies in your heart", Jonny said with a smile. Angel couldn't help but shed a couple of tears as she looked at Jonny.

She felt now, that confidence that she had been yearning for. That feeling that Evan, Aleksi, Ash, and the other had tried to instil into her. It was as if she was able to accomplish any task now. However, unlike before, this felt like it was going to stay. She didn't know what would happen from now until she saved her parents, but she knew that she would be ready for it, she knew that she wouldn't let the others down. She looked up to Jonny.

"Thank you...for clearing my heart", Angel said. Jonny smiled as he stood back up, raising an eyebrow.

"Me? I didn't do anything, I just merely touched you...No, _you _were the one that did that", Jonny said. Angel smiled more as the tears slowly and gently cascaded down her cheeks. Deep down, she knew that she in fact had done it.

"...Thank you", Angel whispered gently. Jonny smiled. Suddenly, there was a noise, a voice calling out from behind her.

"Who are you talking to Angel?", someone said. Angel turned around in shock, only to see Aleksi and Brian standing behind her. Angel smiled, her tears had stopped forming but the remains of them stayed on her face. She quickly stood up.

"Oh! I was talking to", as Angel turned around, she saw nothing. No one was there, it was nothing more than the open field and forest. The sun had finally set behind the horizon, and the rays were gone. The sky's colors exploded, but would soon be darkened by night. Angel looked left and right, wondering where Jonny was...if he was ever there at all.

She wondered if all this time she was in fact only imagining Jonny. While she did believe in angels, she doubted that Jonny would come to her as one. She couldn't come up with a reasonable reason as to why she saw what she saw, other than either she was delusional, or it was in fact, real.

However, it didn't seem to matter. Whether he was really there or just a hallucination she had, the message was made. Angel smiled, a gentle breeze floating by, kissing her face softly and blowing her hair just ever so lightly.

"...a good friend", Angel finished. Aleksi and Brian looked at Angel, and then to each other. They seemed confused to her statement, but for some reason, didn't seem worried. In fact, Aleksi seemed to be more at peace. She stepped forward and gently grabbed Angel by the shoulders. The two girls looked at each other for a moment, before looking back to the sky. They remained quiet as they looked to the colorful sky, not thinking about anything in particular, but merely taking everything in.

Eventually, the two decided that they had had enough. Angel turned around and began to walk towards Brian. Aleksi was just about to follow, when she caught glimpse of Jonny's cross. She noted the bandanna on top of the cross, looked over to Angel, (who was now slowly walking away with Brian), and then smiled.

She knew who Angel's good friend was.

During this time, Ash and Brock were conversing with each other around the graves. They too were giving their respects to their fallen allies. They stood and watched Brenna, who was on her knees, giving a pat onto a fresh mound of dirt near a cross. Ash and the others had decided, with discretion, to bury Vanessa on the hill near the markers. They felt that she should be remembered just as much as the others. They made a point to place her grave near the markers of her boyfriend and brother, something Brenna appreciated. She remained there, patting the dirt, smiling. She had long ran out of tears, and was now silently praying for her friend.

"So where do you want to place the markers once all of this is over?", Brock asked. He knew as well as Ash about the temporary status of these markers.

"Hopefully, we'll get real markers, ones that will stand the tests of time, and then place them all in a cemetary. I'd like to think that when this is all over, the people of Kanto will be willing to make one somewhere for all of the fallen PTA. We'll try to see if we can recover any bodies and give them a final resting place. We'll move Vanessa's body and all of the markers there as well...no one is going to be forgotten", Ash remarked. The two looked on for a moment or two, keeping silent as Brenna finished her final prayers to her friend. Eventually, she stood up, a smile on her face, and walked over to the boys.

"Thank you both for doing this for her, I appreciate it, and...I'm sure she would too", Brenna said. Ash nodded with a smile.

"It's the least we could do", Ash said. Brenna nodded with a smile, and then changed her expression to that of a more serious one.

"Well, while we're here talking, I suppose I should let you know about the flash drive you had Angel give me", Brenna said. Ash and Brock looked at each other, and then to Brenna. "I was going to let you know about it earlier, but...I got distracted". As she said this, she took a glance over to Vanessa's grave. Ash and Brock nodded.

"It's alright, I know, friends come first", Ash said. Brenna nodded in agreement, and then looked back to the leaders.

"Well, the drive contained a lot more information than we could have ever hoped, more than I alone could even go through. So I divided up the contents amongst the different analysts, and hopefully everything will have been gone through by tomorrow", Brenna explained. Ash nodded.

"Alright, that's great to hear. Finally, some good news. By any chance, was there anything about the layouts of the Veridian base?", Ash asked. Brenna tried to recollect the few things she was able to look through earlier with Angel and the twins Luke and Logan.

"I remember seeing some blue prints, but I don't think they were of that base. Why, do we need them?", Brenna asked.

"Yeah, we're not positive how the base is laid out, and we want to make sure we know before we attack", Brock explained.

"Well, I'm not sure if the flash drive had anything, but I'll take a look later tonight", Brenna explained. Ash nodded.

"Good. I asked Aleksi earlier if she could find blue prints of it as well, so now we have two possible ways of getting them", Ash said. He then heard a noise and turned to the source. It was Aleksi, Angel, and Brian approaching them. Angel walked up to Brenna and gave her a hug, knowing that she was paying respects to Vanessa. The older teens meanwhile discussed with one another.

"Thanks again guys for doing this, I think that the rebels needed something like this done for our friends", Aleksi said, referring to the memorial.

"Well, hopefully when this is all over we'll be able to get an actual memorial", Brock said.

"Aleksi, did you happen to find a way to get those blueprints yet?", Ash asked. By this time, Angel and Brenna had released each other from the hug. "Brenna here said that she will look through the flash drive to see if blue prints are on it, but that she isn't sure if there are any". Aleksi looked disheartened, as if she had hoped that there was something on it, and that she wouldn't have to do any work.

"Well, I know of a way, and I'll do it later tonight, if there isn't anything on the drive", Aleksi stated. Angel looked to Aleksi, wondering what method she was talking about. Ash nodded, pleased to hear it.

"What about you Brian? Have any luck with that EMP?", Brock asked. Brian sighed.

"Well, up until me and Angel left to go to town, I had been working on it. It's a _real _bitch to get the computer for it up and running properly, but the bomb itself is connected right. I just have to do some final tweaks on it tonight, and depending on how long I work, I can get it finished by tomorrow", Brian said. The leaders nodded.

"Good, glad to hear it", Ash said.

"Glad to hear what?", someone asked. Everyone turned around to see Emily approaching them. She looked worn like Aleksi, possibly from remembering the deceased rebels as well. Knowing that she was not exactly the battle type rebel, it was understandable to see her saddened. Angel had not seen her since Prof. Oak had announced the ball yesterday, and was pleasantly surprised to see her. Emily looked at Angel and gave a slight smile, but mostly seemed to be her usual bitter self.

"Brian is almost done with the EMP", Ash informed Emily.

"Good, glad to see _someone's _getting work done", Emily said with annoyance.

"I take it things aren't going over as smoothly with you?", Aleksi asked in pity.

"I've been on the coms all day today, trying to get any and all information I can about Team Rocket's possible increase in security in the area, but I'm getting nothing! I pray to god that what you did earlier _won't _hinder us at all!", Emily said, glaring and pointing at Brian. She must have meant their recent run in with the trouble makers in town. Angel looked downcast, but only slightly. She knew that Emily was probably not aware that she was with them.

"Hey! The mart clerk needed our help!", Brian said, defending himself. Emily scoffed, shaking her head in the process. She had little patience for people like him.

"So then, did you find out _anything_?", Ash asked. Emily looked away from the annoyed Brian and brought her attention to Ash.

"All I found out is that there is _a lot _of activity in the Orange Islands right now. Cinnabar and pretty much all the other islands are locked off for god knows how long. Taking down the array really had a huge impact on Team Rocket", Emily explained. Brock nodded.

"That backs up what Tracy told us earlier, he got in contact with his base and they're all in hiding at the moment due to the activity", Brock explained.

"Well New Island is under extreme watch right now. I guess they're already working on rebuilding the array, but from what I've been hearing, it's going to be some time until they're finished. I talked to Shamouti Island's com leader and he said that they're going to send out regular mini EMP bursts to try to hinder their recovery, but it won't stop them from completing the base", Emily explained further.

"I suppose I shouldn't be surprised, they have so much man power and money that Team Rocket could build whatever they wanted to if given enough time", Ash said. He then looked to the others. "Alright, we can't cancel the ball now, it would draw too much attention and Team Rocket would be sure to send in investigators to search the area. So that will go along as scheduled. But no one else is allowed to go into town until we know how much security Team Rocket has in the area. We have to assume that all of Southern Kanto is under heavy watch from the New Island attack".

"Should the worst happen, we'll have to find a way to evacuate as many people as we can to the Seafoam Islands and our secure base there. Others will be distributed to local underground bases in the area. The region leaders will be heading back to their bases once the ball is over with, so that will help calm things down in Kanto for now at least", Brock explained. Upon hearing this, Angel noticed that Ash looked a little bit...depressed. He hid it well, but Angel was notoriously good at reading people. She could tell that something about that idea bothered him, and it was easy to tell why, or rather who, was the cause of it.

Misty

"Hey, did we ever find out anything about that kid you found?", Brian asked, remembering the teen they had seen earlier in Prof. Oak's medical lab. Ash looked zoned out at first, but soon snapped out of it and looked at Brian.

"Uh...oh, right. We moved him down into the base without any notice, but we still don't know anything about him yet. We're going to check up on him and see what's up as soon as we get inside", Ash explained.

"What if he's trouble? What if he's really a Rocket?", Emily asked.

"I doubt he's a Rocket, he didn't look like one and we didn't find any Rocket identification on him when we searched through his belongings. But we're still keeping on the down low. Brenna, we need you to try to do a background check on him as soon as you can, see if he has any Rocket history", Brock explained. Brenna nodded.

You got it", Brenna stated.

"If it turns out he _is _a Rocket, we'll have to hold him here. Letting him go can endanger the security of the base. We'll see if we can get any information out of him, since we couldn't take any hostages on New Island", Ash explained. Ash looked to the sky, and saw that the sun was now long gone, and the sky was beginning to get darker. Soon it would be night. "Alright, I think it's time we all headed inside. Round everyone up, and we'll go see how this kid's doing".

The group of rebels all nodded in unison. Angel and the others spread out and began to gather the rebels who were still paying their respects. Understanding the importance of getting back inside before potential night-time Rocket patrol vehicles scoped the area, the rebels all quickly said their goodbyes to their fallen comrades, and made haste for the base. When everyone left, a final gentle breeze kicked in, causing all the crosses to bend with it, as if saying goodbye to their friends.

**And that will end Chapter 71 of "R"! I apologize for any mistakes that you may have seen in the past couple chapters. I had gone through them and even used the site's spell/grammar checker, but apparently I did not do a good enough job, as some people pointed out my mistakes. I will try and improve on this in the future, (hopefully this chapter has little to no mistakes in it!). Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this little update! The next chapter will explain just who this mysterious teen is, and will also give some final conclusions to some other questions. Then, it's ONTO THE BALL IN CHAPTER 72! (hopefully). Please remember to F.A.R. and to check out my EVAN AAML Twitter page for news and updates, for those interested, please send me your drawings for cover pages, and as a little side note, this Wednesday, the 12th of September, will be my 21st birthday! Not that I care too much, but should I not respond to you all on this day, then this is why. Until next time my friends! This is EVAN AAML, signing off!**

**sincerely,  
evan, a fan of aaml -EVAN AAML**


	72. Chapter 72

**God I LOVE Fall, don't you? Everything about it just makes me smile and want to relax. But you know what I DON'T like? How I have to work and go to school during such times! -_- Oh well, such is life. Anyway, how's everything going my friends? I hope it's going well! Not much else to note in the A.N., except that I have 3 great friends working on a "R" cover page, there's a chance that, if I can't choose between them, I'll ask you all to vote and see which one you like! With that, let's get started!**

**P.S.- I discovered that I had made a mistake in Catie's spelling in Chapter 70. It's spelled Catie, not Katie. My apologies.**

**-EVAN AAML**

The small group made their way through the halls of the base. It had been only a few minutes since everyone left the temporary grave site for the rebels to go in for the night, and most people were preparing for a long night's rest. Tomorrow would be the ball, and while there was still mixed feelings about the dangers of having it, everyone was, in their own way, excited for it. Because of this, they wanted to make sure that they had enough rest for the big day tomorrow, but, for some, there were still some pressing matters to attend to.

Brian left to continue working on the bomb, as he said he would. There was not a lot left to do, but what was left was important and vital to the bomb working or not. Brenna had gone back to her library to prepare a background check on the boy. Though she wanted to see him face to face, she knew that she had a lot of work to do and shouldn't waste her time. Aleksi had disappeared as well, merely stating that she had "something to do". Ash seemed to understand what this was, but Angel seemed curious. However, she was far too distracted with their current target to worry much about it.

The injured boy that they had found this morning was still in the medical center of the base underground. While Ash agreed to have them fix him up until he was at full strength, he still did not know whether the boy could be trusted. And so now, he, along with Brock, Angel, and Emily, were going to see for themselves if he was a friend, or foe.

They walked with a slight kick in their pace, making sure that they got there quickly. There were not many other rebels out in the halls at this time, as most were already asleep or preparing for it. This allowed them to make their travel to the medical center faster than normal. When they arrived to the medical center, they looked around the halls. According to Ash, Wallace had stated that they would treat him in a smaller room, which would be secured just in case he was in fact a danger to the rebels. Angel looked around the area, recognizing spots where she and her friends were when they returned from New Island. She remembered the many injured rebels that walked up and down the halls, and it seemed weird to her now that it was almost empty.

Soon enough, Ash glanced down one of the many halls and saw Catie outside of a door, leaning against the wall. It looked as if she was waiting for someone. As Ash and the others made their way down this hall, Catie turned to them; she must have heard their heavy steps.

"Oh good, there you are, we were beginning to wonder if you forgot", Catie said, pushing herself off of the wall and looking at the group.

"Is he in there?", Ash asked, getting straight to business. Catie turned around to look at the closed door behind her that Ash was referring to.

"Yes. He's in stable condition, but someone really did a number on him. A couple broken ribs, severe bruising, a few gashes in his chest and sides; whoever did this to him wanted him to suffer", Catie explained.

"Did you find out anything since we left?", Brock asked. Catie shook her head.

"No, he was mumbling to himself while we were treating him, but it was incoherent. Wallace had me stand out here to wait for you while he finished treatment. As far as I know, he hasn't woken up yet", Catie explained.

"Ok, let's go see him then", Ash said. He then turned to Angel and Emily. "If you two would rather go to sleep, then go ahead. I know it's getting late". The two girls however shook their heads.

"No, I want to know who this kid is and if he can be trusted", Emily said. Angel could sense the paranoia in her voice. But she supposed that, if anyone would know what it would be like to be in his shoes, it would be her. Being a former Rocket, she knew what pressure there was to perform in the field. There was a chance that this kid screwed up, and was beaten by his own teammates. Usually when that happened, the grunt would do anything to make it up to their leaders, and managing to get into the head PTA base would be more than enough for forgiveness on their part.

"Alright then, Angel?", Ash asked. Angel turned to him with a smile.

"I'm good. I'm not that tired anyway", Angel said. Truth be told she was exhausted, especially after not getting a lot of sleep last night. But she wanted to know who this kid was, and she felt a bit guilty for his injuries if they were in fact caused by the same teens she and the others fought off earlier.

Seeing that they were going to stay, Ash nodded, and then turned back to Catie. She in turn nodded, and opened the door slowly. The door, being a heavy security door, was hard to pull open, but she managed to do so regardless. She first peaked her head inside to see if it was ok, then opened it fully and stepped inside. Ash and the others followed suit. Wallace sat in a small chair at the far corner of the room, flipping through papers on a clipboard, probably stats of his health and injuries. The boy laid on a white bed, much like the other beds in the medical center, except this one had restraints on the sides which held the boy's arms in place. An IV was placed in his right arm and was dripping clear fluids into his body. The kid remained in the clothes that Ash and Tracy found him in, with the exception of his glasses, which were placed on a small table next to the I.V. Wallace looked at the group as the entered the room and the door shut automatically behind them.

"Is he alright?", Ash asked, looking at the boy.

"He got beat up bad, but considering what we went through on New Island, he's fine. He should make a full recovery relatively soon, about four to five days roughly", Wallace explained.

"Has he said anything?", Brock asked.

"No, Catie had only been outside for a few minutes, he hasn't changed since", Wallace said.

"Did you go through his stuff?", Emily asked. She knew that there was a chance that something in his belongings could give away his identity. Wallace placed the clip board down, stood up, and walked over to a back pack that was on a small table. Around the back pack were many different items, typical of a traveler, along with a Pokéball belt and six Pokéballs on it.

"There was nothing on his person that said he was a Rocket. He has six Pokémon, which seems odd, but otherwise he's normal. His I.D. says he's sixteen and from the Hoenn region. He has no weapons on him at all, which could be why he was beat up without the chance of using his Pokémon for protection. I'm guessing he was attacked from behind and then beat", Wallace explained. He lifted up different items and examined them. "He has basic traveling things, food, compass, map, clothes, Pokémon items...he's pretty much just your standard trainer if you ask me".

"We'll see about that", Emily said, pulling out her Pokénav from her belt. She fumbled with a few buttons and soon began talking into it. "Hey Brenna, have you found anything on this kid?". After a couple of seconds, the screen flashed and Brenna appeared on it. She looked at the Pokénav intently.

"So far no, but all I have to work off of is the security camera images. Do you have an I.D. card of him or anything?", Brenna asked. Emily nodded and immediately walked over towards Wallace. He held it up to her and she snatched it out of his hand, resulting in a shocked and somewhat annoyed expression from Wallace. She slid the card into a small port on the side of the Pokénav and clicked a couple of buttons. There was a beeping sound and then the card popped out from the side. She pulled it out and gave it back to Wallace while still looking at the screen. Brenna looked at the screen and began typing away at her computer.

"Alright, it'll take me a bit to go through files in the region, I'll phone you if I find something", Brenna explained. Emily nodded.

"Understood, over and out", Emily said. The connection to the two girls then ended and Emily turned off her Pokénav. She looked to the others. "Alright, if he _is _a Rocket, we'll find out eventually. But if he was assigned to go undercover purposely, then there's a chance that any files Brenna finds, Rocket or not, are false".

"I know, so then we'll have to wait and see what he says when he wakes up", Ash said. Suddenly, as if on cue, there was movement coming from the bed. Everyone turned and looked to the bed to see the kid tossing and turning as much as he could while tied down. He mumbled some more in his sleep, like Catie had said he did previously. Soon however, he slowly opened his eyes, trying to readjust to the lights from the ceiling. As soon as he did, he tried to move his arms, but found that he couldn't. He panicked, tried pulling them free, only making the restraints tighter. His eyes opened wide this time as he lifted his head and looked at his body. He gasped as he tried to break free, then panicked even more when he saw the rebels standing alongside him. He let out a terrified yell.

"Woah, woah! Calm down, we're not going to hurt you", Ash said.

"He's right, we brought you down here to get patched up, we saved your life", Brock said. The rebel looked scared still, which was shown easily in his eyes. However, he tried to relax and slowed his heavy paced breathing. He took this time to look at all the rebels individually, seeing if they looked threatening. When he decided that they didn't, he relaxed more, and laid back down into the bed.

"...sorry", the boy said. It was clear that the boy was not used to something like this, he was nervous over the whole thing. Although Angel couldn't blame him, she would probably be scared too if she was restrained in a bed surrounded by complete strangers. Ash slowly approached the bed, uncertain how the kid would react.

"We found you outside of Prof. Oak's lab, you were beaten pretty bad. You asked for help and then passed out, that's when we brought you here", Ash said. The boy looked at Ash for a bit, as if trying to remember.

"I...dimly remember something like that...you seem somewhat familiar", the boy said. He then looked down to his arms, seeing the restraints once more. "Alright then, where's _here_, and why am I restrained?". Ash and the others showed some hesitation, not certain if they should open up at all over where he was and who they were, but they felt that he would find out sooner or later, and so lamented.

"...You're in a secret base of the PTA", Ash answered.

"We had to restrain you just in case you were a Rocket undercover. We couldn't take the chance of endangering ourselves and the base", Brock further detailed. The boy's eyes grew wide in shock. While the rebels were anticipating something more along the lines of fear and anger, to their surprise, he actually smiled greatly.

"Are you serious!? No way! I've been _looking _for you guys for ages!", the boy said. Ash and the others raised their eyebrows in confusion. "Yeah! When I heard about you guys awhile ago, I wanted to find you all! I want to join!".

"Hold on there kid, you can't just _join _the PTA. We don't know who you are or who you might work for, how do we know you're not a Rocket?", Emily asked with some distaste. Despite the kid's attitude, she still didn't trust him in the least. Angel didn't blame her one bit for thinking this way, and she herself was suspicious over the boy as well. However, she still couldn't help but find it ironic that the rebel who was a Rocket baby and keeps it a secret was the one most concerned. The boy seemed to understand this and nodded.

"Yeah, I suppose I don't blame you for not believing me. My name's Noah, I'm from the Hoenn region. I've been traveling around, going through the different regions trying to avoid trouble from the Rockets. I've seen first hand the evils that those Rockets have done to the people of the world. While I alone can't do a whole lot, I know that if I were to join forces with someone like you all, the PTA, then I could do the most good.", the boy named Noah said.

"Why are you traveling alone? Do you have a family?", Angel asked. Noah shook his head.

"No...not anymore at least", Noah stated. There was a moment of silence in the room, no one was certain of what to say. They didn't know Noah at all yet, but already felt the same pity for him as they did for anyone else who had lost their families to Team Rocket. Angel understood what Noah was going through, traveling merely for survival. She knew what it was like, and she couldn't imagine doing it for her entire life.

"Well, after making my way to Kanto, I heard some rumors about a group called the PTA. I had heard of them and what they've done a couple of times in Hoenn when I lived there, and a couple more times as I made my way here, but I never paid much attention to it until now. I heard about how they are a big group determined to bring down Team Rocket. And as soon as I heard about that, I knew I had to join", Noah explained.

"But then, how did you know to look for us here?", Ash asked, some concern in his voice. If Noah had known that the base was here, that means that the secret to their location was out there somewhere, and their safety was in jeopardy. However, Noah shrugged it off.

"Actually, it was sheer dumb luck. I looked all throughout Kanto, hoping to find signs of you guys. While I heard stories, I never caught wind of anything. I was just lucky to have found you when I did...or rather, lucky to have you find me", Noah answered.

"What happened to you?", Catie asked.

"I had just walked into Pallet Town, hoping to get some rest and supplies, when all of a sudden, I was attacked from behind by some gang of some sorts. I tried to fight them off, but they had taken my Pokéball belt when I hit the ground, and I didn't have any weapons. As you can tell, I'm not exactly the best fighter. I did what I could, but I was outnumbered and outclassed. I thought these guys were Rockets, but I couldn't tell, they weren't wearing Rocket uniforms or anything, or at least from what I could tell, I didn't get to see a lot", Noah explained.

"Then how did you manage to escape?", Emily asked.

"Honestly...I don't know. They could have beaten me to death if they wanted to. But they didn't. They just beat me up, threw my stuff on the ground, and walked off laughing. They didn't even steal my Pokémon", Noah said.

"Then maybe they weren't Rockets, they would have at least taken your Pokémon if they were", Brock said.

"And Rocket grunts tend to not get into unnecessary fights, their higher-ups don't want them creating trouble when they're still in training", Wallace threw in. Angel nodded.

"When we stopped them, they never actually said they were Rockets, merely hinted at it. Maybe they were just using it as leverage to get their way", Angel suggested. Noah's eyes grew slightly wide in shock.

"You ran into them too!?", Noah asked. Angel turned to him.

"We might have. We had to fight off some trouble making teens too, we're guessing they're the same people", Angel said.

"You said you didn't get to see a lot, but did you get a look at the people who attacked you?", Ash asked. Noah thought for a moment, putting his hand on his head like he had a headache.

"I tried to, but I was too busy getting beat up to really see much. I'd recognize their voices if I heard them though, all they did was talk", Noah said.

"Well unfortunately we don't have them here for voice recognition", Emily said, a hint of sarcasm in her voice. Ash looked at her, telling her with his eyes to relax, (which she did), and then turned back to Noah.

"Ok then, what happened after they left?", Ash asked.

"Well, I grabbed my stuff and desperately looked around for help. I was lucky that the gang didn't find me walking around, or god knows what else would have happened to me. I eventually found myself just blindly wandering from exhaustion and pain, and next thing I know, I'm strapped in this bed", Noah explained.

"You're really lucky then. Your injuries aren't major, but if you never found us, you could have easily gotten worse off without the proper help", Wallace said, looking once again through the papers on the clipboard.

"That's good", Noah commented. Suddenly, there was a ringing noise that echoed throughout the room. Everyone turned to Emily as she pulled out her Pokénav once again. She clicked a button and soon the screen turned on, revealing Brenna's face. Everyone kept quiet as Emily talked.

"Hey Brenna, did you find anything?", Emily asked.

"Well, yes and no. I found files on the kid, but nothing about him being a Rocket. His name's Noah and he's from the Hoenn region. He was registered in the Pokémon League in that region, that's how I found the files. He doesn't have anything on his records so far, and he's only been in Kanto for a couple of weeks. He looks clean", Brenna stated. Emily didn't appear to be convinced, but Brenna did everything that she could. She nodded.

"Alright, thanks Brenna", Emily said. Brenna nodded, and the connection between them ended. Emily put her Pokénav away as Noah looked at her.

"Really didn't trust me did you?", Noah asked. Emily looked at him with a small yet distinguished cold look.

"What do you think?", Emily asked. Noah sighed.

"I suppose I shouldn't be surprised, I just didn't know what to expect", Noah said. Ash, Brock, Emily, and Wallace looked at one another for a moment, and then stepped over towards the table to talk in private while Catie and Angel brought up conversation with Noah. Whether this was done purposely to distract him, or just done coincidentally, was unknown.

"What do you think?", Brock asked.

"I still don't trust him. He might not be a threat physically to us, but one slip of the tongue could ruin everything we've set up for the attack on Veridian", Emily stated.

"I don't know, something tells me that he really isn't a Rocket. Most of his story can draw suspicion, but he said that he didn't see who it was that was attacking him. If he were a Rocket, he would have immediately agreed that the teens who attacked him were the same ones that attacked the mart, to back up his story", Ash said.

"That's a good point. He wouldn't have said that he didn't see them if he had this opportunity", Brock said. Emily turned back to look at Noah for a moment. He was listening to whatever it was that Catie and Angel were telling him, not paying the least bit attention to her and the others.

"Maybe...but I'm still not taking any chances", Emily said.

"Well whether he is a Rocket or not, he still needs to stay in here to be treated. We can't just leave him as he is, he needs more help", Wallace said.

"How much longer?", Brock asked.

"I'd say about four or so days, until after the ball at the _least_", Wallace explained. Everyone turned to Ash to wait for a response. He looked at the ground for a moment, deep in thought. Soon however, he looked back up to the others.

"Alright, we'll keep in here for now", Ash said. Emily looked visibly annoyed over the answer while the others nodded. "He'll stay in this room with the security door and at least one rebel watching him at all times. After he's back to full health, then we'll decide what to do with him. Meanwhile, why don't we have someone interrogate him, see if he knows anything at all that could help us. Maybe he'll let something slip that will help us decide if he's a Rocket or not". All three of them nodded, and then they turned back around to the other three.

"Ok Noah, because of your injuries, we're going to keep you here for now, to help treat your wounds", Ash said. Noah looked up to him and nodded.

"Thanks, I really appreciate it!...What about me joining you?", Noah asked. Ash looked at him for a moment, and then smiled.

"We'll see how things turn out", Ash explained. Noah's smile slowly disappeared.

"Still don't trust me do you?", Noah asked.

"Well, as you can expect, our safety and secrecy are very important to our cause. We can't just let people join when we're uncertain of who they really are", Ash said. Noah shrugged.

"Well, I suppose I can't argue with that logic. In hind sight, I'd probably be the same in your shoes. If it means anything, I'll tell you everything I know. I'd imagine it's not much, but every little bit helps, right?", Noah said. Ash nodded.

"It would be greatly appreciated", Ash said.

"Meanwhile, you'll stay in here and get treated, we have tons of able doctors and proper supplies to help you", Brock said.

"And what about my stuff?", Noah asked. He must not have known that his things were on the table right next to him.

"We'll bring your Pokémon to our Pokémon care center to get treated as well. The rest of your stuff is right there on the table", Ash explained, pointing to the table. Noah looked over and saw his back pack.

"Oh, ok. Thanks, I appreciate it", Noah said. Ash nodded. Catie walked over and grabbed Noah's Pokéball belt from the table. The group was about ready to leave the room, when suddenly Noah called them out. "Wait, before you leave...do you think you could...", Noah said, motioning to his restrained arms as best he could. Ash couldn't help but chuckle slightly.

"Yeah, go ahead", Ash said, motioning to Wallace. Wallace nodded and then walked over to the bed. He removed the restraints on Noah's arms, allowing Noah to lift them and rub his now sore wrists.

"Thanks", Noah said. Ash nodded, and then the group left the room, leaving Noah alone to rest. Wallace was the last to leave the room, and turned to make sure that the security door was locked from the inside, as it should be.

"Well, he is free roam of the room now with his restraints off, but he still needs that I.V. in him, and the door's locked so he won't be getting out anytime soon", Wallace informed. Ash nodded.

"Good. I trust him, but it's better to be safe than sorry, especially at this moment", Ash said. Wallace looked down at his wrist to see what the time was currently.

"Well, it's getting late, passed my bedtime at least. So if you don't mind, I'm going to bed. Tomorrow's a big day after all", Wallace said. Everyone nodded.

"Yeah, I suppose you're right. You all need your rest. Thanks for taking care of Noah", Ash said. Wallace and Catie nodded.

"No problem", Catie said. Angel giggled and looked over to Catie.

"Yeah, you need your rest especially, you have to deal with Hunter tomorrow", Angel said with a smile. Ash and Brock couldn't help but chuckle. Emily sighed.

"Hunter? You must have been desperate if you asked him", Emily said. Catie giggled slightly.

"Haha, not exactly. Mostly it was pity, that and, after dealing with him for so long, I thought it'd be a nice change of pace if I hung out with him without having to worry about his injuries", Catie said with a giggle. Even Emily couldn't help but chuckle at that. "That being said, I do need all the rest I can get, so I'll see you all tomorrow! Night!", Catie said, waving goodbye and walking off. Wallace did the same and followed her.

"Bye!", Angel called out, waving back to the two medics. She then yawned and rubbed her eyes, prompting a laugh from Brock.

"I think you need your rest too Angel, you woke up early this morning", Brock said. Angel nodded.

"Yeah, you're right. I guess we should all go to sleep. Alright, goodnight guys!", Angel said. Everyone waved goodbye to one another and went about their ways, going to bed to rest up for the big day tomorrow.

While Angel and the other rebels were preparing for a long night's sleep, another rebel remained awake, not feeling the least bit tired. While her body seemed worn from the day's events, (and possibly even from the few days before it), her mind was active, too busy thinking of events to come.

Aleksi sat at an open window, curling her body along with the circular shaped frame. It was just large enough to hold her body, though she allowed her right leg to dangle off the side and bounce every once in a while. She was upstairs, away from the safety of the base, positioned near the backend of Prof. Oak's lab. The window faced a small section of Prof. Oak's land, along with the forests of Pallet.

While normally it was considered dangerous to be outside of the base, (especially given the day's events), at night, the cameras were less active. Ash figured this was due to lazy Rocket grunts who didn't pay much attention to the cameras at night. Aleksi, being more skilled than most of the rebels, managed to avoid the camera's views regardless.

So now she sat, allowing the cool breeze of the night to cool her body. In her hands, rested a small young Pidgey. The flying type Pokémon cooed and nuzzled into her hands, as if not wanting to leave. Aleksi pitied the little bird, knowing it was young and tired, but she needed to get her message out, and this was the only safe way to do it.

While the security cameras were not always a threat, using phones and other forms of communication was always a danger. Team Rocket had every phone in the base tapped, and would surely listen in on any conversation that Aleksi would send out if she used one. Although phones in the base were not tapped, it was still possible for Team Rocket to trace the call if given enough time, a gamble Aleksi was not willing to take. She supposed that she could have used a Pokénav to contact her source, but she was not ready for a face to face conversation.

Not yet.

And so, Aleksi sat there, a simple but direct message tied to the foot of the young Pidgey. For safety reasons, the message was coded, though she knew that it was one that her source could decode. The PTA rarely used messenger birds for communication since they used Pokénavs more often, but they did still have some trained in case of emergencies. Team Rocket did not have enough security to catch and inspect every single Pokémon they came across, especially one as small as a Pidgey, and especially at night.

"Couldn't get any sleep?", someone called out. Aleksi's heart skipped a beat and she gasped as she turned to her right to see Mathinza standing before her. His arms were crossed as he looked at her, not in anger, but more curiosity. Aleksi sighed.

"No, not exactly tired. Same with you?", Aleksi asked.

"I don't sleep", Mathinza stated. Aleksi looked at him in concern, feeling bad that he did not get a lot of rest. She then recalled that morning, when she ran into him and Angel before breakfast. He had stated that he didn't get a lot of sleep. She didn't know why exactly this was true, but she figured that he was used to it by now. Mathinza slowly approached Aleksi as she turned back to the little bird in her hands, calming it down from being startled by Mathinza's sudden appearance.

"Sending a message via Pidgey? Seems a bit old school don't you think?", Mathinza said. Aleksi smiled.

"Maybe, but I always prefered doing things in a unique way. Besides, I can't afford to risk being detected by using a phone", Aleksi explained.

"Is this about that thing Ash asked you to get for us? Evan briefly mentioned something like that to me", Mathinza said. Aleksi nodded in response. "So then, are you certain that that Pidgey will be able to get your message out in time?".

"Yeah...I'm certain", Aleksi said. She then gave one final nuzzle to the little bird before opening her hand and gently held it out the window. The Pidgey took the hint, and immediately flew off into the night. Both Aleksi and Mathinza watched as the little bird Pokémon flapped its wings heavily, flying away with great speed for such a little bird.

"There it goes", Mathinza said, merely trying to start up another conversation. Aleksi nodded.

"Yep, it'll reach its target by early in the morning. Hopefully I'll get a response by the time we're at the ball", Aleksi said.

"Hopefully. Let's just hope that no one will see you get a response. I'm certain that the ball will get a lot of attention. Our only advantage is that there will be so much going on that you might be able to slip away; if only for a moment", Mathinza stated. Aleksi nodded in agreement.

"Right", Aleksi merely responded. Mathinza could tell that Aleksi was in deep thought about something, but was not certain over what. He knew that whatever she was hoping to get was important, but he had a suspicious feeling. He felt that it wasn't just the hopes of getting information that made her feel this way, there had to be something more. Perhaps the person who was receiving the letter was the cause of it?

"I'm curious", Mathinza said. Aleksi turned her head away from the now distant Pidgey to look at him. "Who exactly are you sending the letter to? It's not from someone in the PTA, otherwise we would have talked to them already. So then...who is this person?", Mathinza asked. He kept his voice down, to make sure that _if _someone was listening in on them from the cameras, it would not be interpreted.

Aleksi seemed lost in thought at the question. Mathinza knew now that it was definitely the person she was trying to contact that was distracting her. He was not sure if it was a touchy subject or not for the young adult, but felt like he had to know. Aleksi looked at Mathinza and then smiled.

"Oh, it's...no one. No one special. Just a contact I have in case of emergencies", Aleksi stated. Mathinza sighed. He could tell that she was holding back from him, but he did not want to pry anymore. He nodded.

"Alright then, understood", Mathinza stated. He then turned and looked at a clock that was positioned on a wall near them. "Well, it's past midnight, I think you should get some sleep Aleksi. Tomorrow's going to be a busy day, and I don't think Evan will be too fond of dancing with you if you're too tired", Mathinza said jokingly. Aleksi smiled and let off a slight giggle at the remark.

"I'll be sure to do that Mathinza, thanks. I'll go to bed shortly", Aleksi said. Mathinza nodded, and left it at that. He turned around, and walked away, leaving the female teen to the open window.

When Mathinza was gone, Aleksi turned her attention back to the open window and the night outside. She sighed heavily, her heart aching in a way that caused her a lot of pain. She had not felt this way in quite some time. She had hoped to never feel it again, but she knew that desperate times such as these called for even the most desperate of measures.

Aleksi did not know if this would be merely another message, or a face to face conversation, she hoped not for the later. Tomorrow, she would get her response. She would find out if she would be able to get blue prints of the Veridian Rocket base for Ash. But more importantly, should the reply be face to face, she would have to deal with that person once more.

Aleksi, would have to see her father.

**GASP! WHAT A TWIST! :O So who's shocked? Anyone?...anyone?...FINE! Ok, so maybe it wasn't THAT big of a twist, but still, I think it's cool! I hope that this chapter answered some questions for you! As of late I have been having a lot of...issues to deal with so to speak, so I apologize for the tardiness of this chapter, and possibly others more to come. "With Aleksi contacting her father, will she be able to handle a possible reunion with him once more? Will the ball go off without a hitch? Find out next time on EVAN AAML's "R"!". Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter, please be sure to F.A.R. and to check out my Twitter account! In the next chapter, it'll finally be BALL TIME! :D So until next time, check out prettygirl17's story "Madness" for a better read while I work on updates! **

**sincerely,  
evan, a fan of aaml -EVAN AAML**


	73. Chapter 73

**Well, here it is ladies and gentleman! After so much time building it up and telling you about it, IT'S BALL TIME! :D I hope you're all as excited as I am! I will be sure to try and give everyone's OCs justice in terms of their outfits, personalities, and so forth. For all of you who have been asking me where the romance in the story went, IT'S GOING HERE! ;) There will also be some comedy, possibly some drama, and possibly...well, I'll let the rest be discovered by you yourselves. Anyway, I've dragged this on enough, let's get started!**

**-EVAN AAML**

Angel slowly opened her eyes, making sure to do so gently so as to not hurt them from the light of the room. Although she was feeling much better, because she still technically had a concussion, she was forced to sleep in the medical wing once more. This annoyed her slightly, as she had hoped to sleep in the spare bedroom at Ash's house like she did the night she arrived. Seeing Delia again and talking about yesterday's events would have made her happy. But she couldn't argue with the medical staff, and so there she was, laying in the bed of the medical wing.

After her eyes were adjusted to the light of the room, she turned her body so that she was laying on her back and her head was facing the ceiling. Often times when she woke up she would just lay in bed and relax for a little while longer. She found this habit much harder to do on the run when she slept on the cold ground or in a tree's hollowed out trunk. But now that she was in an actual bed, she wanted nothing more than to just lay there and relax.

The room was quiet, as she expected it to be. She didn't know the exact time, (she figured there was a clock somewhere on the wall, but didn't feel like looking for it), but assumed it was around seven or eight in the morning. She was good at being able to tell what time it was, she didn't know why. She carefully lifted her head to see who else was in the room. Brock's arm was still damaged from the burns, and so he too was forced to stay in the medical wing. Prof. Oak's medicine had helped it tremendously, but he would still be out of commission for a few more days at least. The twins Luke and Logan were also still in the medical wing. To her surprise, they were quiet, not snoring like they did the night before. She didn't know how their injuries were, though she figured they weren't too severe.

To the far left of the room was another female, who was still asleep like the others. Angel did not know her, and therefore did not know the severity of her injuries. Besides them, there were no other rebels in the room. Aleksi, Darrel, and everyone else had recovered enough to at least be able to sleep in their own rooms. She laid her head back down onto her pillows and just spaced out, allowing her body to adjust to being awake. She could feel that she was still tired. It was another rough night for her, nightmares plagued her while she tried to rest. While they weren't as bad as the night before, it did cause her to got get a peaceful night's sleep. She couldn't complain however, at least she got sleep this time. She slowly began to close her eyes, feeling the wonderful sensation of sleep returning to her suddenly. She wouldn't bother fighting it, it wasn't like anything important was going on today...

Suddenly, it hit her.

Her eyes opened wide in shock and she immediately sat up. How could she forget!? It was today, _today_! The feeling of tiredness was drained from her immediately, she was now full of energy, full of purpose for the day. She turned her head around rapidly this way and that, looking for a clock in the room. Finally, she found one hanging from the wall to the far left by the storage room. Seven-thirty, she _was _good at guessing the time.

"GUYS! WAKE UP!", Angel yelled. Brock immediately opened his eyes and shot up. He was normally a morning person to begin with, and so woke up easily and with no problem. Angel's sudden outburst however did give him a jolt, thinking something was wrong. The girl in the far end of the room also woke up suddenly, but seemed more out of it than Brock was. Luke and Logan however were still asleep. "GUYS! COME ON! GET UP!", Angel yelled again. The twins this time slowly rose from their beds, yawning and stretching. Angel found it odd that farmer boys who woke up early everyday suddenly wanted to sleep in. Luke rubbed his eyes and removed the morning crust while Logan slumped forward, almost falling back to sleep at the foot of the bed.

"What is it?", Luke asked.

"Yeah, why the hurry?", Logan continued.

"DO YOU KNOW WHAT TODAY IS!?", Angel asked. The twins and the girl at the end of the room seemed lost, they were too tired to be able to think clearly. Brock was actually trying to think, but came up with nothing. "TODAY'S THE BALL!".

"Oh yeah! I almost forgot about that!", Brock said with a smile. The worry he had about Angel waking them up by yelling was gone, and he relaxed. The girl at the end of the room seemed happy to hear about the ball, but it was not enough to grab her undivided attention, especially this early in the morning. She laid back down, and went to sleep. The twins sighed heavily upon seeing this.

"Are you kidding me!? You woke us up for _that_!?", Luke asked, he moaned and fell backwards on his pillows.

"Me and Luke can't go back to sleep once we wake up! We've lost so much potential sleep now!", Logan stated. Brock turned to them with confusion.

"Don't you guys wake up early on the farm anyways?", Brock asked.

"Yes, but not on free days", Luke said.

"We were too achy from our injuries to sleep a lot the night before", Logan explained.

"So since we're feeling better, we thought we could sleep in today", Luke continued.

"But not anymore", Logan finished. Brock sweatdropped. He wasn't used to twins who continued each other's sentences. Angel felt no guilt however, her excitement was too overwhelming. She threw off her blankets and jumped off the bed, disregarding the pink slippers this time. She wore the same blue nightgown that she wore the night before. She rushed over to their beds and tried to drag them both off of their beds. Brock chuckled as she tugged at their arms trying to get them moving.

"Come on guys! Today's IMPORTANT! It's the BALL! We need to get up, get to helping, get dressed, and get to having fun!", Angel stated. The boys sighed, she sounded like their mother. Angel continued to pull at them, but to no avail. She was not strong enough to move them. Angel had her right arm on Luke's left one, and her left arm on Logan's right one. She tugged with all her might, until suddenly, she found herself being lifted in the air. Both twins sat up from their beds and lifted Angel up in the air just with their arms, the same ones that Angel was still gripping onto. She looked at Luke, then at Logan, and then began kicking the air around her in frustration.

"OH COME ON GUYS YOU SHOULD BE MOVING NOW TODAY'S THE BIG DAY WE NEED TO...", Angel continued her loud rant, which fell upon deaf ears because the twins were too tired to care. They both sighed.

"Should we get moving Logan?", Luke asked.

"We might as well", Logan answered. The two finally lowered their arms, letting Angel back onto the floor. She stopped her rant and rushed to the end of the beds as they yawned once more and finally got out of bed. She smiled greatly.

"FINALLY!", Angel yelled out. She then turned to Brock. "What about you Brock? Are you coming?". Brock, who had not just finally gotten over his fits of laughter from the scene before him, smiled and nodded.

"You bet! Me and Sawyer still have a lot of cooking to do in the kitchen!", Brock said. He got out of his bed and stretched.

"Good luck getting Sawyer up!", Angel said. Brock turned and looked at her in confusion.

"What?", Brock asked, not quite hearing her. Angel giggled.

"Oh nothing!", Angel said. She knew how bad of a morning person Sawyer was, and laughed at the idea of Brock getting her up. She then turned and saw that the girl at the end of the room had fallen back to sleep. Angel was about to go over and wake her up, but Brock stopped her. He seemed to have sensed what she was going to do.

"Uh, actually, you better let _me _wake her up", Brock said. Angel was going to ask why, but Brock had already walked over to the girl's bed. As Brock began to wake up the girl gently, (Angel figured this was why he wanted to do it), a noise took her attention. She turned around to see Mrs. Ketchum enter the room. Angel's eyes widened in shock and she smiled greatly as she ran over to her temporary mother. Delia smiled back, holding in her arms clothes.

"Good to see you're awake sweetie", Delia said. Angel reached her and stopped.

"It's great to see you again Mrs. Ketchum!", Angel said. Mrs. Ketchum smiled and giggled.

"It's great to see you too! I thought that you might want your usual outfit back, I fixed it all up again and cleaned it, as good as new!", Delia said, holding out Angel's yellow sundress and other clothes. Angel smiled and accepted the clothes.

"Thank you Mrs. Ketchum!", Angel replied. Mrs. Ketchum merely giggled.

"It was my pleasure Angel!", Mrs. Ketchum said. Angel walked over and brought her clothes to her bed. She knew that she could not get dressed in this room with Brock and the twins still there, so she merely left them there for the time being. Angel then turned back to Mrs. Ketchum.

"So Mrs. Ketchum, are you excited for the ball!?", Angel asked excitedly. Mrs. Ketchum giggled.

"Well of course I am! I've been spending the last couple days preparing for it. I came over here in fact to help with the rest, I just wanted to make sure you were taken cared of first", Delia explained.

"Oh, that's cool!", Angel said. "Are you going with anyone?".

"Oh no dear, I haven't been dating since Ash's father passed away years ago. I'll be supervising the ball and serving snacks and drinks", Delia responded.

"Oh, that's too bad. But at least you'll still be able to dress up for it", Angel stated.

"Oh yes, I'll definitely be sure to dress up for the occasion...oh! That reminds me! Your dress for the ball is back at the house sweetie. When you're ready to get dressed you can come over and I'll help you", Delia explained. Angel's eyes lit up and she gasped.

"Really!? I'm so excited to see it and wear it!", Angel said. Mrs. Ketchum giggled.

"I'm glad you are! Not a lot of people here are", Delia said with a giggle. Angel giggled at this as well. Since Mrs. Ketchum was in charge of people's outfits, she imagined that she had a lot of people come up to her asking for special outfits, or asking to not wear their dressier attires. Just then Brock approached the two. The girl who he had woken up was now getting up, grabbing a small bag in the process.

"Alright, everyone's up", Brock said. Mrs. Ketchum nodded.

"That's good. Everyone has a busy day, we can't have people sleeping in!", Delia stated. Brock nodded.

"Indeed. I need to go and help finish the food for tonight. I'll go and get started then", Brock said. With that, he left the room, grabbing his clothes as he did so. Following Brock was the girl that he had woken up, who yawned and slowly made her way out of the room. The two girls watched as they left the room, and as they did, caught eye of the twins, who were so sleep deprived that they were having trouble pulling their clothes out of their bags. Mrs. Ketchum sighed.

"They remind me of Ash when I used to wake him up in the mornings", Delia said, mostly to herself and Angel.

"Come on guys! You're moving like Slowpokes!", Angel said. Both twins turned and gave a scowl to Angel, and then suddenly collapsed onto their beds in a heavy sigh. Mrs. Ketchum and Angel both sweatdropped.

"Oh dear. Alright sweetie, why don't you go and get ready, I'll get them moving myself. You have a big day ahead of you!", Delia said. Angel nodded.

"Alright!", Angel said with a smile. She was excited to get moving and start the day. She ran over and grabbed her clothes and rushed out towards the door.

"Just remember, when you're ready to change, meet me at the house!", Delia called out as the girl ran. Angel turned and looked at Mrs. Ketchum as she ran.

"Ok! Thank you!", Angel said. She then ran out of the room, leaving Mrs. Ketchum and the twins behind.

It did not take long for Angel to shower and prepare herself for the day. Her concussion had recovered somewhat, though she still occasionally had fits of headaches, (Wallace had explained to her before that this was to be expected, so she was not worried). Despite the headaches, she showered, got dressed, and prepared herself. She knew that she would only do more later on, and so did not worry about too much preparation. After dropping her nightgown in the laundry shoot, she exited the bathrooms while trying to put on her Beautifly earrings. As she walked and placed them in her ears, she was suddenly met by Evan, Darrel, Milo, and Hunter. The four were bunched up in the hall, chatting and laughing. Evan and Darrel had lit cigarettes in their mouths, occasionally removing them to speak or let out smoke. Milo and Hunter did not smoke.

"Good morning guys!", Angel called out. All four men stopped their chatting and turned to the source of the voice. When they spotted Angel, they all smiled.

"Well good morning to you too Angel!", Evan said. Angel stopped when she reached them, giving them a few feet of separation due to the cigarette smoke and smell. She just finished putting the earrings in.

"I'm surprised you're all up already!", Angel said. Milo chuckled.

"Not like we had much choice anyway, the region leaders woke us up in our rooms and had us get up", Milo explained with a chuckle. "Did they wake you up too?". Angel shook her head.

"No, I got up myself. I woke Brock up in fact", Angel explained. Evan couldn't help but smile, knowing Angel was like that. The others seemed slightly shocked.

"Pft, figures the little kid wakes up on her own", Hunter stated. Angel scowled at him for the comment, resulting in fits of laughter from the other guys. Hunter continued to lean on his cane, she wasn't sure how long he would be needing it.

"So then Angel, are you excited for tonight?", Evan asked. Angel turned to Evan with a smile.

"Of course I am! That's why I got up so early!", Angel said.

"I have to say, I'm kind of excited myself, gonna be nice to relax for once", Milo said.

"Yeah dog, be able to enjoy something for once", Darrel threw in. Milo smirked.

"Oh yeah, tonight's going to be a great night, gonna flirt with _all _the ladies!", Milo said. Evan sighed with a laugh while Hunter and Darrel chuckled heavily. Angel blushed in embarrassment.

"Oh jeez", Angel said. The boys laughed more this time. Evan took another puff from his cigarette.

"So Angel, you think you can help me get Aleksi up? She stayed up late last night apparently and I think it would be better for my sake if you were there with me", Evan said with a wink. Angel smiled.

"Sure, I'd love to!", Angel said. She remembered her talk with Brock a couple of nights ago. While they decided to try to get May and Drew together, and then Ash and Misty, she didn't see why she couldn't work on Aleksi and Evan. Evan finished off his cigarette and then threw it into the ashtray of a garbage can that was situated right beside the group of guys.

"Alright then, let's go! Guys, I'll see you all tonight, don't forget to dress up!", Evan said, saying his farewells.

"See you later man", Milo said, giving him a high-five as he left.

"Have fun with Aleksi! I'm sure you will tonight!", Hunter joked. All three guys then started to laugh at Evan's expense as he and Angel walked away. Evan blushed and covered his face as Angel giggled.

"I'm gonna kill those guys", Evan said.

"It's alright Evan, I think you and Aleksi will have a lot of fun tonight!", Angel said with a giggle. Evan playfully put his hand on her head and started to mess up her hair. The pair began to walk through the halls, saying hi to the rebels they passed in the process. While most people were in the process of getting ready for the day, a lot were already up and preparing for the ball. Many had made their way upstairs secretly to make the finishing touches in the ball room. To avoid suspicion, most rebels were told to leave the base at intervals and then leave the lab temporarily. This way, any Rockets watching the cameras would think they were leaving to prepare for the ball. There were too many rebels in the base to allow them to suddenly appear for the ball without coming through the front doors of the lab like guests would.

Eventually, Evan and Angel reached Aleksi's room. Evan turned to Angel and put a finger to his lips. Angel nodded, knowing to be quiet for now. Evan grabbed the door handle and slowly turned it. The door was unlocked, which didn't surprise the two since everyone was protected in the base and rarely locked doors to their rooms. Evan pushed the door open and both him and Angel peaked inside. Aside from the light coming from the hall, the room was completely dark. The image of someone lying entangled in sheets could be made out. Evan opened the door entirely and stepped inside slowly, Angel following.

They reached Aleksi's bed and looked at her. She remained motionless in bed, breathing slowly and peacefully. Evan smiled looking at the sight. Angel looked at Evan, then at Aleksi, and smiled as well. The two were so helplessly crushing on each other that it was cute. Aleksi's body was, for the most part, covered by her sheets, but her head and arms were visible. Her hair was messy, spread out over her pillow probably from her turning her head around a lot in her sleep. Evan leaned forward and gently touched Aleksi's arm.

"Hey, Aleksi", Evan said. There was no response. Gently, he shook her body. "Come on Aleksi, you need to get up". With the unexpected movement of her body, Aleksi woke from her sleep in a gasp. Her body shot up, and she stopped herself mere inches from Evan's face. The two stared at each other in shock, Aleksi breathing heavily from the sudden wake up. Angel watched the two with her mouth open in pleasant surprise. The two young adults blushed heavily as they continued to stare at each other, not one moving away from the other.

Angel kept quiet, not wanting to ruin the moment in any way. While this was unexpected, it was the perfect little moment to possibly push a romantic scene. Aleksi and Evan continued to blush as they gazed into each other's eyes. Evan's breath was shallow from shock while Aleksi's was heavy still due to the startle.

"Is...this real?", Aleksi asked in a whisper. It came off as if she was asking herself this. She did not seem to know if she was in fact awake or not.

"Yeah...it's real", Evan responded only slightly louder than Aleksi. There was a moment's pause before Aleksi snapped out of her trance and suddenly pushed Evan away. Evan could not help but laugh, (despite the heavy blush), as Aleksi immediately dove into her pillows and covered her face with her sheets.

"WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT!? HOW EMBARRASSING!", Aleksi shouted through the pillow, muffling her voice. Angel broke into a fit of hysteria from the comic scene while Evan sighed and tugged at her sheets.

"Oh relax, it wasn't anyone's fault, you were just startled is all. Come on now, you need to get up. Everyone's waking up early to prepare for the ball and you're no exception", Evan said.

"No! I'm tired!", Aleksi said, tugging her sheets against Evan while keeping her head in the pillows.

"You shouldn't have stayed up late then, come now!", Evan said. Aleksi, despite normally being relatively easy to wake, was still embarrassed from the close encounter moments before. Evan sighed and released the sheets. While he could simply out power her, he didn't want to. Instead, he smirked and turned to Angel.

"Well Angel, it seems we have a stubborn sleeper...care to get her up yourself?", Evan asked. Angel giggled.

"You bet!", Angel replied. With a sly smile, Angel took a couple of steps back, and then ran towards the bed. With one jump, she dove on top of the bed and Aleksi, startling the young adult. "COME ON ALEKSI, GET UP! TODAY'S THE BALL!", Angel yelled. Aleksi, both shocked and annoyed, began to wrestle with the younger girl.

"ANGEL!", Aleksi yelled. The two began to toss and turn over each other, Angel trying to pull Aleksi off the bed and Aleksi trying to keep Angel away. Evan leaned against the wall to the left side of the bed laughing as the two fought.

"COME ON ALEKSI! YOU NEED TO GET UP!", Angel yelled playfully.

"WHY ARE YOU ALWAYS SO FULL OF ENERGY IN THE MORNING!?", Aleksi yelled back, playfully as well but more annoyed.

"I wasn't expecting _this _when I got up this morning", Evan said with a smirk. With that comment, Angel turned to look at Evan, smiled, and then lunged for him. Evan could only watch in shock as Angel grabbed his arm and pulled. The unexpected attack made Evan unprepared, and so he toppled over onto the bed and the girls. Angel giggled as now Evan was involved in the fight on the bed. After a couple of seconds however, the fighting stopped. The three lied on the bed, all of them panting heavily, (the girls more so for being involved longer) and all laughing.

"Wow, it's funny things like this that make me wish I had siblings", Angel said with a giggle. Aleksi smirked.

"Oh? And how come we can't be your new brother and sister?", Aleksi asked playfully. Angel smirked and looked to Aleksi.

"Because, brothers and sisters don't become boyfriend and girlfriend", Angel said. Evan scoffed and removed his hat, placing it over Angel's head and pushing down on it playfully. This covered her face and caused her to try to fight it off. Despite the clever insult, Aleksi could only laugh in response. Angel eventually pulled away from Evan's grasp and ran to the foot of the bed, Evan's flat rimmed hat still on her head.

"Well, are you coming or not!? We need to help decorate and then get dressed!", Angel said. Evan pulled his right sleeve back and looked at his wrist watch.

"Angel, it's only eight thirty, I don't think you need to get dressed for the ball so early", Evan said. Angel sighed.

"Evan, you're a guy, you wouldn't understand!", Angel said. Evan looked at her quizzically. Angel however ignored this and got off the bed. "Come on Aleksi! You need to move!". Aleksi sighed and threw the sheets off of her.

"Alright, I'm moving, I'm moving", Aleksi said. Angel smiled and cheered slightly as Aleksi tried to get herself up. As she did, she looked to Evan. She sniffed for a moment and then sneered, though in jest. "Ew, you stink of cigarettes, you should get off my bed". Evan smirked.

"Doesn't smell any worse than you do normally anyway", Evan said. Aleksi grabbed a pillow and playfully smacked him with it, then pulled herself from bed. To both Evan and Angel's confusion, Aleksi was still wearing her outfit from yesterday, (though she had removed her grey-brown jacket and boots). She stretched her arms up in the air.

"You didn't change from last night?", Angel asked.

"Well, I was really tired, didn't think much of it. I just came in and plopped on the bed", Aleksi answered. Angel shrugged it off and then ran to the door.

"Well, hurry up! We need to go upstairs and help! I'm going there now!", Angel said. And with that, she bolted out of Aleksi's room. Aleksi and Evan sweatdropped at the girl's excitement and energy. They found it odd that she could act more mature than them at times, and like a typical girl her age at others.

"She ran off with your hat", Aleksi stated, as if he might not know.

"Yeah, I'm not too worried, I know where she'll be", Evan said. Aleksi sighed and began to walk to her bathroom.

"Well, I'm going to shower and get ready. So if you don't mind, I would rather you not be in here", Aleksi said. Evan chuckled a bit.

"Yeah, I suppose that it would be best I didn't stay. Wouldn't want to embarrass you", Evan said. He stood up and fixed himself. "But before I go...I have something for you". Aleksi raised an eyebrow as Evan approached her. When he was only a couple of feet from her, he stopped and pulled the left side of his white over shirt open. Aleksi looked on and gasped as Evan pulled out a single black rose. "I got this when we went out yesterday. You seem to have a thing for dark Pokémon, so I thought a dark rose would be fitting".

Aleksi's eyes were wide, not only in shock, but in awe. Slowly, she reached out, and Evan handed her the lone rose. The stem was thornless, (Aleksi assumed that Evan removed them purposely for her protection), and the black flower had bloomed brilliantly, even if it was slightly squished from the play fight. She looked to Evan, unable to believe that he would not only do something this sweet, but something that matched her. While she was not a dark type person, she did find an attraction to the night and darkness.

The gift was thoughtful in itself, but Aleksi was more drawn into how the gift fit her so perfectly. Evan went out of his way, even getting himself into trouble for going out, to get her a gift like this that clearly had a lot of thought put into it. She looked at the flower for a while.

"I take it you like it?", Evan asked with a smile. Aleksi looked at him and smiled back.

"Y-yes! I love it, thank you...so much", Aleksi said. The two then stared at each other for what felt like the longest time, neither of them moving an inch. Eventually, Evan coughed and snapped out of his trance.

"Well...I, I guess I should get going, the others will need some help upstairs", Evan said. He then began to walk out of the room, but as he tried to walk passed Aleksi, he felt himself being stopped. Aleksi had wrapped her arms around his side and squeezed him tightly. He stood still for a moment or two, until Aleksi looked up to him while still remaining wrapped around him.

"...Sorry...guess I was..thankful", Aleksi whispered. Evan smiled and shook his head.

"It's alright...I'm glad you are", Evan replied. Aleksi smiled back and finally released him.

"So...guess I should get ready huh?", Aleksi said. Evan nodded.

"Yes, I think that would be best...wouldn't want our "little sister" to have to come down here and get you again", Evan said. Aleksi giggled.

"Yeah, I guess not. Alright then, I'll...see you tonight", Aleksi said. Evan smiled.

"...I can't wait", Evan replied. He then walked to the door, flipped the light switch on for Aleksi to see, and left; shutting the door behind him as he did. Aleksi was then left there in the room, holding the rose in her hand. She continued to stare at the door for a little while longer, and then turned her attention to the rose. She became lost in thought over the rose, and over the person who gave it to her. Soon however, she snapped out of it, placed the rose gently onto her dresser top, and then walked into the bathroom to get ready.

Meanwhile, Angel rushed through the halls of the base. Aleksi's bedroom was not very far from the front of the base where she would run up the stairs and through the hidden book shelf, but she found herself stopping frequently to make sure that other people were up and moving. Most of the rebels found it cute that someone her age was so excited over the ball, others more annoyed to be woken up so early.

Eventually, Angel found herself in the Kitchen. In her haste, she ended up taking a wrong turn. She however knew how to get back to the way she wanted to go, and so was not worried. While in the Kitchen, she saw Sawyer, Brock, Nick, and many others cooking food and preparing for the ball. All of them had aprons on and most were cooking meals, though some were running back and forth with supplies while others ran them upstairs in discretion.

"Where do these little snack things go?", Nick asked, holding a tray of what looked like little meatballs, though Angel doubted they were. It was obvious that Nick was not very savvy in the Kitchen like Sawyer and Brock were.

"In the oven, they need to cook for fifteen minutes", Brock stated, cutting something up in a hurry.

"We have the cocktails prepared and on ice", a male rebel stated.

"Give me a couple of pounds of those lunch meats will ya?", another rebel, a female this time, yelled.

"I need more flour over here!", Sawyer stated. Angel, seeing that everyone was busy, decided to try to help. Seeing as how she happened to be near the flour anyway, she reached over, grabbed the bag, (which was only half full), and walked over to Sawyer. She appeared to be making cookies from the looks of it, as she had piles of dough made, and more on the way.

"Here you go Sawyer!", Angel said, placing the bag into the counter Sawyer was working at. Sawyer turned and looked at Angel.

"Oh! Angel, I didn't know you were in here!...why are you wearing Evan's hat?", Sawyer asked. Angel looked up to the top of her head and put her hands on top of her, feeling Evan's hat. She had forgotten that Evan placed it on her head. She smiled and looked back to Sawyer.

"Oh yeah, Evan put it on my head as a joke. And I'm just trying to help out for the ball", Angel said. Sawyer smiled.

"Well you're doing a marvelous job sweetie!", Sawyer commented. Suddenly, Nick appeared out of no where and wrapped his arms around Sawyer.

"I'll say you are", Nick said, referring to Sawyer. Sawyer blushed in embarrassment while Angel giggled.

"Nick! We're busy!", Sawyer said trying to get back to work, though even she could not suppress her fits of laughter and smiles.

"I can't wait for tonight, a chance for us to have a break for once, and a chance for me and you to dance and enjoy ourselves", Nick said with a smile. Sawyer smiled as well and turned around to face Nick.

"Yeah...me too...", Sawyer said. The two continued to stare at each other for quite a while, but shockingly did not move. Angel watched the two of them and sighed. She was hoping for a romantic moment more than this, especially since they were already a couple. Feeling mischievous, Angel got closer to the oblivious pair. When she was right beside them, she pushed them together. The two were pushed into a kiss. Angel jumped back and smiled as Nick and Sawyer's eyes grew wide in shock. They pulled apart and looked to Angel.

"ANGEL!", Sawyer yelled in shock and embarrassment. Sounds of laughter and "Oooooooooh"s could be heard from the Kitchen. Sawyer covered her face and turned around while Nick waved them off.

"Don't you have things to do?", Nick asked Angel, knowing that she would be sure to embarrass him further. Angel giggled.

"Yeah, probably. But this is more fun", Angel said.

"Actually Angel, I have an assignment for you", someone stated. Angel and Nick turned to see Brock working at a counter. He had in one hand a wooden spoon, and in another hand his Pokénav. "I just got a message from upstairs, they need some help up there, think you can give them a hand?", Brock asked. Angel smiled and gave a small salute, that was what she had intended to do anyway.

"You got it sir!", Angel said. Brock nodded with a smile.

"Good. Just be careful going up there. You can make fun of Sawyer and Nick when you're done", Brock said.

"HEY!", Nick and Sawyer yelled in unison. Angel giggled.

"I'll be sure to do that! See ya!", Angel said. She then turned and ran out of the Kitchen, making her way to the upstairs. This ball was going to be a blast!

**WOOHOO! BALL! Ok, so the first chapter wasn't EXACTLY the ball, BUT IT PRETTY MUCH IS! IT'S JUST PREPARATION I SWEAR! This chapter might seemed a bit rushed, especially towards the end, but this is because I am trying to GET to the ball, and I don't want to skip out on build up, even if it's small. Don't worry, the PHYSICAL ball will be shortly, and you're going to love it! (I hope! 0_o). Anyway, thank you all for reading! Please be sure to F.A.R. and to check my Twitter, as always! And I will be sure to update as soon as I can! I have a 4 day weekend coming up and hopefully, (if I'm not too busy), I will work on Chapter 74 then. ;) TAKE CARE!**

**sincerely,  
evan, a fan of aaml -EVAN AAML**


	74. Chapter 74

**Alright, before I begin the next chapter, let me apologize to all of the disappointed readers. Last chapter, I said that the ball would be beginning. However, as you saw, it didn't, it was just preparing for the ball. While I did technically go against my word, allow me to explain. Chapter 72 ended with everyone going to sleep at night. If I had opened straight to the ball, it would have been night-time, the following day. That's almost 24 hours of skipped moments. For obvious reasons, I couldn't do that. So, I do apologize, and hope you understand why I did what I did. Now then, I am battling a nasty little cold as I write this, so I apologize for any mistakes you might find ahead of time. Enjoy!**

**-EVAN AAML**

Angel managed to sneak passed the bookshelf without any problems. She rushed out of the room and then stopped once she made it into the hallway, just outside of the library. She panted for a second or two and then sighed. She looked at the camera in the library, which was positioned facing away from the entrance and towards the inside of the room. She could see as the red light turned back on, signaling that it was now working again. She hoped that, at the ball, the cameras would not catch something Team Rocket might find suspicious.

She had a couple of days of peace, and she wanted it to stay that way. Sometime within the next two months they would begin their attack on Veridian, but until then, she wanted nothing but quiet and, more importantly, no death. A promise she knew she could not make, even to herself. She thought back to the trouble making teens she had dealt with yesterday, the same ones she nearly ran into before the Veridian attack. While they themselves were probably not a major threat to them, it did remind her that threats were out there. And something like this ball would certainly grab their attention.

She tried to push the thoughts out of her head. This was not a time for worrying, it was a time for enjoying. She knew that many of the rebels would possibly be distracted with thoughts of the war during the ball, she did not want to be one of them. Not this time, not when they actually had peace. She walked down the hall, (purposely not looking at any other cameras), and made it to the lecture hall. She gasped at the sight.

The hall was not completely done by any means, but done enough where one could appreciate the decorations. The ball would surely be marvelous. All of the tables were out and decorated accordingly, the stage was going through the final stages of preparation, (several rebels checked on the instruments placed on the stage, probably theirs), and people were setting up the little things of food that did not need refrigeration or heating.

Angel walked in slowly, looking up and down and all around as she did. People were on ladders placing up wall decorations and tidying up the hall in the process, (she supposed it wasn't a surprise that it needed a good dusting, Prof. Oak probably never had the time). She stopped when she reached the center of the dance floor, near the stage. She spun around a couple of times, looking at decorations and just in general goofing off. While it came off as immature, she felt as if, for some reason, it needed to be done.

They were at peace, why not enjoy yourself when you can?

"I think someone's really excited about tonight", someone stated. Angel stopped spinning and turned to the source of the voice. May was sitting on the floor several feet away, looking through some cardboard boxes filled with different items. She laid on her side and held herself up with her arm as she looked through the boxes. Angel blushed slightly in embarrassment.

"Yeah, I guess a little bit", Angel said, rubbing the back of her head. May shook her head.

"No, you should be. You're young, you should enjoy stuff like this while you can. I know I would have _loved_ to have gone to balls like this at your age", May said. She then turned back to the box. Angel approached her, kneeling beside her on the floor.

"What were you doing around my age May?", Angel asked. May stopped looking through the box momentarily to reflect back.

"Well, when I was twelve, I was traveling through Johto with Drew and a few other friends for Pokémon contests", May explained. Angel gasped.

"Really?", Angel asked. May nodded with a smile.

"Yep. You see, when I was ten, I started my Pokémon journey, but, to be honest, I didn't have a big interest in it. I just wanted to travel. On my first day, I met Ash, and started traveling with him. It was soon afterwards that I found my passion for contests and started doing them. By age eleven, we were going through Kanto for Ash's Battle Frontier challenge, while I of course was doing more contests. Then, at age twelve, I went my own way, Max went home, and Ash and Brock went to Sinnoh. It was the next year that...you know", May explained. Angel nodded, understanding. It was the next year that Team Rocket attacked.

Wow, that's really amazing though May. Contests sound like a lot of fun. I never really got the chance to go on a journey...for obvious reasons", Angel explained. May nodded in understanding. Angel was born into the war, she never got to enjoy the things the leaders did as children. "I didn't know what kind of journey I would follow, whether they be battles or contests. But I knew that I would have a lot of fun!". May smiled.

"That's definitely true, you would have. You would be a great trainer", May said. Angel smiled in response. She then glanced over behind May and saw Drew, working on some electronics by the stage with a couple other rebels, (Emily included). Angel smirked.

"So then, you and Drew traveled together for some time then?", Angel asked. May nodded, now looking through the boxes again.

"Yep, we traveled through Johto and were working on going through Sinnoh before we had to stop", May said. Angel smiled.

"I bet you two had a lot of fun together didn't you?", Angel asked. May nodded with a smile.

"Yeah, those were good times. We did a lot together, me and Drew. Of course, we weren't always alone, we had some other coordinators with us from time to time, but me and Drew would often find ourselves traveling together, going to different contests. We had a lot of fun", May explained. Angel smiled.

"I'm sure you did", Angel said. May glanced at her and gave her a suspicious look.

"What are you hinting at there Angel?", May asked. She could tell that something was on her mind, and it wasn't the ball. Angel giggled.

"Hehe, you like Drew don't you?", Angel asked. May blushed immensely and looked around to see if anyone was listening in on them.

"Angel! Shhh!", May squealed. She tried to keep her voice down, but the shock and embarrassment she was feeling made it difficult to do so.

"What? Am I right?", Angel asked, smiling more.

"No! Of course not! I don't like Drew!", May stated, her face turning more red; something that did not go by unnoticed by Angel.

"Then why are you so red May? You look like a Tamato berry!", Angel stated. May huffed and puffed at Angel, only causing more fits of laughter. It was clear that May was quite embarrassed, Angel being a little kid didn't help matters. Hearing the laughter, Drew turned around from his work and looked to see May complaining and Angel laughing. From where he was, he could not make out their conversation, but he could tell that whatever it was, it was at May's expense. Suddenly, he saw Angel look at him. She began saying something to May, (which Drew could still not make out). May turned around, spotted Drew, and gasped, turning back around just as quickly. Drew sweatdropped, wondering why her face was so red, and why she was hiding herself from his gaze.

"Hey, do you mind paying attention here?", Emily asked. She wanted to get the work done with, and found it annoying that Drew was distracted. Drew snapped out of the small trance and turned back to Emily.

"Huh? Yeah, sure", Drew said. May meanwhile was still flustered from Drew seeing her. Did he see that she was blushing? Did he suspect something? She was lucky that he was busy at the moment, because she couldn't bear to have him be there with her at the moment. Angel kept on giggling like a little girl.

"I think it's more than obvious now that you do like him", Angel said. May panicked, knowing that now that Drew was aware of them talking, he could walk over at any second and hear their conversation.

"Shh!", May said, putting a finger to her lips. Angel giggled and acted as if she was sealing her lips like a zipper. However, she then got closer to May and began to whisper.

"So then...is it true?", Angel asked in a whisper. May began to blush even more now. She sat up somewhat and began pressing her index fingers together, looking down onto the ground.

"Well...I don't know...maybe? I...I guess so", May said, her face turning more and more red. Angel smiled.

"Awwwww!", Angel said. May panicked and covered her mouth. Though Angel was not very loud, May's paranoia was overwhelming.

"Quiet!", May whispered. Angel, her mouth still covered by May, could only nod in response. May released her and Angel stood back slightly.

"I think it's cute May, you and Drew make such a cute couple!", Angel said, being sure to be more quiet now. May blushed once again, a slight smile making its way across her face.

"Y-you...you think so?", May asked. Angel nodded.

"Of course! You two are sooo adorable! It's like something you see in a romance story! A prince and princess falling for each other!", Angel said, her eyes becoming glassy. May could not help but giggle at this, she saw so much of her in Angel. "I think this ball would be the perfect chance for you two to get together!". This sudden statement caused May to blush.

"What? No!", May said in embarrassment.

"No, really! I think this ball will be the best time for you to tell him how you feel! I guarantee you he'll feel the same way!", Angel said. May blushed to such a degree at this point that she doubted she could possibly blush anymore. She grabbed decorations from the box she was looking through earlier and thrust them into Angel's arms.

"Here! If you're going to be up here, you can help decorate!", May said. Angel giggled and stood up, her arms full of wall decorations.

"Ok, I'll go decorate, but you know I'm right", Angel said with a smile. She then walked off, looking for a spot to place the decorations. With her gone and the conversation ended May was able to calm down and relax, her face turning back to her regular shade. She watched as Angel walked further away, and when she decided she was far enough away, turned around and looked at Drew. She watched as he continued to help with the electronics. As she watched, a smile and light blush appeared on her face once more.

Angel soon discovered that helping out with decorating took longer than expected. Before she knew it, it was only hours before the ball would begin. The rebels who had to still get ready left to do so, (making sure to leave in small numbers so as to not draw attention), while Prof. Oak's aids finished up what little remained of the decorating. Though Angel could see most of the decorations and sets up, she knew that once the ball started, it would look entirely different. As told earlier by Mrs. Ketchum, Angel left the lab in a hurry and made her way back to the Ketchum residence. She made sure that she would not run into any form of trouble on the short run there, and so ran across the fields so as to avoid the main road. Though she doubted that the teens from the day before or Team Rocket would be there, she was not going to take any chances.

Before she knew it, she had reached the Ketchum residence. She approached the door, did the secret knock, and entered the home. As she did, she spotted Mr. Mime, (who was already using Barrier again around the home), Delia, and to Angel's surprise, Misty. Misty looked at Angel with a smile as Delia walked over to the young girl.

"Oh there you are sweetie, I was beginning to wonder if you were going to make it in time! I have your dress upstairs in the spare bedroom, feel free to hurry up and get ready. I have the bathroom all cleaned out and filled with stuff for when you want to do your hair and such. Misty will be changing with you if that's alright. May and Dawn will be coming over soon too to change, but they'll be using my room", Delia explained. Angel nodded with a smile.

"That's not a problem, thank you Mrs. Ketchum!", Angel said. Misty then approached Angel and smiled as well.

"So then, should we get going? It's going to take some time for us to be prepared, pretty girls like us have to take their time to look good", Misty said with a wink. Angel giggled.

"Yeah, you're right. Ok then, let's hurry!", Angel said. The two girls then made their way up the stairs, leaving Delia downstairs with Mr. Mime. They entered the spare bedroom and Misty closed the door behind them. Angel turned to her right after entering the room and gasped in awe. Hanging from the closest door, placed in a large clear plastic bag was her dress. It was yellow in color, though not overly so. It was simple with straps that covered most but not all of the shoulders. The dress looked like it was made of silk and had a slight wave to it, but it was hard to tell from the bag. Angel's eyes were wide in amazement.

She had been to formal parties before, (most of them being held in the Celadon Gym for one reason or another), and while she dressed up for them, never to an extent. This dress would mark the first time she ever truly dressed up for an event. Misty, who could tell that Angel was not used to this, smiled and bent down to her level beside her.

"Your dress looks beautiful Angel", Misty said with a smile. Angel could only nod in agreement. She slowly approached the dress and felt the plastic bag that covered it, as if making sure that this was not a dream, and that she could in fact touch the dress. Misty stood up straight and walked passed Angel to the dress. Knowing that Angel would have minor trouble pulling the dress off the closet door, she slowly and carefully pulled it off for her. With just as much care, she pulled the dress out of the bag and laid it out on the bed. Angel looked at the dress more as Misty dropped the bag on the ground.

"I...I never had an idea over what Mrs. Ketchum would pick out for me for the dress...I can't believe how beautiful it is", Angel said. Misty smiled.

"And it will look better once it's on you sweetie...why don't you try it on?", Misty asked. Angel turned to Misty with excitement in her eyes and nodded.

"Ok!", Angel said. She immediately began stripping down as Misty walked passed her. As Angel removed her clothes, she turned to look at the older girl. "Misty' where's your dress?". Misty turned to look around the room briefly before smiling.

"Right over here", Misty said, now approaching the opposite end of the room. Angel looked up to see Misty's dress hanging near the window. Like Angel's it was silky in design, however the similarities ended there. It was cerulean blue, and shined like water in a bright moon's light. Unlike Angel's, this dress was strap-less and had some minor designs in the chest area of the dress, (though minor to not take away from the dress' natural beauty). Angel gasped as Misty began to remove it from the bag.

"It's beautiful Misty! You'll look so amazing in it!", Angel said. Misty smiled.

"Thanks Angel. I picked it out myself", Misty said. Misty then began to remove her clothes as well. Angel, just about finishing with taking off her clothes, smirked as she thought of something.

"I bet Ash will _really _notice you in _that _dress Misty", Angel said. Misty stopped removing her clothes and turned bright red in embarrassment.

"Oh don't you get started with _that _again Angel! I already told you, me and Ash are just good friends!", Misty said. Angel giggled, finally beginning to carefully slip her dress on.

"I don't know Misty, you two certainly come off as more than just good friends", Angel said with a smirk. Misty continued to remove her clothes, but did so slower now, lost in thought.

"You...you think so?", Misty asked. Angel nodded, slowly slipping on her dress so as to not damage it.

"Of course! It's, (hmph), kind of obvious that you two, (ehh), act differently when you're around each other", Angel stated. She soon found out that slipping on her dress was harder than she expected. Though it fit perfectly to her size, her paranoia over tearing the dress mixed in with her inexperience of wearing them made her look confused. Misty, by this time, had already finished removing her clothes and was already slipping on her dress, quickly at that. Angel watched her in shock. "How did you do that so quickly!?". Misty turned to look at Angel, giggled, and then walked over to her, her own dress not quite finished yet.

"Here, let me help you", Misty said. She walked behind Angel and carefully bent down to pick up Angel's dress. "Stand still, hold your arms close to your side". Angel did just that, and Misty slowly slid the dress up her body. When it reached to her arms, Misty slowly moved them into the arm holes of the dress, and continued to slide it all the way up her body. Angel sighed.

"Thanks, I guess I'm not as used to dressing up as I thought", Angel said. Misty smiled.

"No problem!", Misty said. Misty then began to check the back of the dress, making sure it was on just tight enough to not slide off Angel. "But...about me and Ash...how differently _do _we act when we're around each other?". Angel smiled.

"Well, you both start blushing, sometimes a lot. You tend to avoid eye contact with each other, and you immediately deny that you have any feelings for each other", Angel said, counting the habits on her hand. Misty blushed. "For people who have denied that you liked each other for years, you certainly still get embarrassed about it".

"I...I guess", Misty said, thinking it over. She finished tightening Angel's dress and stood back. "Ok, tell me how that is". Angel held her arms out, spun around a couple of times, and even jumped up and down in her bare feet once or twice, enticing a giggle from Misty. Angel smiled and turned to face her.

"It's perfect! Thanks Misty...want me to do the same for you?", Angel asked. Misty smiled.

"Sure", Misty said. She turned around and allowed Angel to work on her dress. Though Misty was taller than Angel, she was not so tall where Angel could not reach enough to tighten her dress. Though they kept getting side tracked, Angel made sure to keep bringing the conversation back to her and Ash.

"I don't want to be nosy, but it's just...you two were _MEANT _to be together! It's like, fate! You two are such a cute looking couple, and I _know _that you two have feelings for each other!", Angel said as she tightened Misty's dress, making sure to be careful. Misty began to blush more and more, her face matching the redness of her hair. There was silence between the two for a few minutes as Angel finished tightening Misty's dress. When she finished, she stepped back and allowed Misty to see how it feels. Misty felt the dress and soon smiled.

"Thank you Angel, it's perfect", Misty said. Angel smiled.

"No problem!", Angel replied. She then looked down to her feet. "Hmm, I wonder where our shoes are". Misty turned towards the door and pointed.

"They're over there by the door, I saw them when we came in", Misty replied. Angel turned to the door and low and behold, the shoes were there, behind the door and near the dresser. Angel ran over to the shoes and picked them up. One pair was the same blue as Misty's dress and sparkled in the light of the room, there was also a slight heel to them. These were obviously Misty's shoes. The other pair was in fact not heels at all, but more like sandals. They were a slight yellow in color and sparkled just like the other shoes however; they were beautifully designed. Angel sighed to herself, she was glad that she did not have to wear heels. Though she could see herself wearing them in the future, she did not know how to wear them and did not want to trip and stumble the entire night of the ball. She turned around and walked back to the bed. There, she handed Misty her shoes and the two sat on the bed trying to put them on. It was silent between the two for a few minutes as they tried to put their shoes on. This silence was broken finally by Angel.

"...And who knows...", Angel started. Misty, who had just finished putting her shoes on, stopped and looked at Angel. She kept working on putting her shoes on, but stopped for a second to look at Misty. "...maybe today is the perfect day for you to tell him how you feel". Misty blushed once more, (though lightly this time), and smiled. She looked down to the floor.

"...Maybe...", Misty said, though mostly to herself. However, Angel was still able to hear her. She became excited and looked at Misty, her eyes wide and her mouth revealing a huge smile.

"SO DOES THAT MEAN YOU DO LIKE HIM!? COME ON! ADMIT IT!", Angel said, getting on the bed and kneeling towards Misty. Misty blushed at the embarrassing moment and looked away from Angel. She couldn't believe that she had said that when Angel was right next to her. She tried to hide from the moment, but the pressure was proving too much for her.

"...OK! YES! YES, I LOVE ASH! I LOVE THAT SILLY BRAVE BOY SO MUCH!", Misty admitted, covering her face with her hands and shaking her head back and forth. She fell backwards onto the bed when she finished her rant. Angel in excitement jumped up and down on the bed.

"I KNEW IT, I KNEW IT, I KNEW IT!", Angel yelled. Suddenly, there was a noise from the hallway. Angel stopped bouncing and her and Misty, (who sat up from the bed), turned to look towards the door. After a few seconds, there was a knock at it.

"Angel? Is that you?", someone asked. The voice sounded like May's. The two girls watched as the door slowly creaked open and two heads popped into the room, May and Dawn's.

"We heard yelling in here", May said.

"Is everything alright?", Dawn asked. Misty, in a panic, quickly covered Angel's mouth for hear that she might say something and shook her head.

"NO! EVERYTHING'S FINE IN HERE! WE WERE JUST TALKING, YOU KNOW LITTLE GIRLS AND THEIR EXCITEMENT OVER DRESSING UP!", Misty said nervously, waving the two girls off. May and Dawn sweatdropped. They were confused over Misty's sudden personality change, and while they felt she was hiding something, they knew it wasn't anything important.

"Oh, alright then", Dawn said. She then pulled her head out of the room and left.

"We'll be changing in Mrs. Ketchum's room if you need us", May finished. She then pulled her head out and closed the door. After a seconds, Misty sighed and released Angel's mouth.

"Phew, that was close", Misty said relieved.

"I think _someone's _a bit nervous", Angel said narrowing her eyes and looking at her, all while trying to catch her breath from Misty covering her mouth. Misty nervously chuckled.

"Hehe...yeah, I guess so", Misty said. Throughout the rest of the evening, the four girls made their final preparations to their attires and bodies. Though they spent longer doing their hair and makeup than expected, (something they weren't to surprised about in hindsight), they had finally managed to finish with just enough time. Mrs. Ketchum, who had finished putting on her outfit well before the younger girls did, was waiting for them at the bottom of the stairs ready for pictures. Mrs. Ketchum wore a simple yet elegant white dress with a v-neck and a wavy bottom. She did not have a lot of outfits fitting for a ball, and since she would be working for most of it, she felt that getting something extravagant would be unnecessary.

"Are you girls ready?", Delia asked, anxiously waiting for the girls. She felt like a mother waiting for her daughter to come down the stairs in her prom dress.

"We're coming!", a voice called out, this was Angel. After a few seconds, the girls began to come down the steps one by one. The first was Angel, who had less trouble walking due to her shoes not being heels like the others. She rushed down the stairs and stopped in front of Mrs. Ketchum. "What do you think?", Angel asked, spinning around. Mrs. Ketchum gasped.

"It's marvelous sweetie! I knew that the color would suit you well, but it looks better on you than I could have ever imagined!", Delia said. She then snapped a picture of Angel. Then, the other girls made their way down the steps. The next person down was Dawn, who had to lift her dress up for fear of stepping on it and either tripping or ripping the dress. Her dress was a bell shape and bright pink in color, the top being a darker pink than the poofy bottom.

May came down next, having no problem in the least bit moving. Her dress was silky and designed much like Misty's, but instead of being cerulean blue, it was fire-red. A slit down the lower side allowed her to walk effortlessly down the steps. Her heels, like Dawn and Misty's, matched the color of her dress. She smiled and did a little pose at the bottom of the steps.

"I haven't been able to dress up for anything since my contest days years ago, it feels really good to be able to do it again!", May said excited. She felt like a little girl once more.

"Well you look marvelous dear", Delia said with a smile.

"So do you Mrs. Ketchum!", Dawn stated.

"Yeah, your dress is so pretty!", Angel threw in.

"You look just like a supermodel!", May finished. Mrs. Ketchum blushed and waved them off.

"Oh you girls, you're embarrassing me, but thank you! This was a dress Ash's father got me years ago, and I've only been able to wear it a couple of times", Delia explained. She then began to take individual pictures of both May and Dawn in their dresses. Just as she finished, Misty made her way down the stairs. Mrs. Ketchum turned to look at her and gasped. "Oh my, you look just darling sweetie! That dress matches you perfectly!". Misty blushed at the comment as she reached the bottom of the stairs.

"Hehe, thank you Mrs. Ketchum", Misty said. Mrs. Ketchum waved it off.

"Oh sweetie, you should know by now that you can call me Delia, all of you for that matter", Delia stated. The girls all smiled.

"Thank you Delia!", the girls all said in unison. Mrs. Ketchum merely smiled back. She then changed the subject. "Alright, I'll be sure to bring your normal clothes back to the lab with me so that you can change back there. Mr. Mime unfortunately will have to stay here to protect the house, with all of the beefed up security and paranoia going on with everyone, Ash doesn't want me to take a risk". The girls nodded in understanding.

"We know. We're all set for security detail ourselves", May said. Angel, confused, turned to look at the girls. All of the girls pulled out their dress matching purses and pulled out Pokéballs.

"As region leaders, we have to protect the rebels at the ball at all cost", Dawn explained.

"Even as we're trying to relax, we have to be on guard", Misty finished. Angel watched this and became worried. All this time, she had expected the ball to be nothing but fun. She was hoping to relax, to not have a care in the world. She was hoping that the ball would be her opportunity to finally enjoy herself and not worry about Team Rocket. But seeing the girls be this prepared, even at the one time they get to have fun, she realized that there never _is _a time to fully relax. Ms. Ketchum seemed to have felt this as well, for she waved it off.

"Well, I'm sure that you girls won't have anything to worry about. Just be sure to have some fun, all of you. Now then, let's get going shall we?", Delia said with a smile. Angel shook the thoughts out of her head and smiled. Mrs. Ketchum always knew how to make everyone feel a bit better. With those last words, the girls left the house. Mr. Mime waved goodbye as they left, making sure to put the Barrier back up as soon as they left. The girls enjoyed a quiet if somewhat suspenseful walk to the lab. They made sure to act as if nothing was wrong, but Misty, May, and Dawn were all on edge, even if only a little bit. However, they soon relaxed once they reached the lab. They could see through the windows up on the hill that lights were flashing and music was playing. The ball had already begun. Angel's excitement grew and grew as they reached the front door. Standing at the door was Prof. Oak, who greeted the rebels who entered the lab. He saw the girls and immediately smiled.

"Ah, I was wondering when you all would show! Took your time getting ready did we?", Prof. Oak asked with a chuckle. The girls blushed.

"Hehe, yeah, maybe a little bit", Misty said.

"Well, no matter. You all look beautiful. Please, be sure to enjoy yourselves! And smile for the cameras!", Prof. Oak. said. All of the girls nodded, seeing the hidden message. They entered the lab, making sure to not look the least bit suspicious in front of the cameras. Though they can have all the fun they wanted, from this point on, the slightest slip of the tongue could mean their lives.

The five girls entered the main hall and gasped. Despite helping set it up and having seen it only hours before, it looked as if it was a hundred times better than they could have ever imagined. Lights flashed as couples danced throughout the hall to the chorus of "Without You". Many more people were sitting at the tables chatting with friends or eating and drinking. Others stood around, merely enjoying the peace. Angel looked left and right, unable to believe the amazing ball.

"Wow! I can't believe how amazing this looks!", Angel said.

"It does look amazing, I have to say", Misty stated.

"So there you all are!", someone called out. Angel and the girls turned to see a group of people approach them. Ash, who was the one who had spoken, lead the group. Being Misty's date, he wore a typical black tuxedo with a cerulean blue vest and tie. Behind him was Aleksi, who wore a black colored strap-less dress that revealed the front of her body and reached down to her knees. There were designs stitched into the lace of the dress that almost seemed floral. She also wore a green corset underneath the dress to add color. Instead of heels like most girls, she wore black dress boots that matched the black to the dress. On her arm was a corsage made out of a beautiful black rose. Also with them were Riles, who had a white tuxedo and black vest, (his gold holy cross sticking out against the black vest), and Drew, who wore a tuxedo with a red vest.

"We were beginning to wonder how long it would take you to arrive!", Ash continued. Angel immediately gasped.

"ALEKSI! YOU LOOK SO BEAUTIFUL!", Angel exclaimed. Aleksi giggled with a slight blush as she spun around, allowing her dress to lift up lightly.

"You think so? I wanted to wear something different from most of the girls here, and I thought that these colors really worked for me. Evan gave me the rose actually", Aleksi explained.

"Well it looks really good on you Aleksi!", Dawn stated. Riles chuckled slightly.

"And unlike you girls, it probably didn't take her long to get dressed", Riles joked in good spirits.

"Sorry sweetie, you know us girls, we need to make sure we look our best!", Mrs. Ketchum said. "Now then, I'll be working at the drink table if you need me, but be sure to have fun alright?". As she said this, she reached for both Ash and Misty and pressed them together. They both immediately blushed while Mrs. Ketchum waved goodbye and everyone else burst into laughter. Ash and Misty merely stared at each other for a moment before immediately separating and looking the opposite directions.

"So-sorry about that...mom can be pretty assertive when she wants to be", Ash said.

"Y-yeah, I know", Misty said. There was a moment of silence between them until Ash spoke again.

"For...for what it's worth...you really do look beautiful", Ash said. Misty blushed, which did not go by unnoticed by the group around them.

"AWWW!", Angel, May, and Dawn yelled. Aleksi giggled while Drew scoffed and Riles smiled. Ash immediately regretted the comment and covered his face in embarrassment. Misty did the same, but made it look less apparent.

"No, don't be embarrassed, it's so cute!", Angel commented. May nodded, and then turned to look at Drew.

"Now why can't _you _be like that Drew?", May asked. Drew smirked as he approached her.

"Because, it's funnier to watch people embarrass themselves by saying that stuff", Drew said.

"HEY!", Ash and Misty yelled. Drew scoffed and then turned back to May.

"Besides, I don't believe in saying something that's blatantly obvious", Drew finished. May suddenly blushed as Drew pulled out a red rose from seemingly nowhere and handed it to her. She accepted it and smelled it, smiling and looking back at Drew lovingly. Angel could not help but smirk. She remembered Brock's bet with her about getting these couples together, and at this rate it would be a piece of cake. Speaking of couples...

"...Hey Aleksi", Angel asked. Aleksi turned away from the cuteness of the dates before her and brought her attention to the little girl before her.

"Yeah Angel?", Aleksi asked.

"Where's Evan anyway? He's coming to the ball isn't he?", Angel asked, somewhat confused that he was not there, and even showing some concern. Aleksi scoffed with a smile.

"Yeah, he's coming. He took his time helping people, partially because he spent a lot of time looking for his hat", Aleksi said, winking at Angel. Angel giggled, she had forgotten she had taken it. "But he found it eventually. He told me he'd be up here soon".

"Sooner than you think", a voice suddenly called out. Everyone turned around to see Evan approaching the group. He smiled as he reached them. Like most of the rebels, he wore a typical black tuxedo with a dark green vest and tie that matched Aleksi's dress. He didn't wear his hat for once, and his hair was styled to show the natural wavy hair he had. Angel also couldn't smell cigarette smoke on him like normally. Angel turned to Aleksi and smiled when she saw the blush appear on her face. It was obvious that Aleksi was amazed at how Evan looked.

"Hey Evan!", Angel called out. Evan smiled at the young girl.

"Hey Angel, don't you look amazing! I love your dress!", Evan said. He then turned to look at the others around him. "You girls all look gorgeous as well! Your dates should be considered lucky!". The girls all smiled and somewhat blushed, as did Ash and Drew, though they hide theirs better. Evan then turned to Riles. "And Riles! Look at you all decked out! Liking the white tuxedo!". Riles chuckled.

"Yeah, I know it seems different, but it was the best match for Emily's dress. She's my date", Riles explained. Angel smiled. She was glad that Emily got a date to the ball, she was afraid that she might be too cold for guys to ask her to it. But she did truly deserve a date to the ball, and Riles was a good choice. Evan nodded.

"Well good for you man! Now then, if you all will excuse me, I'm going to be taking her", Evan said with a sly smirk. Aleksi blushed as Evan reached over and grabbed her, one hand grabbing hers while his other one around her waist. "I intend to dance the night away with you!". He then pulled her away, spinning and dancing with her. Aleksi blushed more and more, but could not contain her large smile or fits of giggles. Angel smiled, she acted like a little girl. But it was true, they _were _meant for each other. Riles walked over to Angel and bent down to her level as the two watched the pair spinning and dancing away.

"We know that we have passed from death into life, because we love", Riles said quietly to Angel. Angel smiled from the verse. She watched as the couple smiled and laughed together, enjoying the moment and their chance to be together.

This ball was truly going to be something amazing.

**PHEW! FINISHED! Sorry for the delay everyone! I had written out most of the chapter during the week but then the site tweaked and decided to delete a good portion of what I had written. So I worked like crazy this weekend to make sure I was able to get it up for you all soon. I apologize for the rushed feeling, as I wanted to get the ball started. In my rush, I might have made some mistakes, so I apologize ahead of time. Like I said, I've been battling a cold for the past few weeks shockingly, so I'm not at my fullest potential. Anyway, I hope you liked the romance! The ending particularly with Evan and Aleksi I was proud of. I hope to work more on the ball soon, putting in more detail and such. Expect some more OC appearances, and of course LOTS of romance! There might even be a surprise or two! ;) Anyway, please be sure to F.A.R., check out my Twitter account for updates, and I will see you all next time!**

**sincerely,  
evan, a fan of aaml -EVAN AAML**


	75. Chapter 75

**Glad to see that everyone loved the opening of the ball so far! It's something I've waited AGES to finally get to writing, so needless to say I'm excited. There might be times where it seems like the ball drags on, because I want to put good detail into the chapters leading up till after the ball. I'm not sure exactly how long the ball will last in terms of chapters, but there's a lot that needs to be covered, so don't be surprised if it lasts 5 or more chapters. And as a note to authors who gave me female OCs for the ball, if you so desire, (many of you already have), feel free to send me what you would like your OC to wear for the ball! Also, I forgot to mention this note in the ending of the previous chapter, but I do NOT own the rights to David Guetta's "Without You" song. I merely used it because I felt it fit! Now then, with that out of the way, let's get to the chapter!**

**-EVAN AAML**

With Aleksi and Evan now off to enjoy themselves, Angel was left with the others by the entrance to the hall. She had figured that Aleksi and Evan would be spending most of the time at the ball together, and she had hoped that they would for their sake, (she would check in on them once in a while, just to be safe). This of course left her alone for the most part. She figured that she would have no problem hanging out with her other friends, but she felt awkward being a third wheel.

Most of her friends all had dates, and while she knew that she could still talk to them and hang out, she felt slightly odd over being somewhat left out. She was not too disappointed that she didn't have a date, and in fact wasn't surprised. Due to her young age, she didn't expect to really go with anyone, which suited her just fine. She turned around to look at the others.

"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go!", Angel said. The group all nodded in agreement and together, the rebels went towards the large group of people. Up ahead of them were several tables, some of which were empty and were merely used as places to put tuxedo jackets or purses. Others had people situated at them, whether they were dates talking and having fun, friends drinking, or just people who did not feel like dancing. After these tables was the large open space for the dancers. There, many couples or even individuals were seen spinning, jumping, and dancing to the music being played by the band. The band consisted of several rebels playing instruments, along with some singers, (mostly girls but with some guys), and once in a while a DJ.

As they got closer to the dance floor, Angel could see Evan and Aleksi, holding onto each other's hands as they spun around dancing to the music. Both of them were smiling and laughing, truly enjoying the ball. Angel smiled, she could not help but see the entire thing as romantic, even if those two didn't. Eventually, they all stopped right before entering the dance floor.

"Alright, I guess this is where we split up and do whatever we want, just remember to have fun everyone", Ash said. The group nodded and then he, with Misty in hand, walked off to the side of the dance floor, (close to the food table, which Angel could only guess was intentional). After they left, Drew himself turned around, heading the opposite direction. May turned when she saw him walk away.

"Hey! Where are you going? Don't you want to dance!?", May asked both shocked and confused. Drew stopped walking and glanced over to her.

"I'll dance when a good song comes on...maybe. This hip-hop music isn't my thing. If you'll excuse me, I'll just be sitting at my table", Drew said. He then walked off. May huffed and stomped her foot on the ground in annoyance.

"Ohhh! It's just like him to ditch me like that! Him and his classical music!...Oh well, it can't be helped", May said. She then glanced behind her to the others. "Don't worry, I'll get him dancing at some point this ball. I'll see you all soon!". She gave a wink and wave goodbye as she walked away towards Drew's table. This left Angel, Riles, and Dawn alone.

"Hmm, well, I suppose then I should be off too. I need to find Tracy", Dawn said, looking around the room.

"Oh! I didn't know you and Tracy were dates!", Angel said. Dawn nodded.

"Yep. We figured there was no harm in it, besides, we can't _all _be lucky and have romantic dates to the ball now can we?", Dawn asked with a wink. Angel giggled back, catching the hint she was throwing at Ash, Misty, May, and Drew's expense.

"Well, if you're looking for him, last I saw him he was handing out drinks at the table. He's probably helping Mrs. Ketchum right now in fact", Riles said. Dawn nodded.

"Alright, I'll go down there now then. Thanks! I'll see you all later!", Dawn said. With that, she lifted up her dress slightly and then rushed off towards the food area to find Tracy. Now Angel and Riles were left alone. Angel turned around, slightly gloomy but more curious, and looked at Riles.

"Are you going to leave me too?", Angel asked. Riles shook his head, though he himself looked confused as well.

"No Angel, I'm just...I'm not exactly a dance type of person. I'm just as awkward over this whole thing as you are...I suppose we could find Emily. She wasn't exactly thrilled to come with me to the ball, but I'm willing to bet that she'll be happy to see you", Riles explained. Angel perked up upon hearing the idea and smiled.

"Sure, let's go do that then!", Angel said. Riles smiled.

"Good, she's over at the tables by the windows", Riles said. The two then walked off towards the tables. Angel looked around as groups of rebels were taking pictures and laughing out loud. She didn't know how many of these rebels, like her, had never been to a formal dance before. All of them were older than her, (although some by only four or so years), and so all of them could have been to dances as children. But Angel felt that there was more to the enjoyment of this ball than the mere rare treat.

It was what the ball stood for. It was a form of celebration to them for their victory, something that they rarely get to celebrate. Victories were not necessarily rare to them, (though hard to come by), but even when they won, they were never really ever able to enjoy it for long. This victory at New Island however was different, it was big. And now they were finally able to enjoy the victory for what it was, a stepping stone towards peace.

Soon, Angel and Riles had reached the table. Like many of the tables, it was round and covered in a white tablecloth. At the center of the table was a lit candle, (though it was hardly necessary since the main hall was so well-lit by the ceiling chandeliers). There were also a few glasses filled with a red drink. Sitting at the table were a few people, more than Angel was expecting. She immediately recognized the twins Luke and Logan, who were both sitting close to where she and Riles were approaching. They were dressed in white buttoned up shirts much like the light blue ones they normally wore, however these were much cleaner. They also wore black dress pants, which stunned Angel, until closer inspection revealed that they were merely black jeans. They did however keep their cowboy hats and boots on.

Sitting a few seats down from them, facing Angel but her face down at the moment, was Brenna. She wore a purple dress that reached down to her knees with purple heels which, like most of the shoes, sparkled. Her blonde hair was done, it was up in a bun style instead of her usual pony tail. There were a few strands of her hair that were not tied in the bun and were instead let loose in front of her face. Sitting between the twins and Brenna, looking bored and leaning on the table, was Emily. She wore a black sequined dress which caused her to glisten like the starry night. The dress had a sweetheart neckline and wrapped around her waist was a black cloth that reminded Angel of a wrap. Her legs were crossed, revealing her black heels. She leaned on the table, using her arm to support her head.

"Look who finally arrived!", Riles commented. The entire gang turned towards the voice and spotted Angel. Brenna became excited and immediately shot up and ran over to her friend.

"Angel!", Brenna exclaimed. The twins merely smiled at her arrival, while Emily broke from her bored looking trance and looked at Angel with genuine happiness. Brenna ran over, (being careful to not trip on her heels, it was clear she had little practice in them), and hugged the girl, who hugged her back.

"I'm glad to see you too Brenna! And I love your dress!", Angel remarked, stepping back and looking at it. Brenna blushed slightly.

"Yeah, I'm not really a big dress fan, as you can probably tell from my normal clothes and personality. But I wanted to dress up for the ball, who knows if you'll be able to go to another one!", Brenna said. She made sure to avoid using certain words for fear of the cameras watching.

"Well you look amazing! Who did you come to the ball with? I remember that we were having trouble with dates", Angel joked. Brenna giggled.

"Yeah, I know. Originally I was going to come alone and then me and you could just hang out the entire time. But then Michael asked me to be his date. He's only a year older than me so I figured that he had trouble finding a date too, so I said yes. He's out somewheres, probably goofing off", Brenna said. "Did you end up finding a date?". Angel shook her head.

"No, I really didn't have the time. Plus, as you can imagine, not a lot of people want to go to the ball with a twelve-year-old", Angel said. Suddenly, there was a chuckle. Angel and Brenna turned to the twins, who were both laughing slightly.

"I can't imagine why no one would want to go to the ball with you Angel, maybe they got scared! You are pretty scary in the mornings!", Luke chuckled. The twins then started laughing. Angel stuck her tongue out at them in response, more in a joking manner than in true annoyance.

"Oh, _real _mature boys. Picking on a little girl, you're the epitome of chivalrous", Emily commented. The twins looked at Emily, then at each other, then back to Emily.

"...What?", Logan asked. Emily sighed heavily.

"Nothing, forget I said anything", Emily said. It was clear that she was annoyed over their lack of understanding. The twins shook it off however and turned back to Angel.

"Well tell you what Angel, we'll go as your unofficial dates! If anyone asks, you're going with us", Logan said. Angel giggled at the offer.

"Well thanks boys, I appreciate it!", Angel said. Suddenly, the music in the room changed. It went from a hip-hop styled song to that of a country-style. The twins both looked at each other with a gleam in their eyes and a smile across their face.

"They're playing our song Luke!", Logan stated. Luke nodded.

"You're damn straight! If you'll excuse us ladies and gent, we've got to hit the dance floor, we're going to show everyone here how to do a proper line dance!", Luke stated. The two, overcome with excitement, hurried off to the dance floor. The girls and Riles watched as they quickly hurried over. Emily sighed.

"Good, they're gone. They're nice but god they're annoying", Emily stated. Angel turned her attention towards her friend.

"So Emily, what made you decide to come to the ball with Riles, if you don't mind me asking?", Angel asked.

"Well, I knew that most guys wouldn't want to come with me to the ball, and Riles was kind enough to take up my offer. He knows that this is only as a friends thing", Emily explained as Riles sat down at a chair next to Emily.

"You shouldn't say that Emily, I'm sure there are plenty of guys here who would have gone with you! You're so pretty! And you're a really great friend once people get to know you!", Angel remarked. Emily, taken aback by the kind words, did not know what to say immediately. Riles smiled, knowing that Angel had that effect on people. Emily eventually smiled and looked at Angel.

"Th-thanks, Angel", Emily stated. Angel smiled back.

"So Emily, I'm just curious, was there any _particular _guy you wanted to go with?", Brenna asked with a smirk. Emily seemed to drift off at the question, as if she immediately did think of something.

"Yeah...there was...one guy...", Emily said, trailing off as she talked. Angel, Brenna, and even Riles seemed confused by this statement.

"Really?", Brenna asked.

"Who?", Angel asked further. Emily turned to them, snapping out of her trance, and shook her head.

"It's nothing girls", Emily stated. She knew that the girls, being as young as they were, would be curious. But she didn't want to get into conversation that she would rather much avoid. The two girls of course wanted to learn more about what Emily meant, but could tell that it was a touchy subject. Brenna, not wanting to make an awkward moment, began to step backwards, away from the table and towards the open floor.

"Well then, shall we hit the dance floor?", Brenna asked. However, before anyone could respond, a figure ran passed Brenna and suddenly was sent flying. Brenna turned around in a panic, not expecting the trip. As she had stepped backwards, her foot tripped the person running by. Everyone gasped, (with Emily sweatdropping), as Brenna bent down to the person's side. "Oh my god! I'm so sorry, I didn't see you coming! Are you ok!?".

The person who fell lifted herself from the ground, moaning as she did so. She looked young, much like Brenna and Angel in fact, (though she looked slightly older than Brenna, sixteen most likely). She had pale white skin with dark blonde hair, (which was done up), and blue eyes, looking somewhat like Brenna in fact. She had a physique, but looked relatively tiny due to her young age. She wore a very simple thin-strapped blue dress that reached down to the floor There was a slit in the dress which showed her legs, but they were covered with a second thin layer of fabric from the dress. She also had some fake jewels designed into the dress at the cleavage and hip. She wore matching jeweled heels, though the heels were thicker than most of the girls there, probably from inexperience wearing them.

"Ow, ow, ow", the young girl whined. Angel rushed over to Brenna's side as well and together, the two girls helped the girl up to her knees.

"Are you ok?", Angel asked. The girl felt her body, checking to see if anything hurt particularly, and then sighed.

"Yeah, I think I'm fine. Sorry about that, I was in a rush to get to the stage and I didn't see you backing up", the girl said to Brenna.

"No, I'm sorry, I should have looked where I was going", Brenna said. Together, her and Angel lifted the girl up to her feet. She patted herself down, making sure that her dress was not dirty.

"Why were you in a hurry to get to the stage?", Angel asked.

"Because I'm supposed to be with the singers. Yesterday Prof. Oak was asking people if they wanted to sing at the ball, and I volunteered. But I took longer than I thought getting ready and rushed here as quickly as I could", the girl explained. She then turned to look at the dance floor. An upbeat country song was currently playing, and the others from the table could see Luke and Logan leading a lot of the rebels in a line dance, laughing out loud as they did so. The girl sighed. "And of course, this isn't the part I was supposed to do, so me rushing was completely pointless".

"Well, at least you know that you can relax a bit!", Angel said. The girl chuckled slightly.

"Yeah, I guess so...I'm Caitlin by the way!", the girl stated with a smile, holding her hand out. Angel took it and shook.

"My name's Angel!", Angel said. Brenna then took Caitlin's hand.

"And I'm Brenna, pleased to meet you!", Brenna said.

"Pleased to meet you both!", Caitlin replied.

"So Caitlin, you're a singer?', Brenna asked. Caitlin nodded.

"Yep! I love singing! I've been doing it ever since I was young! Acting too! I hope to become a big musical actress when I'm older!", Caitlin stated with a large smile. Emily scoffed.

"Yeah, good luck with that", Emily said. Caitlin looked at Emily, somewhat hurt, but more confused over her statement. Riles looked nervous, feeling as if he should say something, but didn't know what. He nervously chuckled and stood up.

"Hmm, I think I like this song, care to dance with me Emily?", Riles asked.

"Well, not particular...", before Emily could finish, Riles grabbed her arm and ran off towards the dance floor. Emily unwillingly followed, getting annoyed at Riles all the way. Angel and Brenna sweatdropped.

"What's they're problem?", Caitlin asked.

"It's nothing. Emily didn't mean that comment. She's really nice once you get to know her, she's just...got a tough exterior", Angel explained. Caitlin shrugged, figuring it wasn't a major deal. As Angel turned away from where Emily and Riles had gone, she noticed Caitlin's ears. Hanging from them were little Pichu earrings, the yellow, black, and red colors sticking out to her.

"Those earrings are really cute Caitlin!", Angel stated. Caitlin turned back towards Angel and smiled.

"Oh these? Thanks! They're my good luck charms! I wear them whenever I'm feeling nervous or scared, it helps me build confidence", Caitlin explained, showing them off slightly more. Angel nodded.

"I understand. Sometimes it's good to have a little good luck on your side", Angel said. Caitlin then looked up to Angel's ears and could see that she was wearing her Beautifly earrings.

"Are those your good luck charms?", Caitlin asked. Brenna turned to look at Angel and saw the earrings. Angel shook her head.

"Not exactly. Mrs. Ketchum gave them to me to wear", Angel stated. "I don't really have a lucky charm".

"Wow, it must be nice to have all that confidence", Caitlin said, not in envy, but in amazement. Angel blushed slightly.

"Well, I'm not what you would call brave", Angel said. Caitlin sighed.

"Well I'm certainly not", Caitlin said. She sat down at the table they were near, putting her head in her hand and sighing. "I'm a bit of a scardy Skitty. I get so scared so easily. I don't mean to, it just...happens", Caitlin explained. Brenna and Angel looked at each other in concern. They knew what it was like to be scared. Being in the PTA was a dangerous job, and many of the rebels became fearful. While they couldn't talk about what they feared while at the ball, they felt that they could at least cheer Caitlin up. The two girls smiled and walked over to Caitlin.

"Come on, let's go and dance or something, it'll make you feel better", Brenna explained. Angel nodded.

"Yeah, besides, you'll probably be going up to sing shortly", Angel added. Caitlin looked at the two girls for a moment or two, until she smiled and nodded.

"Yeah, ok, thanks girls!", Caitlin said. The girls nodded back. Together, they helped Caitlin to her feet, and then made their way to the center of the dance floor. As the young girls went off to try and enjoy themselves, others were just passing the time. While they had all intention to dance the night away much like Evan and Aleksi, Ash and Misty found their nerves getting them better of themselves. They were afraid to dance with each other for fear of the other not enjoying it. They felt embarrassed, and while it was something they were ashamed of, they felt like there was nothing that they could do. Of course, neither of them wanted to confide to the other that they were feeling this way.

The country song was still going on and since it wasn't their style, they felt that they might as well just talk to their friends and hope they would get over their fears. Chatting with the duo were Sawyer and Nick, who unlike Ash and Misty, had complete confidence with each other since they were openly dating at this point. Sawyer glowed in a purple cocktail dress that reached just above her knees. It had two thin straps that held it up and a sweetheart neckline. Her shoes, unlike most of the party goers, were heel pumps that were silver and sparkled like rhinestones. Due to the darker purple color of her eyes and dress, her red hair and freckles stood out more in contrast. Nick wore a matching purple vested tux, as was expected. The group was laughing out loud over their conversation, clearly enjoying the evening.

"So then, Nick had to go and ask literally about six or more guys if they could tie his tie for him! His face was _so _red it was cute! Finally Eli came up to him and tied it for him", Sawyer told the others, her eyes beginning to fill with tears from laughter. Ash and Misty chuckled as Nick grew red in embarrassment, though he too laughed at the story.

"You know Nick, you could have simply asked for something special like Ash did", Misty said, glancing over to Ash with a sly smile.

"Don't you dare!", Ash warned, knowing what she meant. Misty was unfazed by his mild threat.

"Because Ash's mom ordered most of the attires, Ash was able to ask for more...specific pieces", Misty said. Nick seemed confused, though Sawyer seemed to be catching on and began to giggle even more than she was previously. "Ash can't tie a tie either, so he asked his mom for", Ash interrupted Misty, trying to prevent her from finishing. He tried to cover her mouth but she pushed his arms away. "A clip on!", Misty finally yelled. Sawyer and Misty burst into laughter, trying to stop themselves from crying too much over it. Nick chuckled out loud and turned to Ash.

"Really? A clip on?", Nick asked. Ash was embarrassed to say the least, but being around Misty for so many years and getting to know his fellow PTA rebels, he grew used to embarrassment. So, his face red, he chuckled slightly and clipped his tie off, shaking it in the air for a moment or two.

"Hey, it's easy to put on and take off, and at least I don't need to bother six or seven people to tie it on for me", Ash said. He then placed the tie back on and the group continued to laugh. As they laughed, Sawyer held onto her chest, trying to breathe. Because of the amount of laughter, her pacemaker was beginning to hurt. Though she continued to laugh, she tried to calm down. The others noticed this and became slightly worried.

"You should take it easy Sawyer, you know you can't do too much with your recent surgery", Ash said, making sure to leave out what the surgery was and why she needed it for the cameras. Sawyer sighed, breathing in heavily and calming herself down.

"Yeah, I know, you're right. It just takes some getting used to I guess", Sawyer stated. Eventually, her and everyone else managed to calm themselves down long enough to go onto another topic.

"So, Sawyer, how are things with you and Nick? You two are really an adorable couple!", Misty said. Sawyer stopped worrying over her heart and blushed but smiled.

"Thanks Misty, and things are fantastic. Nick can be a little...arrogant we'll say", Sawyer said.

"Hey!", Nick yelled, though he knew this was true. Sawyer giggled.

"But he really is caring, and I love him", Sawyer said. Nick smiled and the two leaned into each other for a kiss. Misty sighed romantically. Ash merely smiled. Suddenly laughter was heard and the group turned around to see Brock approaching them. Like Riles, he wore a white tuxedo instead of the traditional black. His vest and bow tie were pewter colored, which fit his gym leader background.

"Well, it's nice to see that at least _one _couple got together!", Brock said. Sawyer and Nick blushed while Ash and Misty looked at Brock in confusion.

"What do you mean by that?", Ash asked. Sawyer giggled.

"I think he means you two", Sawyer said. Ash and Misty immediately blushed and turned to Brock.

"OH GIVE IT A REST WILL YOU!?", Misty yelled. Brock laughed out loud at the response.

"So Brock, what brings you over here?", Nick asked, merely curious.

"I needed a break from dancing, I've been doing it all night and I'm getting tired", Brock replied. Ash chuckled.

"So Brocko, not feeling as young as you used to?", Ash asked. Brock chuckled lightly.

"Yeah, I guess so", Brock replied. Misty looked around Brock, seeing that he was alone.

"Brock, didn't you come with a date?", Misty asked.

"No, I was too busy preparing for the ball. Besides, I think I sort of left a bad impression on the ladies here", Brock said. Everyone sighed and laughed.

"I couldn't imagine why", Ash said. Brock gave a sly smile and laughed as well.

"Excuse me? Misty?", someone said. The group of rebels turned around towards the source of the voice, (which came from behind Ash and Misty, whose backs were towards the food). When they did, they noticed a female standing behind them. She had long black hair that reached down to passed her shoulders, (which were curled for the ball). Her hazel colored eyes seemed to stand out more in her long orange dress. Around her waist was a gem stone design, and her dress completely reached the floor. Ash looked at her confused, and even somewhat concerned.

"I'm sorry, I don't seem to know you", Ash said. Something like that troubled him. Though he did not know every single rebel by name, he tried his best to memorize them at least in image. This helped in trying to weed out possible Rocket UCs. Those he did not know well, another region leader did. Misty smiled.

"Oh, hey Lyla", Misty said. Ash and Brock turned to Misty in confusion. It seemed that Brock did not know her very well either. Even Sawyer and Nick looked on in curiosity. Misty looked to them, understanding why they were so curious. "Oh, Lyla came to Pallet Town with me and a couple others. She lives in Johto too", Misty said, being as ambiguous as possible. The others, being calm now knowing that Lyla was a rebel as well, relaxed. Misty then brought her attention back to the girl. "So what's up Lyla?".

"Uhm, well, I was kind of hoping that I could...hang out with you? I don't really know anyone here and...", Lyla began. She seemed embarrassed over the statement. It was clear that she wasn't exactly used to large crowds. Though the base that Misty was stationed at in New Bark Town was the largest in Johto, it was smaller than the one in Pallet, and therefore did not have as many people. This was because the bases were laid out differently in each of the regions to make them harder to find. Johto, having more wilderness than Kanto, has more bases hidden, but their sizes are smaller. Misty smiled.

"Of course Lyla, the more the merrier!", Misty said. Lyla smiled and approached the group. Brock put a hand to his chin while looking at Lyla.

"So, Lyla, you're from Johto huh?", Brock said. Lyla turned to him.

"Uh huh", Lyla responded with a smile.

"Well then, in _that _case!", Brock said. Suddenly he rushed over to Lyla's side and held onto her hand. "Allow us to dance the night away while we bask in our new-found romance!". Lyla looked at Brock in complete confusion with a sweatdrop. Ash and the others sweatdropped as well. Misty looked to Ash.

"Think I can...?", Misty asked. Ash chuckled.

"Yeah, go ahead, for old time's sake", Ash said. Misty then approached Brock and grabbed his ear. Brock winced in pain as Misty pulled him away from Lyla.

"I think time has made you rusty at this", Misty said as she pulled him away. Ash, Sawyer, and Nick laughed as Lyla was left standing there in confusion. While this was going on, another couple was just now coming off the dance floor. Several feet away from Ash and the others, Evan and Aleksi walked away from the crowd of dancing rebels and walked over towards a small round table situated near the windows and balcony. Aleksi was smiling and enjoying the night, while Evan was panting slightly. He pulled a chair around for himself at the table and sat down.

"Sorry Aleksi, just give me a second to catch my breath", Evan said with a smile. Aleksi giggled.

"What happened to "I intend to dance the night away with you"?", Aleksi asked, trying her best to imitate Evan's voice. Evan laughed.

"Well that was before I knew how much you liked to dance! I don't think we stopped for a single second since I grabbed you earlier", Evan said, leaning forward in his chair and resting his arms on his legs.

"Maybe if _someone _stopped smoking they'd have a better breathing capacity", Aleksi said. Evan scoffed.

"You would bring that up", Evan said. As he rested, he reached into his tuxedo. Aleksi watched as he pulled out a small metal flask from his tuxedo jacket pocket and unscrewed the top. Once he unscrewed the top, he brought it up to his lips, but stopped when he noticed Aleksi staring at him. He smirked. "Are you going to give me grief on drinking too? I don't intend to get drunk, I promise", Evan said, uncertain of how she would react to this. Aleksi looked at Evan, as if she was going to say something, but then stopped herself. She smiled and held her hands out, as if deciding against it.

"Nope, no, I won't argue over it", Aleksi said. Evan genuinely looked stunned as he took a small swig from the flask and immediately put it away.

"R-really?", Evan asked as he placed it back in his pocket. Aleksi nodded.

"Yep. I want this ball to be amazing, and I know it'll be harder to do that if we argue. So I'll allow it _this _time...only because we're at a party", Aleksi explained. Evan looked at Aleksi for a moment or two, and then smiled. He stood back up immediately and grabbed Aleksi by her waist. This caused Aleksi's face to turn bright red, and she felt even more embarrassed that Evan was probably seeing her face turn. If he did however, he kept it to himself.

"Tell you what, let's go back to dancing. I'm feeling up to it...I want to make sure you have the time of your life tonight", Evan explained. Aleksi's eyes glimmered at the thought of Evan being so sweet to her. She felt her heart pound in her chest more and more. She was just about to go with Evan to the dance floor, when she suddenly felt something. Though the emotions she was feeling because of Evan were extremely high, her training allowed her to focus on her other feelings as well.

She felt like she was being watched by someone, or something. She wasn't sure if it was something to concern herself with or not, but she knew that she had to find out. She turned around, looking out of the large tall doors that led to the balcony outside. The doors were open to allow the slightly cool air of the night to enter the main hall. The lights of the lab along with the full moon outside made the night seem much less dark. Out on the far end of the balcony, resting on the railing of the edge, was a Pidgey. A small, young Pidgey. Aleksi's emotions immediately changed. She felt her heart pounding once more, but now for an entirely different reason. She sighed and looked at Evan.

"I'll be with you in a minute Evan", Aleksi said. Evan looked at Aleksi with some confusion. Aleksi could sense this. "I'll be alright. I'm just going out for...some fresh air". Evan could sense that there was something more going on, but could not tell what exactly. However, not wanting to upset Aleksi, he nodded and released her. Aleksi nodded and smiled, but not before putting her hand on Evan's arm. "I promise, I'll be back. Thank you", Aleksi said sincerely. Evan nodded back in response. With that, Aleksi turned around and made her way out onto the balcony.

The balcony was very large, hanging over the fields that Prof. Oak owned. It really wasn't so much as one very big balcony, as it was one large one connected to a couple smaller ones. As Aleksi walked out into the night, she looked around. There was one couple sitting on a small stone bench to her right and holding onto each other, the man's tuxedo jacket being over the girl's body. They were enjoying each other's company while their hands were entwined. On the left side of the balcony, much closer to the doors, were a group of male rebels, all drinking and laughing. They must have come out for fresh air and jokes. Aleksi knew that they were distracted, and wouldn't bother her.

She walked down a couple of steps and made her way to the very end of the long balcony. Out here, she was alone and away from the rebels. She looked at the Pidgey, who seemed to recognize her and hopped over to her happily. Aleksi smiled and held her hand out to the bird. The Pidgey hopped onto her index finger and Aleksi brought it closer. She looked at the bird's leg, hoping to see a small note attached.

There was none.

Aleksi sighed. She knew then what this meant. She turned around and held her hand out towards a circular shaped window up towards the top of the lab, away from the balcony. This was where she was last night when she sent the bird off. Pidgey flew off towards the window and left her be. Aleksi then leaned against the balcony rail, her back to the property Prof. Oak owned. Though the balcony was large, it really was not very high off from the ground. One could easily climb up onto the balcony from the ground. There was silence for what felt like forever, until something was said.

"You seem disappointed", a voice called out. It was a rough voice, but spoken with a calm tone. Despite this, it sent shivers down Aleksi's spine, though not for the reasons most people would expect. She kept her cool however and responded.

"Well, could you blame me?", Aleksi responded, somewhat coldly. There was a slight chuckle.

"No, I suppose not", the voice replied. Aleksi turned around and looked to the few trees that were located near the balcony. As she did, a figure stepped out towards her. He stood tall and looked bulky. He wore a black fedora which covered his brown hair. His mustache and beard looked bushy but organized. He wore a brown leather jacket which was closed and conformed to his massive size. He also wore dark blue jeans and brown boots. He looked up at Aleksi and smiled, a smile Aleksi did not exactly return.

"It's great to see you again Aleksi", the man said. Aleksi looked at him for a moment or two before responding back.

"Hello...dad".

**I'll end the chapter right there at the cliff hanger. ;P This chapter had a lot of filler in it, and for that I apologize. But I wanted to make sure that everyone had more "screen time" in the story since it's ball time. Expect more appearances to come up soon. Also, I will be adding Caitlin and Lyla to my poll on my profile, "Who is/are your favorite character(s) in "R"?". If you have not yet voted on it, (it's been up since March), then please do so! You'll see more of the new girls, along with some more new faces soon. :) Also, as a side note, to author "GoodIdeas4U", yes, I did receive your reviews, (all 3 of them. XD). The reason why I did not respond is because I cannot. You should consider making an official profile on the site so that you can receive responses from authors. :) Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed the chapter! Next chapter will involve a lot between Aleksi and her father, and then we'll get more into the ball! Get ready for some comedy, some romance, and a whole lot of other stuff! Please be sure to F.A.R. (Favorite, Alert, Review), and to check out my Twitter account under EVAN AAML! See you all later!**

**sincerely,  
evan, a fan of aaml**

**P.S.- I will TRY to update "The Alphabet Game" and even "Christmas the Sequel" as soon as I can, no promises though! School's almost over and I'll be VERY busy!**

**-EVAN AAML**


	76. Chapter 76

**Well, it's mid-November...and Christmas music is already playing on the radio. Funny thing is, it's actually later than last year, they started the day after Halloween. On the plus side, it will help me get more into the Christmas spirit for updating "Christmas The Sequel", which I DESPERATELY need to finish. However, since this story is my prime concern, I'll work on this one probably a little bit more. Like right now for instance! ;)**

**-EVAN AAML**

Aleksi stood her ground, not moving while her father pulled himself up onto the balcony, holding onto the railing and looking at his daughter. He leaned over the rail and looked at her dress.

"You really do look so much like your mother, you even have her eyes...and her..._unique_ style we'll say", Aleksi's father said. Aleksi could tell that her father was trying to soften her up, he did this the last time he visited as well; back when they took the picture she placed in her bible. However, it wouldn't work on her. "Well, for what it's worth, you really do look marvelous. What is this, a dance or something?".

"It's a ball, yes", Aleksi responded.

"I should have guessed. I remember Prof. Oak throwing some pretty big parties back in the day. I went to one many years ago in fact, after my first Pokémon tournament", her father stated. Aleksi ignored his attempt to get into conversation and went straight to the topic at hand.

"Why did you decide to come instead of just sending me the info?", Aleksi asked. Her father sighed, looking to the ground.

"You still don't forgive me do you?", Aleksi's father said. She merely stared at him, not giving him even the slightest smile. He looked back up to her. "I wanted to see you Lex, I always want to see you".

"DON'T call me Lex...and for someone who apparently _wanted _to see me, you certainly went out of your way to make sure you didn't", Aleksi responded. Her father sighed heavily.

"Ok, I guess you got me there...we've been...busy, as you can imagine", Aleksi's father replied. "We've been hitting their border patrols around the coastline and going into Johto. We know all about your little stunt on New Island, while it's not a permanent fix, it should at least divert Team Rocket away from you guys for a while. It has so far at least". Aleksi took her attention away from her father for a moment to look around the walls of the lab. She looked near the windows and the doors leading to the ball.

"I see you picked this side purposely, no security cameras to spot you", Aleksi stated.

"To spot _us _you mean. I'm not going to risk you getting caught by Team Rocket", Aleksi's father said.

"Oh, so NOW you're not willing to risk my life? Funny, given your parenting thus far you could have fooled me", Aleksi replied coldly. Despite her slightly increasing rage and tone, none of the other rebels who were outside could hear her. As far as she was concerned, they could have left when she came out. There was silence between the two for some time, the music from the ball and the slight rustle of the branches from the wind was all that could be heard. Eventually, Aleksi's father sighed heavily.

"Lex", Aleksi's father said. Aleksi gave him a stern look, he held his hands up defensively. "Aleksi", he corrected. "I didn't do what I did because I didn't care about you. I did it because I wanted to protect you". Aleksi scoffed.

"Pft, yeah, protecting me by letting me out of your life to fend for myself, that makes sense", Aleksi said. It was evident that the two of them have gone through this conversation before, and Aleksi's father seemed to know that it would come to this.

"Aleksi, I knew the dangers that came with me being in the rebel force. Your life was at risk from day one. The only reason why I didn't have you flee before was because you had your mother to protect you...until she got sick...", Aleksi's father explained. It was clear that he did not ever get over the death of his wife. "...then, I knew that you had to hide. For your protection. I couldn't risk you joining the rebellion at your age, and I couldn't risk you staying home the way you did while I was away. I knew that, for the best odds, that you would have to run. It wasn't easy for me to do, to this day I still am haunted by that decision...but it was for the best". Aleksi approached her father this time, her anger rising slightly. Now they were face to face, with the barrier separating them.

"Then why did you join the rebellion to begin with!? You weren't obligated to, just because your old battling friends joined didn't mean that you had to. Why then, when you had a wife and child to take care of, did you decide to do something you KNEW was that dangerous!?", Aleksi asked.

"Because Aleksi, I couldn't just sit back and watch as people were losing their lives to fight for us. It was either get involved and fight for peace for you two, or just sit around and live the rest of our lives in fear", her father said. Aleksi turned around and crossed her arms across her chest, taking a few steps away from him.

"It wasn't your fight to begin with dad. You didn't have to fight for us, or anyone for that matter", Aleksi said. There was a brief moment of silence between the two of them once again, something that was all too common for them. Eventually Aleksi's father sighed.

"...I guess then you can say it...runs in the family", Aleksi's father replied. Aleksi remained quiet after that comment, unable to think of anything to argue back with. She just stood there, wishing that her father would just disappear, wishing that she didn't have to feel these feelings right now. They were overwhelming, and she was on the verge of breaking down. But she kept strong, she refused to show weakness, not in front of him. Aleksi's father must have sensed this.

"Do you know why me and your mother gave you the name Aleksi? A name as uncommon as it is?", her father asked. Aleksi did not turn around to face him, she merely kept silent, so he took that as a sign to continue. "Aleksi means "the defender" or "helper of mankind". We knew that you were destined for something more Lex, something amazing. We didn't think of course that you would become an amazing freedom fighter for a rebel group, but I was not surprised in the least when you first told me. Protecting people is in your blood, in your name even. Just as it is in me...and as it was in your mother, god rest her soul". Aleksi's heart was beginning to ache with each and every word that her father spoke. It is this reason that she had wished he didn't come to see her in person. Not wanting to talk more about her mother or their relationship, Aleksi changed the subject.

"...So why else did you decide to show up face to face? It wasn't just to torment me", Aleksi said, trying her best to fight off the tears that were working their way through. Her father sighed.

"Yes, you're right. I also came to give you this", her father said, pulling something out from his front jacket pocket. Aleksi turned around, (mentally thanking herself for not letting any tears slide out), and approached as her father pulled out what looked like a small memory card. "I didn't want to risk sending it with the messenger Pidgey, not with the information that's on it. It has everything you asked for in the note, plus more. Blue prints to the Veridian base that we stole from a computer awhile back, along with frequent post positions for guards and some other things as well. Buzz wasn't too happy with making a copy of it, gave me hell for it in fact...he says hi by the way". Aleksi held her hand out, a small smile finally appearing on her face as he handed her the memory card.

"So ole' "Uncle Buzz" is still kicking huh?", Aleksi asked. Her father chuckled.

"Yeah, he doesn't seem to know when to quit, stubborn bastard...reminds me of someone else I know", Aleksi's father replied. Aleksi couldn't help but giggle slightly at the comment, though as soon as she did she mentally kicked herself for it. She hated how her father always seemed to get her like this. He always explains himself to her about why he left her to fend for herself, usually tugging at her heartstrings with memories of her mother, only to leave and not write back for sometimes a year's time. It was a roller coaster of emotions that Aleksi didn't want to feel. Her father smiled, glad to see the smile on his daughter's face. She tried to change the subject.

"Dad...something else I need to ask you", Aleksi said. Her father seemed curious.

"Sure, shoot", Aleksi's father replied.

"The other day we had a little...incident in town. A few of our people, a couple of which very dear to me, got involved in a fight with three teenagers. They gave us details, but were limited. No name, no aliases", Aleksi explained.

"Were they Rockets?", Aleksi's father asked.

"That's what we don't know. According to my friends, they never actually stated that they were, but said that they had some powerful friends, and that they would be back. One of them did have a pistol on him, though apparently it wasn't standard Rocket issue", Aleksi explained.

"Hmm, that doesn't mean much. If a Rocket does the paper work, they can pretty much get any kind of gun they want", her father stated.

"There's more", Aleksi continued. Her father listened. "One of them also had a backpack with him. He acted like there was a weapon inside of it, though they never found out what. So, my question to you is, are there Rocket UCs around Pallet Town? Or where they just faking it to get what they want?".

"Well, it's tough to say. I know that Rockets send in UCs to go and investigate areas that peak their interest. But they couldn't possibly know that you guys are in Pallet Town, it makes no sense for them to search here, even with your ball. They use them more for the city areas. It could be possible that they were faking it, it's not unheard of for stupid punk kids to pretend to be Rockets to get away with free stuff. Them having a gun that wasn't standard issue in Team Rocket sort of hints at it, but you can't assume they were faking. Team Rocket does not take kindly to people pretending, the punishment for it is pretty severe", her father explained.

"So what do you think?", Aleksi asked.

"I think that you should be careful. For now, assume the worst and keep low. It's possibly nothing but you can't risk it. I'll look into it and see if they're planning something around here", Aleksi's father decided. He then scoffed with a smile. "But even if they _were _Rockets, I think that _they _would have more to worry about, you could easily kick their asses". Aleksi couldn't help but smile once again, something that did not go by unnoticed. "You have your mother's smile too...you could be her twin. Everytime I see you, it's like, I'm looking at both of you...all over again", her father said. Aleksi looked at the memory card in her hand, clenched it, and then slid it under her corsage for safe keeping. She would give it to Ash later.

"...If you had stuck around you wouldn't need to feel that way", Aleksi replied quietly. Unlike her earlier statements however, this one was not said in a cold manner, (which was what her father was expecting), but more in a forelonging way. Before her father could say anything, someone else spoke up.

"Aleksi? Is everything alright?", someone asked. Aleksi, in shock, turned around to see Evan approaching her. His tuxedo jacket was undone now and he had a brand new cigarette placed behind his ear. He looked at her with some concern. "You've been out here for a while and I was starting to get...". As he got closer to Aleksi, he could see her father standing behind her. His concern reached new heights upon seeing the large unknown man. Aleksi's father, not knowing the stranger, took action. He reached into his jacket and whipped out a small machine gun that appeared to be strapped to the inside of his jacket, aiming it at the young adult before him. Evan's eyes widened in shock over the sudden threat on his life.

"Who are you!?", Aleksi's father asked, uncertain if he could be trusted. Aleksi, seeing what her father was doing, panicked and pushed the gun down towards the ground, even going so far as to stand in-between the two boys.

"No! Stop! He's my friend!", Aleksi yelled. Her father looked at her eyes, seeing the concern and fear in them, and slowly lowered his pistol. Evan seemed confused, but relaxed more knowing that Aleksi at least had control over this man. Aleksi's father then looked to Evan.

"...Sorry...had to make sure", her father said. Evan did not know who this man was, but nodded.

"It's alright...Scorpion Evo 3 Al, good sub-machine gun to have hidden in your jacket", Evan said. Aleksi's father looked at Evan, genuinely impressed.

"The way I see it, the more bullets the better", Aleksi's father said. Evan nodded in agreement.

"So then...who are you?", Evan asked, not wanting to sound rude, but knowing that this clearly wasn't a typical stranger. Aleksi sighed heavily.

"He's no one, just someone who gave me something for the attack on the main Rocket base. He was just about to leave anyway", Aleksi stated. She was upset over her father's attempt at shooting Evan, and did not take kindly to it. While she knew that he did not know him, he didn't need to threaten him the way he did. Aleksi's father sighed heavily, putting the machine gun back into his jacket.

"Fine...I'll leave you be. You have a ball to get to anyway. Enjoy yourself Aleksi...", her father said. Aleksi gave a simple nod and was beginning to make her way back towards the doors when she was stopped. "Just...". Aleksi turned around as her father spoke and looked at him. He paused for a moment, and then continued. "...be careful...please". Aleksi looked at him for a few seconds in silence before responding.

"...You too", Aleksi replied. She then turned towards Evan. "Come on, let's get going. We'll miss out on the ball".

"Actually...if you don't mind Aleksi...I'd like to talk to your friend here for a few seconds, if that's ok with him", her father said. Aleksi turned to him in annoyance.

"No! You can't talk to him!", Aleksi said. Evan put his hand on Aleksi's arm reassuringly.

"Aleksi...it's ok...it'll only be for a few seconds...I'll be right behind you", Evan said. Since Aleksi knew this person, Evan no longer feared him, and had no problem talking to him privately. Aleksi looked uncertain, but looking into Evan's eyes, she knew that he would be alright. She couldn't say no when looking into them anyway. She nodded.

"...Alright...I'll see you soon...", Aleksi said. Evan nodded. With that, Aleksi made her way to the main hall, leaving the two men behind. Aleksi's father watched as she left, and then brought his attention to Evan, who was still looking at her leave.

"She's really something...isn't she?", Aleksi's father said. Evan ignored him for a moment or two, not because he didn't want to hear him, but because he was transfixed by Aleksi. He soon however snapped out of it when Aleksi was out of eyesight and turned around.

"Yeah...yeah, she is", Evan replied.

"So...are you and Aleksi...?", Aleksi's father asked. Evan pointed to himself, as if uncertain if he meant him, and then became wide eyed at the question.

"Us? Oh no, no. I mean, we're friends, but we're not close. I mean, no, we are close, but not _that _kind of close, and...I'm sorry, who are you exactly?", Evan asked, the last statement being more serious. Aleksi's father chuckled slightly at the young man's words and began to climb over the railing and slowly approach him.

"My name, is Adrian Cash. I'm a rebel against Team Rocket in a group separate from the PTA, and...I'm Lex's father", the man named Adrian stated. Evan seemed amazed at the realization and gasped.

"You're Aleksi's dad? Wow, I never imagined", Evan replied. Adrian seemed curious.

"How so? Lex doesn't like talking about me?", Adrian asked. Evan shrugged.

"Well, she brought you up once, but she never really said much about you. The way she phrased it, it made me believe that you had died", Evan explained. Adrian sighed.

"Yeah, I was afraid of that", Adrian said. He looked genuinely hurt by this news. Evan felt bad, and wanted to help, but did not know Adrian well enough.

"If I may ask...what happened between you two? She didn't seem particularly pleased to see you again", Evan said. Adrian nodded.

"Yeah, I figured she wouldn't be. You see...", Adrian said. He trailed off as he looked at Evan. Evan caught on.

"Evan, my name's Evan", Evan said. Adrian nodded.

"Evan...when she was younger, after I had joined the rebellion, Aleksi's mother, died of cancer. Because of this, she was left alone for a long time. I would come home as often as I could and spend time with her. But because I was in the rebellion, it put her life at risk from Team Rocket. I knew that I wouldn't be able to protect her all the time, especially with her mother gone. So, when I felt it was the best time, I...I told her to leave. I, gave her all the information she would need, and had her escape. So that she could be safe. To this day, she's never forgiven me for that", Adrian explained. Evan's heart wretched at the story. He didn't know that Aleksi had gone through this as a child. He felt terrible, wishing that he could have been there for her back then, when she really needed it.

"I see...", Evan said. There was a moment of silence between the two men before Adrian spoke.

"You may think of me as a bad father, and I can't blame you for that. I deserve to be called that much. But what I did for Aleksi was for the best intentions, even if it wasn't done the best way", Adrian stated. Evan shook his head.

"No, I don't think you're a bad father. While I don't agree with what you did, I can understand what you were trying to accomplish", Evan said. Adrian nodded.

"I'm glad then. However, it's even harder for me now to protect her than it was before. I was glad when she found a safe place to call home, even though it meant joining the PTA. And I knew that she could be safe here, especially with the skills I taught her. But after what you all did on New Island, her safety is in more jeopardy than ever. I won't be able to protect her here, Team Rocket would surely notice a random stranger around here like me. So then, I need someone on the inside to watch over her for me...", Adrian explained. He then looked more intently at Evan.

"You seem to care about my daughter a lot. I don't know you very well, but she trusts you, and that's good enough for me...so then, can you do this old man a favor...and protect my daughter?", Adrian asked. Evan couldn't help but smile at the request.

"Sir, you don't even have to ask me. I would die before I let anything happen to her, you have my word", Evan explained. Adrian nodded with a smirk.

"While I hope that doesn't happen, I'm glad to hear it. You seem to know a thing or two about guns, which gives me confidence, but let's just see exactly _how _good you are!", Adrian said. He yelled the last part, and immediately reached for the inside of his jacket. However, unlike last time, Evan was fully prepared for this. Before Adrian could even pull his weapon out, Evan whipped out his Desert Eagle and aimed it at Adrian's head. This happened so fast that Adrian didn't even know what happened until it was already done. He looked at the young man stunned at first, but then smiled. "Impressive". Evan smirked back.

"I'm pretty good with a gun, as you can see", Evan explained. Adrian nodded.

"That I can. Good", Adrian said as he pulled away from his jacket. Evan placed his Desert Eagle back into his tuxedo. "So then Evan, I trust you. And I hope to get to know you more when all of this is over, if Lex is willing to take me back that is...now then, you should go back, I don't want my daughter to have a bad ball because her date isn't with her", Adrian said. Evan nodded with a smile. He then turned around. However, just as he did, he felt something odd by his ear. He turned back towards Adrian to see that he had snatched the cigarette he placed in his ear. "And no smoking around my daughter!". Evan sighed, unable to even argue with it.

"Man, like father like daughter I guess...alright, I'll remember that", Evan said, turning back around. He took a few steps forward, until he stopped. "Oh, and, Adrian?". Adrian looked at Evan, awaiting his words. "...I know what it's like...to not have a father. I lost mine to Team Rocket not too long ago...I no longer have a family to speak of...I don't want Aleksi to have the same problem. I know that, despite what's happened between you two, that she still loves you...I know that she's afraid of losing you, even if she doesn't want to admit it. So remember that...all she really wants is a father who's there for her". Adrian could do nothing but stare at the young man as he walked back to the ball, leaving the father alone until he decided that he had to leave. With the peace of mind for his daughter's safety, he smiled as he jumped off the balcony and into the darkness.

While all of this was going on, the ball was still continuing without a hitch. People were dancing, singing, talking, and enjoying the time they had at this peaceful moment. Sitting at a table, enjoying one another's company, were May, Drew, Brian, Ashley, Mathinza, and Darrel. May, Drew, Ashley, and Brian were all sitting on one side of the table, chatting away and having fun, while Darrel and Mathinza sat a couple of seats away. Mathinza had in his ears earphones which were connected to an unknown source hidden in his pocket. He did not wear a full on tuxedo, but did manage to wear a white dress shirt and black dress pants with black shoes. He was looking annoyed, but still happy to be with his friends.

Darrel wore a white tuxedo to compliment his dark-skinned complexion. His vest was pink shockingly, though it didn't appear as if he went to the ball with a date. He was not moody like Mathinza, but merely just sitting and enjoying the punch. Brian and Ashley were enjoying the ball and the conversation they were having with the others. Ashley wore a maroon colored dress with a slight bell shape that ended at her knees with a thin black belt at her waist with a gold flower symbol in the center. The outlines of the dress near the straps and the bottom were also gold, and there were gold-colored flowers imprinted at the bottom side of the dress. She also wore yellow slip on shoes and on her wrist was the corsage Brian got her the other day. Her hair was down, not done in a particularly fancy design like the other girls, but made to look pretty. She also wore a simple gold necklace. Brian matched in a black tuxedo with maroon vest.

"So Drew, why won't you dance with May? Afraid to go out there and show us your moves?", Brian asked in a joking way. He knew that Drew was not the type of person to go out and dance like the other guys. Drew glared at the teen, causing more laughter from Brian.

"Come on Drew, I'm willing to bet that you would have a lot of fun out there if you gave it a try!", Ashley said reassuringly. Drew crossed his arms together and "hmphed". May and Ashley sighed. Darrel couldn't help but chuckle at the failed attempts to get Drew to dance.

"You all are going to be tryin' for awhile to get Drew to dance. Boy's never gonna move unless you play music to his liking", Darrel said.

"What makes you think that?", Brian asked, not in a rude way, more in a curious manner. Darrel shrugged.

"That would make _me _dance", Darrel said. Ashley sighed.

"Great, so then the only way he'll get up there and dance, is if they play some slow classical song", Ashley said.

"That'll never happen", May said in a sigh. Suddenly, the song that was playing ended, and another song came on. Everyone listened in, waiting to see if it was a song they recognized or liked. Then, to their surprise, classical music began to play. Drew looked on in shock and annoyance while everyone else laughed at the perfect timing.

"Well Drew, looks like you're out of options here!", Brian said, putting a hand on Drew's shoulder. Drew moaned out loud while May stood up and began to tug on his hands.

"Come on Drew! One dance, that's all I ask for, just one little dance and then you can go and be mopey for the rest of the night!", May said in an almost begging way. Drew looked up at May's eyes, seeing the sincerity in them. While Drew could be stubborn, he found it difficult to be able to resist her eyes. May wasn't like the other girls in most ways. Although she could have her angry moments, and her goofy mistakes, she had an innocence about her that seemed to radiate. She was pure of heart, something Drew was heavily attracted to. Drew, upon looking May in the eyes, sighed, and stood up to his own accord. May smiled and cheered slightly as Drew took her by the arm like a gentleman and walked her to the dance floor. Ashley, Brian, and Darrel watched as the pair made their way out to the dance floor.

"I still can't believe that the perfect song just happened to come on", Brian said.

"I know right?", someone spoke up. Everyone at the table, (Mathinza included), looked up to the source of the voice. Coming towards the table from their left was Angel, with a smile on her face. "It's almost like someone asked the DJ to play that very song, odd coincidence huh?". The others at the table all laughed and smirked as Angel approached them. Brian gave Angel a high-five.

"Nice job Angel!", Brian said. Ashley smiled and gave Angel a hug.

"That was very clever of you Angel, and it's good to see you!", Ashley said. Angel smiled, gladly returning the hug.

"Thanks Ashley, and it's great to see you too! You look so pretty!", Angel remarked, looking at Ashley's dress. Ashley blushed slightly and smiled.

"Well thank you Angel. You look very pretty as well!", Ashley stated.

"So, you heard our conversation and asked the DJ to play that song? I like it", Darrel said with a smirk, approaching Angel and giving her his own high-five. Angel smiled after returning it.

"Well, you see, me and Brock sort of have a little bet going on. I have to try to get May and Drew, and then Ash and Misty together", Angel said. The others all chuckled slightly.

"Yeah, good luck with that one", Brian said. Angel stuck her tongue out at Brian in response. She then turned and noticed Mathinza, sitting by himself and listening to music. She leaned over the table towards Mathinza. He saw this and pulled his earplugs out.

"Mathinza, why aren't you enjoying the ball?", Angel asked. Mathinza couldn't help but smile at the young girl.

"Well Angel, making myself psyched for the ball to come made me forget something very important", Mathinza said.

"What's that?", Angel asked.

"I hate dances!", Mathinza said. Brian and Darrel laughed at the comment. Angel however seemed saddened by the news.

"But you can't let that stop you from having a good time!", Angel said. Mathinza smiled.

"I appreciate you wanting me to have a good time Angel, and trust me, I will be. I just don't get involved with dressing up and dancing and things like that", Mathinza said. Angel felt bad for Mathinza, but knew that he had fun in his own way.

"Oh...alright. Well, were you able to ask someone to the ball at least?", Angel asked. Mathinza chuckled at this as well.

"Oh no, I didn't have a chance at that", Mathinza said. This made Angel disheartened.

"Why not?", Ashley asked, listening to their conversation.

"Well, originally I was going to ask May to the dance! We're from the same region and I remember watching her perform in the Pokémon contests years ago. But I knew that she would be going with Drew, so I sort of just stopped right there", Mathinza explained. Ashley giggled.

"Oh, I see, a little bit jealous are we?", Ashley asked. Mathinza blushed slightly and became somewhat flustered.

"Oh quiet you", Mathinza said. Ashley giggled.

"Hey, Angel!", someone called out. Angel and the others all turned around to see two people approach them from the dance floor. One of them was Brenna, who was the one who called her out. The other one was Milo, who was dressed up, but carried his tuxedo jacket over his shoulder. It was clear that he had been dancing for quite some time and was pretty tired from it. He wore the typical black tuxedo with a rust colored vest. When Angel saw the pair, she smiled and waved as they approached them.

"Hey Brenna, hey Milo!...where's Caitlin?", Angel asked, knowing that she was with Brenna when Angel left them a moment ago.

"After you asked the DJ to change the song, she went up with some other chorus people to sing, she's singing right now", Brenna said, pointing towards the stage. Angel and the others looked to where she pointed. Near the stage where the band and Dj were situated was a smaller stage for singers, where Caitlin and others were now singing to the song. "But anyway, I was on the floor dancing when Milo came up to me asking if I had seen you, I told him that I would lead him to you", Brenna explained. Angel seemed confused by this, and turned to Milo.

"How come you were looking for me Milo?", Milo asked.

"Because, you left _this _in the jeep the other day. I thought I should give it back to you", Milo said. He held out his hand and in it was the Angel's Breath flower tiara that the flower shop owner had made for her. Angel gasped upon seeing it, having completely forgotten about the tiara. She was glad that it was still in one piece, and that she hadn't lost it. Milo smiled as he handed it to her, seeing the excitement on her face. Angel carefully placed it on her head.

"Wooow! That looks so pretty Angel!", Brenna stated, amazed at the beauty of it. Brian smiled.

"Yeah, go figure, you had use for it after all, really goes well with the dress actually", Brian said. He was by no means a dress expert, but could at least tell that the tiara worked. Mathinza noticed this as well and seemed to be in deep thought.

"Yeah...actually, hold on", Mathinza said. Everyone turned to look at Mathinza as he bent down towards the ground to pick something up. He then sat back up and held out the corsage he had bought earlier the other day.

"Isn't that the corsage you got in town?", Brian asked. Mathinza nodded. Angel however shook her head.

"No Mathinza, I couldn't take that!", Angel said. Mathinza shook his head.

"No, no. I insist. I didn't get a date anyway, so otherwise this gift would have been wasted. So then why don't you take it, aye? It'll match perfectly with your little tiara", Mathinza explained. Angel still did not like the idea, but did not want to argue with Mathinza. He had a point, and she wouldn't want to see a corsage wasted. And so Mathinza handed it over to Ashley, who in turn placed it around Angel's wrist. The white flower matched the white flowers in the tiara perfectly. Brenna looked on amazed at her friend's dress.

"There you go", Ashley said with a smile. Angel smiled back.

"Thanks Ashley", Angel said. She then turned and looked to Mathinza. "Thank you for the corsage Mathinza", Angel said taking a bow. Mathinza smiled.

"Not a problem", Mathinza said. Angel then turned around and looked at Milo.

"And thank you for finding my tiara and giving it back to me, I appreciate it!", Angel said, bowing to him as well. Milo chuckled.

"Sure thing. Didn't want to see it just wither and die after all. Now then, if you'll excuse me, I've got to get back to my date", Milo said with a smirk. Brian, Mathinza, and Darrel smirked back, knowing very well what he meant by that. Ashley sighed heavily. Angel and Brenna looked to him confused however.

"You found a date Milo? Who is she?", Angel asked. Upon hearing the question, Milo's face faltered. He seemed to be in deep thought for a while, until he chuckled.

"Actually, I don't remember her name", Milo said. Everyone collapsed at the response. "But she's a slammin' hottie man! I mean, look at her!", Milo said, pointing towards the dance floor. Everyone turned and looked to the dance floor. Standing all by herself was a girl in a rust colored dress. The dress was surprisingly short, though it had an elegance about it. There was some poof to the top of the dress, hiding most of the cleavage. She had darker colored skin, which made the rust colored dress seem brighter than it was. She also had long wavy black hair that reached her upper to mid back. She happened to glance over towards Milo and the others and waved flirtatiously towards Milo. Milo grinned back and waved.

"Oh boy, I see what you mean!", Brian said.

"Yeah, I'll give you that Milo", Mathinza said. Brian, Mathinza, and Darrel were much too busy checking out this girl to bother with much else. Ashley, this time being accompanied by Angel and Brenna sighed heavily.

"Right, so anyway, I'll be...busy. Take care now!", Milo said, leaving the group and rushing back to his date. The guys continued to stare at Milo's date, which eventually annoyed Ashley to the point of smacking all three of them across the face. Brenna laughed at the attack. As this was going on, Angel turned and looked to the dance floor. While Milo was trying to put the moves on his date, over towards the side, May and Drew were slow dancing to the song. Angel smiled at seeing the two, enjoying the dance and each other's company.

Angel could see, however, that they were not being romantic like Angel had hoped. She hoped that choosing the song for them to dance to would have been enough, but clearly more would have to be done to get the two together. And she knew just what to do.

**I do believe that the next chapter will focus on the ContestShipping! Well, I hope you all enjoyed the chapter! I sort of felt that the ending after Adrian's appearance was a bit rushed, but I wanted to get more characters in the story while also moving towards the next focus on the ball, which is the romance! ;) Not much else to say here, except to please be sure to F.A.R., please check out my Twitter account for news and updates, and I will talk to you all again soon! **

**sincerely,  
evan, a fan of aaml -EVAN AAML**


	77. Chapter 77

**The holidays are a buzzing and my family is preparing for Christmas. Our family tradition is to start Christmas stuff the day after Thanksgiving, (Black Friday). And since Thanksgiving here in the U.S. was a week earlier than normal, then our Christmas talks are a week early. And well...let's just say me and my family get a little TOO into Christmas. Hehe, we have 8 Christmas trees to set up in our house alone...and that's not including our other decorations. XD Anyway, enough about me! Let's move onto "R", where this chapter will focus more on the romance!**

**-EVAN AAML**

As the music played throughout the main hall, couples everywhere were beginning to dance around in circles. While the gentle classical styled music was playing and the singers were softly singing, the couples spun and swayed and held onto each other in rhythm. Most of the couples who were dancing had merely gone to the ball as friends, and so many of the dancers felt slightly awkward holding onto each other, while others joked over the entire thing. One group of guys even danced with one another while obnoxiously singing along to the song, (they were most likely drunk from the punch). Other dates, like Aleksi and Evan, while having gone as friends, were definitely not complaining over the slow song, as they held onto each other gently and smiled as they swayed. Of course, there were also dates like Sawyer and Nick, who wanted nothing more than to dance to a slow song. Nick held onto Sawyer carefully as she leaned into his chest while they danced.

And then there was May and Drew...

While they were not as awkward as other pairings were over the slow dance, (they at least had no problem dancing together), it was clear that this was not going the way they had expected. It appeared to be like a bag of mixed emotions, for while both of them had wanted this to happen, now that it was, they wanted nothing more than for it to end. Drew felt out of his comfort zone. He was not one for being "embarrassed", such emotions were immature. However, he usually didn't feel this because he always made sure he was in control. He purposely never did anything that he thought would end in his embarrassment. This however was out of his control. He normally didn't give into peer pressure, but this time he felt powerless to turn May down to the dance, and he was now regretting it.

May's emotions were slightly different. She had wanted nothing more than to have a romantic slow dance with Drew. But she knew that Drew was not comfortable dancing. While it was lucky, (or possibly fate May debated), that Drew's style of music started to play for them, the crowd was something that could not be helped. May knew that Drew would feel weird dancing around so many people. This of course did not change the emotions she too was feeling. While she was not as embarrassed as Drew, she still felt her face turn red just by looking at Drew in such close proximity.

Angel, who had set up the entire thing and hoped it would lead to something more, was watching the two with an annoyed expression. She sighed heavily while hiding behind a few couples dancing, seeing that they were not doing what she hoped they would. Brock had said that getting May and Drew together could mean that it was possible to get Ash and Misty together, and while she had confidence in doing just that, she thought it would have been easier than this.

Still however, she remained adamant. Angel would not give up now, not when she was so close. She tried to think of what she could do to help the romance build up more. She was limited, as she didn't want May or Drew figuring out what it was she was planning, but a few ideas came to mind.

The first, being getting them more alone.

May and Drew continued to sway to the music, listening as the soft melodies of the tunes seemed to carry them. Drew tried to use the music as a way to calm himself, (something he had grown accustomed to over the years of being at war), but found it difficult. It was hard to use the music to relieve his stress when the person causing him the stress was dancing with him to it. It was because of his failing attempts to listen to the music as a distraction that he failed to hear May speak to him.

"Drew?", May asked. Drew snapped out of his trance and looked at May, his nerves beginning to rise once again.

"Hmm?", Drew said, that being all he could muster.

"I asked you if you were having a good time", May said.

"Oh, sorry...I didn't hear you", Drew said. May couldn't help but giggle.

"Clearly", May replied. Drew couldn't help but sigh. He was used to being the one to point out the obvious, (more times in an insulting joke), to the intelligent but still often ditsy May. He was not used to being on the blunt end of the joke, and he didn't like it. But he had it coming.

"Sorry", Drew stated. May shook her head with a smile.

"Don't be, there's nothing to be sorry about", May said. Drew smiled.

"But to answer your question...yeah, I guess I'm having a good time", Drew said. May raised her eyebrow in confusion.

"You guess?", May asked. Drew shrugged.

"Yeah, I guess. I have nothing in particular to complain about it. But in case you haven't noticed, I'm not exactly the best at dances", Drew explained. May seemed genuinely stunned by this comment.

"Really? I would think that someone as cultured as you would be used to balls", May said. Drew shrugged.

"Never really went to any, no one to go with", Drew explained. May smiled.

"Oh...well, I'm glad then that I could be your date to this one", May said. Drew smiled, though the comment caused his nerves to get worse. He was used to being nervous when it came to May, especially since the war due to the increased amount of time they got to spend together. However, despite this, he never quite learned how to get over the initial fear. This was one reason why he no longer picked on Ash when it came to Misty, he now understood what he felt. Needing a change of topic, he looked to May's chest area.

"So May...how is your...?", Drew asked. May at first seemed confused by the question, but soon caught onto what he meant. He was referring to the gunshot wound she had gotten while at New Island. He had kept our details in the question purposely due to the security cameras.

"Oh! It's getting there. The special medicine I took really helped a lot, but it could only do so much. Let's just say I won't be...doing anything for a while yet", May explained. Drew nodded. He was glad that she was well on her way towards recovery. He reflected back to that moment in the basement of the New Island base. That moment which would possibly haunt him for the rest of his life. Seeing May get shot, and then whispering to him goodbye, was something he would never forget. Instinctively, he held onto May tighter than he was already, which May noticed. "Drew?".

"Sorry", Drew replied, immediately realizing what he was doing. He softened his grip. "I was just...thinking...you have no idea how much you scared me that day when you got hurt, it made me...think", Drew said. May looked up to Drew with a raised eyebrow, wondering what it was he had thought about. "It made me think about, what life would have been like...without you...and I couldn't bare it. It's the worst thought imaginable". May blushed at the comment, but felt bad for worrying Drew. She knew that, being the region leader of Hoenn, things like this were almost an everyday occurrence. But, it was her job, and she knew that things like this were bound to happen. She never wanted to hurt or worry Drew in any way, but as long as the war was still going on, she had to do whatever was necessary to make sure they came out victorious.

"I'm...sorry...that I scared you like that Drew", May said. "I never intended to scare you, ever. But...you know...", May started. Drew nodded, knowing what it was she was going to say.

"I know...", Drew said. He looked around as a way to distract himself, only to realize something out-of-place. He sweatdropped. "Uhm...", Drew said. May looked at him quizzically.

"What is it?", May asked. Drew did not turn towards May, but rather continued to look around.

"Why are we alone?", Drew asked. May turned away from Drew to look around, only to find that they were now very much separated from all of the other couples dancing. May and Drew both blushed immensely upon the realization. While May and Drew were busy talking to each other, Angel had taken it upon herself to make sure that they had more time alone. She had secretly gone over to each couple and moved them away from May and Drew and more towards the outskirts of the dance floor. Some people merely looked at Angel quizzically as they were relocated, others complained for a moment or two before Angel explained herself, and others did it voluntarily, (such as Evan and Aleksi, who were aware of Angel's plans and were more than happy to help).

Angel remained hidden in the crowd of couples, making sure that she was not spotted by May or Drew. She ducked between legs and remained unnoticed, much like she did when she was on the run from Team Rocket over the years. She snickered at seeing the two look around, wondering what had happened.

"Perfect! They didn't even notice! It's turning out better than I anticipated! Hopefully this will help move things along, but if not, then I'll have to move towards drastic measures!", Angel said to herself. She then shuffled away, looking for a spot where she could overhear the conversation between the two love birds. Meanwhile, May and Drew were trying to cope with their new situation. While they weren't technically the only couple remaining on the dance floor, they stood out so much at the moment that everyone spotted them immediately, making them the center of attention. May's face turned bright red in embarrassment.

"I don't know what happened! Oh my goodness everyone can see us! Come on, let's go and mix back in with the others", May said, trying to walk towards the other couples. However, she found herself being tugged back. She turned and looked at Drew, who held onto her and prevented her from walking away. He had a smirk on his face, something that confused May since she knew how embarrassed he was mere moments ago. He looked back to May with his smirk still on his face.

"Hold on May...I think this is better", Drew said. May had no idea what he was talking about, but Drew felt more comfortable being separated from the other couples. He knew that most people weren't watching them on the dance floor like May feared, people had better things to do than watch other people dancing. It was this added with their more private situation that gave Drew a boost of confidence.

"How is this better? We're all by ourselves out here like this", May said. Drew smirked in his usual cocky manner, something that May had grown used to over the years, even though she still blushed whenever she saw it directed towards her.

"Exactly", Drew said. He was still battling his nerves, but they were more relaxed due to their privacy, and so he took advantage and began to dance with May. He was leading, as May was still in some shock over the sudden change of personality. Angel watched as the two began dancing, smiling to herself and proud of her success. However, it wouldn't be a complete success unless they got together, and so she kept silent and continued to watch.

The two swayed back and forth to the music, which continued to play. Unlike many of the other songs that had played earlier, this classical song, like many, was much longer. The singers, (Caitlin included), kept up their soft vocals to the song as the band played their classical instruments. Drew moved to the melody, spinning May around lightly around the dance floor. May was taken aback by Drew's actions, but didn't mind too much, and enjoyed the dancing. She had hoped that he would dance with her like this for quite some time, and now she was getting her wish.

If only he would tell her he loved her, then her wish list would be complete.

She was no longer a little kid. The years had matured her, and the war had given her experience and strength. She knew that her little crush from childhood for Drew had grown into love, and for years she had dreamed of a day when they would be able to live life as a married couple in a cute little house on a hill, not worrying about Team Rocket or anyone, just enjoying life with each other...ok, perhaps she hadn't matured _entirely_ over the years.

Still, she had dreamed of the day when her and Drew would finally get together, but she was afraid that perhaps this was more...wishful thinking, than anything else. Was it too much to think that Drew not only understood the feelings that May had for him, but returned the same feelings? She didn't know. May thought that perhaps if they were living normal lives then maybe they would have been together by now, but being PTA leaders took its toll. She wasn't sure if they would ever get together, or for that matter, if they would live long enough to be able to.

But if that were the case...then shouldn't she admit to him how she felt...before it was too late?

"May?", Drew asked, noticing the beautiful woman in his arms deep in thought. May snapped out of her train of thought and looked up to Drew, who showed some concern.

"Oh, sorry Drew", May said. Drew smiled slightly.

"Well now look who's spacing out", Drew said. May couldn't help but giggle.

"Yeah I guess so...just, thinking", May replied. Drew raised an eyebrow.

"What about?", Drew asked. May blushed heavily, trying to resist as hard as she could.

Oh, nothing, nothing you need to worry about Drew", May said. Drew didn't believe her.

"May, I can tell when you're thinking of something important", Drew said.

"How so?", May asked. Drew smirked.

"Because you don't put much thought into things, if you do then it's _got _to be something important", Drew remarked. May gasped and smacked Drew in the arm for the comment, though mostly in jest.

"You jerk!", May said with a smile on her face. Drew chuckled lightly, he didn't burst into laughter like most of the other guys, but kept it more under control.

"Perhaps...but that still doesn't change that you are thinking of something that's clearly bothering you...so what is it?", Drew asked again. May looked away from Drew, trying even more to hide her blush. She hoped that the red in her dress would hide the red on her face. "May...I want to help you...if there's anyway I can, please...let me know".

Hearing the comment made May look back to up Drew. He was no longer smirking, but looked at May with concern and care. May's blush continued as her eyes began to glisten. She never got over how much Drew cared for her. It wasn't that Drew was not a caring person, he cared as much as anyone in the PTA, but he didn't show these emotions as much as people like Ash or Angel did. It seemed like the only time he _did _show that he cared...was when it involved her. Maybe then, he did return the same feelings she had for him. Her heart twitched in her chest, then began to beat heavier and faster. She put her hand to it, trying to calm herself, but to no avail.

From a distance, Angel looked on with hopeful eyes. She recognized May's expressions, and while she could not hear what they were saying very well, she knew that it had to be something romantic, for May wouldn't be acting this way otherwise. She crossed her fingers and watched on, hoping for the best.

"Well...", May started. Drew, while still dancing with May, moved his hands from her waist to her hands, where he held onto them gently. He looked deep into her eyes and smiled.

"May, I know that I come off as a little bit cocky and self centered...and that's because I am...but know that I would do anything for you May...especially you", Drew stated. May sighed, something that she hoped Drew didn't pick up on. She felt her stomach flutter and her heart beat even more. Drew's body was reacting in the same way, and he wondered where this new-found confidence in confiding to May was coming from. It almost felt like someone was possessing him to talk, he had no control over it, but he hoped it would continue.

"I...I realized that...over the years...I had grown closer to you, more so than anyone else. And it's not just because of the contests we did when we were younger, or the traveling we did when we got a little bit older. It...it was more than that", Drew continued. May's eyes sparkled even more, it was as if her wish was coming true right before her. Her hopes were getting higher and higher, and she was hoping for more. "May...you had grown from being just a girl I competed with, to being my best friend...you had been there for me whenever I needed you, through thick and thin...I could never repay you for what you've done".

Upon hearing this, May sighed once more, but for a different reason than the last one. She could tell where this was going, and it nearly broke her heart. He was thankful for her being a friend, but nothing more. She suddenly felt her heart wretch, as if it was just struck by the sudden realization that her ultimate dream that she had thought about for all of these years would never come true. She felt like she could burst into tears at any moment. Drew looked on with concern, but didn't know what to do. He didn't understand why May suddenly looked like she was hurt. He was opening up to her, and yet she seemed unhappy.

Perhaps...she didn't share the same feelings?

His heart seemed broken, but he had gone too far now, he couldn't stop, even if she didn't love him back. Angel watched as the two went from clearly enjoying each other's company to appearing as if they were in pain. She gasped and became concerned.

"Oh no! They can't screw this up! Not now! Ok, desperate times call for desperate measures!", Angel said to herself. Moving along with the couples in time with the music, she made her way over around the dance floor. Because she had worked hard into making sure they were alone in the dance floor, she knew that she couldn't just run up to them, she had to sneak her way to them. She hoped that if she could sneak around towards the tables, she could approach them from behind without them noticing. As quick as lightning, she worked her way over, while Drew tried to continue on.

"May...you mean so much to me...and I don't want what we have to be ruined...do you understand?", Drew asked, his heart aching with every word that he spoke. May, feeling equally hurt, could only nod while trying not to tear up.

"I...I understand", May replied. Drew looked on with a pained expression. He could see the hurt, and it made him hurt even more. He didn't want to put May through anymore, he had to do something to make her feel better. He couldn't bare to see her in this much pain, even if it meant him being heart-broken.

"May...I", before Drew could finish, he suddenly found himself lunging forward. He had no control over himself, it was as if someone had pushed him from behind. Not forcefully, but just enough.

Just enough to force his lips onto May's.

Angel quickly scurried away from the couple and towards the group of tables off the dance floor, making sure not to trip or make any loud noises as she fled. She quickly turned and noticed Brenna, who was sitting at a table with Michael, Tracy, and Dawn. It appeared as if they were all talking about something and enjoying themselves. Angel rushed over to them and sat down at a chair right next to Brenna. The group, not expecting the sudden appearance, looked at Angel quizzically.

"Uhm, Angel? What's going on?", Brenna asked, curious. Angel turned around and glanced at May and Drew in worry, hoping that they had not noticed her. Luckily for her, she had moved much faster than even she realized, for May and Drew still had their lips pressed together. She hid her face behind the back of her chair, but made a point to keep watching the two. She pointed towards May and Drew, and the others looked to see the two on the dance floor. Immediately, Michael sweatdropped, Tracy nearly dropped the drink he was holding, and Brenna and Dawn squealed in excitement.

May and Drew, their lips having been connected for only a second or two, pulled apart from each other in shock and could do nothing else but look into the other's widened eyes. Their faces had turned the brightest shade of red and their hearts felt like they had exploded in their chests in excitement. They panted slightly, but didn't move an inch. All they could do was stare wide-eyed. Everything had grown silent around them, time seemed to stop, and everyone seemed to have disappeared. There was nothing else, but each other. Drew, who didn't know what or who had propelled him to kiss May, gulped.

"I...I don't know...where that, came from", Drew said. He suddenly felt terrible, realizing what he had done. He became concerned. "Please May, I hope that didn't". Drew found himself being silenced once more, this time by May, who had lunged forward, (under her own power this time), and pressed her lips against Drew's. This time, only Drew became wide-eyed as May closed hers and enjoyed the few seconds her lips were against that of her love's. She soon pulled apart from him, and looked at him lovingly. Drew could do nothing more but stare.

"Drew, I, I don't know how you feel about me...and that's fine. I can't make you fall in love with me, nor would I want to. But...I can't help the feelings I have. And the feeling I have most of all...is love, for you. I...I love you Drew...I always have. And while, while you may not love me back, I want you to know, that I will always love you. I...I don't know where that first kiss came from either...but mine came from the heart...where I hold you close and dear", May explained. The passion of the moment caused her to open up entirely, and she suddenly felt herself tired and weary. She looked at Drew for the longest time, and as she did, time seemed to begin to slowly creep back. The music was beginning to return, albeit slowly and quietly. She could see the movement of dancers with her peripheral vision, but focused solely on the silent Drew.

For the longest time, Drew remained quiet, he didn't know what had caused him to kiss May, and it wasn't until May explained herself that he understood why she had kissed him. But it didn't matter anymore. She had opened up her feelings, and Drew's heart couldn't express well enough the happiness he was feeling. Slowly but surely, he smiled, and wrapped his arms around May's waist. She blushed as Drew looked into her eyes, and smiled even more.

"May...while I don't know what caused me to kiss you...I'm glad it happened either way...because I love you too, and nothing will ever change that", Drew admitted. May's heart nearly burst in excitement as Drew slowly pulled her in closer to him, and the pair closed their eyes, and shared their first intentional kiss, as a couple.

Angel gleamed in excitement, her plan had worked, and she had gotten the pair together. She held a fist and thrust it down excitedly.

"YES!", Angel exclaimed, just quietly enough so as to not get the attention of May and Drew.

"Awww! I can't believe it! This is sooo romantic!", Dawn stated, her eyes wide and glistening from the romance of it all. Brenna couldn't help but do the same, though hers was slightly more subdued. Michael sighed.

"Sheez, what is it with women and romance?", Michael asked. Tracy chuckled.

"When you get older, you'll understand. If you knew May and Drew for as long as I have, you'd realize just how important this is", Tracy said. Angel turned just in time to see Brock approaching them, holding a cup of some alcoholic drink in his hand. It was clear that he was oblivious to what had just happened.

"Hey guys, what's going on?", Brock asked. Angel smiled and pointed towards the dance floor, not saying a word. Brock turned and noticed May and Drew, still embraced in a kiss. He nearly dropped his drink in shock and smiled greatly. "Well I'll be damned! You did it Angel! Way to go!", Brock said. Angel smiled, genuinely proud of her work. For someone who was only twelve, she certainly knew how to play matchmaker. She turned back towards the couple, and watched as they pulled apart from their kiss and looked at each other lovingly before May leaned her head against his chest and the two began to dance to the song, no longer worried about the people around them. She sighed, loving the scene before her. She may have been too young for love, but that didn't mean she couldn't enjoy the love of others.

"I can't believe that she was able to get those two together so easily", Tracy said to Brock impressed. Brock smirked, bringing the cup up to his face.

"I can. She really is something amazing that little kid", Brock said. He then took a sip of his drink.

"Hmm, I wonder. If she got May and Drew together, think she could be the one to finally get Ash and Misty together?", Tracy asked, looking to his left at Brock. Brock smiled.

"You know...I think she just might", Brock said. Angel, meanwhile, was looking around the ball room. All around her she could see people having fun and enjoying one another's company. She looked at the tables surrounding them and could see several rebels having fun, talking, eating, kissing, doing everything. It made her feel good that people could, even in these times, enjoy the little things life had to offer. She looked out to the dance floor, and could see May and Drew still embraced together as they danced. And Evan and Aleksi, who were spinning around and laughing out loud. She then turned to her side and saw a young couple walking passed them, also spinning and dancing in fun.

Angel recognized them as a pair who had gone to Evan's training the other day, and saw them when they exited the bus before escaping New Island. They were survivors from Misty and Brock's squad. The girl wore a long pale powder blue dress with sleeves that reached her elbows. The shoulder sections of the dress were puffed up slightly and her hair was down. The male rebel matched her dress with a pale powder blue tuxedo vest. Angel did not know the two, but was glad that they were enjoying the ball as much as any others. She was glad to see so many couples around her. It felt like love triumphed over all.

Well, perhaps that was a slight understatement.

As she looked around the room, watching all of the couples enjoying themselves, another couple approached her. Angel did not see them coming, for they were quiet. Something shocking, considering who it was.

"Hey Angel, enjoying the ball?", a voice asked. Angel turned and saw Catie standing before her. She was bent down to be more at level with Angel and smiling. She wore a dark green dress with a single shoulder strap on her right side that reached down to just above her knees. Her long brown hair was put in a bun on her left side. She also wore matching heels. Behind her stood Hunter, who leaned on a walking stick instead of a cane, probably because it looked more showy than a cane at a ball. He, like Mathinza, did not wear the tuxedo jacket, but did wear the matching dark green vest. Angel smiled upon seeing them.

"Hey Catie, Hunter! Yeah, I'm having a pretty good time, look what I did", Angel said with a sly giggle, pointing to the dance floor. Catie, curious, looked over and saw May and Drew, who were snuggling into each other as they danced. Catie smiled.

"Aww! That's so cute! You did that Angel?", Catie asked. Angel nodded. Hunter looked over to see what they were talking about.

"Oh jeez, you got them together? Great, now they'll be all over each other and I'll have to put up with it", Hunter said annoyed. Catie shook her head in annoyance and looked back to Angel.

"Well I think it was very impressive of you, and it definitely will be for the best", Catie reassured Angel. Angel smiled.

"Thanks Catie. And I love your dress!", Angel remarked. Catie smiled and stood up, showing it off a little bit.

"You like it? I helped design it myself", Catie said. Angel nodded.

"It looks great! And I see you're wearing the corsage Hunter got you", Angel said. Catie nodded, although her smile this time was more out of humor.

"Yeah, you noticed? Figures that Hunter would screw something up so simple. You'd think he would have thought enough to know what color my dress was huh?", Catie asked. Angel giggled. "But, it's the thought that counts I guess, and it was sweet of him to think of me like that". Hunter scoffed.

"You're damn right it's the thought that counts!", Hunter said. Catie shook her head. She then bent down closer to Angel.

"The irony is, Hunter was the one that picked out my color choices. He whined about the thought of wearing a bright color vest so I compromised for him", Catie whispered. Angel laughed.

"Sounds about right", Angel said. The two girls then started laughing, which got on Hunter's nerves.

"Hey, hey, hey, I don't need you two laughing at me!", Hunter said. He sighed and then at down at the table, putting his walking stick next to him. He then turned and looked at Brenna and Michael, who were sitting close to him, (Brenna being in the chair next to his). "You two enjoying yourselves?", Hunter asked casually, mostly as a conversation starter. Brenna nodded.

"Sure, I'm having fun", Brenna said with a smile. Michael nodded.

"Yeah, no complaints", Michael threw in. Hunter smirked.

"Good. And you two getting along?", Hunter asked. Brenna giggled.

"We're not bickering like you and Catie if that's what you mean", Brenna said. Hunter scoffed. "Me and Michael went as friends, so we're getting along just fine thank you. It's hard to find someone to go with around your age when you're so young, you know?". Michael nodded.

"Yeah, Max couldn't even find a date. He's just been hanging out with Gary and the Professor all night. And Angel doesn't have a date either", Michael said. Brenna giggled and shook her head.

"Not quite. Luke and Logan said that they would be her "unofficial" dates to the ball", Brenna said. Michael and Hunter laughed. Brenna then looked back to Hunter. "So then, what about you and Catie? Is there something more to you two?".

"What? Are you kidding me? This woman has tried to kill me more times than I care to admit!", Hunter said. Michael sweatdropped. "I would sooner take this here walking stick and beat my brains out of my head than go out with Catie". Catie, who had listened in to this part of the conversation, smirked.

"You have brains?", Catie asked. Hunter turned to her in an instant.

"KEEP YOUR THOUGHTS TO YOURSELF!", Hunter yelled. Catie, Angel, Brenna, and Michael began to laugh out loud at Hunter's expense. Meanwhile, back out on the dance floor, Evan and Aleksi continued to dance to the music. While the classical music had finally ended at this point, (the singers sat down on little stools, including Caitlin, to rest their vocals and drink), another slow song began to play; compliments of the DJ. The two held onto each other gently, holding each other's hands as they swayed back and forth to the music. As they danced, Evan chuckled gently to himself.

"Wish I could have asked my friend to come over, he would have loved to have worked with the DJ for the ball", Evan said. Aleksi looked up at him.

"Your friend is a DJ?", Aleksi asked. Evan chuckled.

"Hehe, I guess you could say that", Evan said.

"How come you didn't ask him then?", Aleksi asked, mostly out of curiosity. Evan smirked.

"Well, he's a bit...busy at the moment", Evan said. Aleksi could tell that he was not saying much purposely for security, and so left it at that. She then turned over and looked at May and Drew. Although Drew's classical music had ended, Drew was still dancing with May, (though the soft slow song probably helped). They were holding onto each other tightly and smiling the entire time. They were whispering things to one another, and although she could not hear what it was they were saying, Aleksi knew it was something romantic due to their responses. She smiled as she watched them.

"Those two really do make an amazing couple, they were made for each other", Aleksi said. Evan turned over and looked at May and Drew and smiled.

"Yeah, I have to agree. They really are", Evan said. He then chuckled. "Angel is a pretty good match maker huh? I was surprised that those May and Drew didn't see her bump them into each other". Aleksi giggled.

"She's a crafty one, that's for sure", Aleksi said about her self-acclaimed adopted little sister. They continued to look at the new couple before them and smiled. "Well...if May and Drew got together, maybe...some other people will too", Aleksi said with a hint of hope in her voice. She said this softly, and turned to look at Evan. Evan looked down at her with his eyebrow raised in confusion.

"Who? Ash and Misty?", Evan asked. Aleksi giggled softly, her eyes glistening due to romantic thoughts running through her head.

"Yeah...something like that", Aleksi said as she slowly leaned into Evan's chest and closed her eyes. Evan blushed immensely and was still confused, but did not pass up the opportunity to be this close to Aleksi. He smiled and wrapped his arms around her, as they continued to sway to the music.

**So much romance! :D I hope you all enjoyed it! I won't lie, I put A LOT of work into the DAML in this chapter, and I honestly like the way it turned out. I think it's some of the best romance I've ever done, let alone the best DAML. And I hope that you all loved it! This chapter was LONG overdue, and I apologize for that. School for me ends in less than 2 weeks, which means I have a lot of exams to do and things to make up. On top of that, I am also working on "Christmas The Sequel", trying to give you all something different to read for the upcoming holidays. But alas, it's A LOT harder than I thought, and it's really disappointing to me. But I will try to get as much out for you as I possibly can! :) I thank you all for your patience! Please be sure to F.A.R., and PLEASE be sure to check out my Twitter for updates so that you're all informed! Now, if you'll excuse me, I have more Christmas shopping and decorating to do...ugh. UNTIL NEXT TIME MY FAMILY! :D**

**sincerely,  
evan, a fan of aaml -EVAN AAML**


	78. Chapter 78

**Welcome back everyone! :) As to be expected, I am having MORE than my fair amount of trouble in updating "Christmas The Sequel", mostly due to writer's block. Delaying a story for a couple of years will do that to you. -_- I find it funny actually, that the 3 stories I am currently writing are not finished, before my hiatus, I always did one story at a time, and always finished it within a few months. "R" is understandable, 78 chapters will do that, but the other 2? Inexcusable. But, eh, what am I to do? Anyway, I hope that you all liked the nice amount of romance in the past chapter, and expect something...different to come soon. What exactly? Well...we'll have to see now won't we?**

**This chapter is dedicated to my best and dear friend prettygirl17, who's 21st Birthday is today, (Dec. 10th). Happy Birthday prettygirl! I hope this chapter update is a good enough gift for you my dear! :)**

**-EVAN AAML**

Angel sat at the table with the group of rebels, all talking and enjoying the ball. The night was going off without a hitch, something that Angel was thankful for. She, like many of the rebels, had concerns as to how the ball would play out. It was easy to say that every person at the ball was more than prepared in case Rockets should suddenly attack. Angel wouldn't be surprised if the majority of the people at the ball hid pistols and Pokéballs in their tuxedos or dress purses. While an attack by Team Rocket was unlikely due to the high number of rebels who would fight back, the secrecy of their base was under threat due to the security cameras. Thus far, no one had said or done anything to lament suspicion by Team Rocket, but the ball was still young, and there was no telling what would happen.

Angel, however, tried not to think of it. She knew that luck was not on her side, but she wouldn't let the thoughts get to her, she couldn't. The ball was perhaps the last happy event she would have before the Veridian invasion. Angel had to be realistic, and she knew that while the odds of her parents being rescued were relatively high, the odds of her survival were a different story. It was a morbid thought, and one she did not take lightly, but it was true. There was a good chance that she would not survive the invasion. And if that were the case, then she had to make the best of the time she had now.

And so, it was because of this that Angel refused to think about Team Rocket, refused to think of the danger they were in. Many of the rebels were paranoid in trying to make sure they didn't say anything the cameras could catch; but Angel wasn't. Because she didn't even think of Team Rocket, she went along with the ball like she would even if they weren't at war.

And that made all the difference.

By this time, Dawn, Tracy, Brenna, Michael, Catie, Hunter, and Angel were simply passing the time by talking with one another. The DJ had taken over for the band and singers, who were at this time all taking a temporary break, so it was relatively relaxed for dancing. The music playing was more of a hip-hop style, which a lot of rebels started bouncing to, but did not exactly dance. The table was enjoying much laughter through conversation, (mostly at Hunter's expense), and the group were teary eyed in the fun they were having.

"Alright, how about this one? How do you get a trainer onto a bus?", Michael asked. The table remained silent, waiting for the response. "You...Poke 'em on!". The table remained silent after the statement, Michael looked at them all, wondering if they understood the joke. "Get it? Poke...'em...on?...Oh you can all go to hell!", Michael said annoyed as he crossed his arms in frustration. This caused the table to burst into laughter.

"Wow, I haven't had a laugh like this in ages", Brenna said. Tracy scoffed slightly.

"Ages? You're fifteen!", Tracy joked. Brenna stuck her tongue out at Tracy in response.

"I know what you mean though Brenna, it's hard to get to have laughter like this", Dawn stated. She ended the conversation at that for safety.

"Well, that's what happens when you're...working all the time. Things come up and you're always distracted", Catie explained.

"That's why we have to make sure that we enjoy this ball, as much as we can. Who knows when we'll be able to have another one, right?", Angel said. Everyone nodded in agreement.

"I wish everyone could think like that. There are a good number of people here who just aren't having a lot of fun", Catie said. The others nodded.

"Yeah, like Mathinza, he's not having a whole lot of fun here", Brenna said.

"Emily too, she's just putting up with it", Angel continued.

"And I think Wallace isn't doing a whole lot either. I've only seen him sitting at tables by himself drinking or casually talking to someone out of boredom", Catie said. Hunter scoffed.

"Figures, doctors don't know _how _to have fun!", Hunter said. Catie turned and looked at Hunter with confusion and some annoyance.

"What about me? I'm a doctor!", Catie said, pointing to herself, as if Hunter had actually forgotten she was a doctor as well. Hunter smirked.

"I rest my case", Hunter replied. This prompted some chuckles from Michael and Tracy. "Tell you what, where is he?". Catie, curious as to what Hunter had planned, looked around briefly before catching eye of Wallace. He wore the entire tuxedo provided to him, something that was somewhat surprising since he had stated before that dressing up was not something he enjoyed very much. He wore the basic white vest because, like Mathinza, he did not have a date to the ball and therefore did not have to match a dress. Like she had said earlier, he was sitting at a table by himself, a drink in his hands. He didn't look bored per say, but was definitely not doing anything worth while.

"He's over there", Catie said, pointing to the table he was sitting at. Hunter caught eye of him and smile. He then held his hands out around his mouth.

"HEY! WALLACE!", Hunter bellowed. Wallace turned upon hearing his name being yelled out and saw Hunter and the others. Hunter waved him over. "COME OVER HERE WILL YA! YOU NEED TO HAVE SOME FUN!". Wallace sweatdropped at Hunter's blunt attitude, but regardless, he chuckled to himself and got out of his seat. Hunter pulled a chair from an empty table near them and placed it next to him and Catie as he walked over towards them. Hunter patted the chair and Wallace took a seat casually and somewhat shyly.

"Hello everyone, hope you're all enjoying the ball", Wallace said politely. He seemed to have a slightly different personality when he was at something formal, Angel wondered if this was nerves or if he just felt obligated to act this way at something as important as the ball.

"Of course we are, we want to know why you aren't", Michael said.

"Yeah, why are you alone Wallace?", Angel asked. Wallace chuckled slightly, readjusting his glasses.

"Well, like I told Ash the other day, I'm not exactly a date kind of guy. I came to the ball just to relax, and that's what I've been doing", Wallace explained. Tracy smirked.

"A bit of a "take it easy" kind of guy? I know that, grew up with tons of people with that same mentality in the Orange Islands", Tracy explained. Wallace nodded.

"I'm an easy man to please. I like my quiet nights with some smooth jazz, maybe something on the t.v., perhaps even a small glass of scotch. I'm not for big dances and partying, not my style", Wallace explained.

"But we want you to have fun", Angel said. Wallace smiled.

"Well that's not to say I'm not having fun! I am enjoying myself. People have fun in their own unique ways. Some people it's evident, others it's not. I may not be doing a whole lot, but rest assured, I am having fun here", Wallace explained. Angel was uncertain if what Wallace said was true, but she felt that there was no point in arguing with him. He looked happy enough, and so believed him. She smiled and nodded, to which Wallace did the same. He then chuckled. "Besides, watching Hunter and Catie at each other's throats is all the entertainment I need for a good time!". Hunter and Catie became annoyed over the remark while everyone else burst into laughter.

"Hey guys, mind if we join in on the fun?", someone asked. Angel turned away from the table, (wiping away tears from her eyes in the process and giggling), and looked to see Trent and a woman standing before them. Trent leaned over to see Angel and smiled while the girl stayed a few feet back, seemingly shy. Trent, instead of wearing a typical black tuxedo, wore a silver tuxedo and a gold vest, making him stand out compared to most of the guys at the ball. Angel smiled upon seeing him.

"Hey Trent! I was wondering where you were!", Angel said. Trent smiled.

"I was up and about, not much for dancing, but wanted to enjoy myself", Trent said. He then remembered something and stepped back, revealing the shy girl more. "Oh, and this is my date to the ball by the way!". The girl looked at the group and smiled shyly, giving a slight wave to the group in the process. She had shoulder length brown hair that had a slight wave to it and brown eyes. She wore a silver dress that reached the floor and had a few gold waves to it.

"H-hi, I'm...Amie", the girl named Amie stated. Wallace looked at her for a moment.

"Hmm...Oh, I remember you! Yes, me and Trent helped you out the other day!", Wallace recalled. Truth was, this was the girl who Wallace and Trent helped when she had been shot on New Island. Trent had offered her his spot on the boat while Wallace removed the bullet lodged in her left arm, (which looked like it had healed up nicely since, thanks to Prof. Oak's miracle Pokémon medicine).

"Yeah, when I was looking for a date, I just so happened to bump into her, we talked and I had decided to ask her to the ball. Thankfully, she said yes", Trent explained.

"It was the least I could do, he was so nice to me", Amie explained with a smile. Trent couldn't help but blush. He hadn't done much for her, but he felt good even doing something small if it meant making someone happy. Angel smiled.

"Well that's great to hear. Glad you got a date Trent!", Angel said. Trent smiled goofily, feeling somewhat embarrassed over the comment, but overall happy. Angel didn't know if Trent had something for Amie, but felt it best not to press the matter. She was busy enough trying to get other couples together, she certainly couldn't do it for everyone.

And speaking of other couples...where were the main couple?

While Angel was left to ponder the question, the main couple so to speak were talking to a group of people on the other side of the main hall. Ash and Misty had never quite left the area they were at before, instead deciding to talk to more and more people. While to others it seemed like they were merely being social, in reality, they were stalling. Both of them were too nervous to do anything alone with the other. They had been to things like dances before, and had done countless things together over the years, but it seemed like the nerves never quite went away. So, instead of trying to face the nerves, they distracted themselves with the company of others.

Their small group of just Nick, Sawyer, and Lyla had turned into a much larger group of friends. People such as Prof. Oak, Eli, Max, Gary, Brian, Ashley, Emily, and Riles had joined them throughout the evening. The large group all stood in a circle and discussed several things, (mostly of the ball or one another), and laughing all the while. It was good for them to be able to forget about the troubles of war and Team Rocket and be able to enjoy themselves for once.

"So Ash, how come your mom isn't over here enjoying the ball with us?", Sawyer asked, noticing that Mrs. Ketchum was missing. Ash looked around and saw that his mom was no where in sight.

"Hmm, that's a good question, she should be", Ash said.

"Oh yes, I almost forgot, Delia wanted me to tell you that she had forgotten something home and had gone down quick to pick it up. She won't be gone for long", Prof. Oak explained. Ash seemed worried over the thought at first, knowing that it wasn't safe to go outside alone, especially with Team Rocket potentially in the area. But she knew that his mom would be able to handle herself, and she wouldn't be gone for long. Prof. Oak seemed to sense the fear that Ash had for his mother. "Don't worry, she'll be back before you know it". Ash nodded.

"You're right", Ash replied. Deciding to change the subject, Nick turned over towards Brian.

"So, Brian, heard that your little project is just about done", Nick said. Brian, (who was distracted momentarily by a small conversation with Ashley and Gary), turned towards Nick in confusion. He had in his hands a cup filled with a drink, and appeared to be slightly inebriated.

"Huh?...Oh!", Brian said, understanding what it was that he meant. Nick was referring to the EMP bomb that he was designing for the attack on Veridian. "Not _just _about done, it _is _done. I just need to make some final adjustments to it is all". The gang seemed impressed over the news.

"Really? It didn't take you very long did it?", Ashley said. Emily, who was somewhat distant from most of the people, (keeping herself close to Ash and Misty), scoffed.

"Figures, he can do _something _I guess", Emily said. Brian was annoyed over Emily's attitude, but knew that it was just her personality, and ignored it.

"Yeah, well anyway, I'll show it to you later if you want", Brian said to Ash. Ash nodded.

"You'll have to, it'll be interesting to see", Ash commented. Eli looked at the group of young adults and teens in somewhat worry.

"Oh let's not talk about work ladies and gentleman. We're at a wonderful ball, we should be enjoying ourselves, dancing the night away and having fun!", Eli said. The group chuckled at their elder's comment. Eli dressed in a fancy black tuxedo with a white vest, but unlike the tuxedos of the younger rebels, his was old-fashioned. It had buttons lower on the jacket and had two long coat tails in the back that reached towards the back of his knees. His black dress shoes were shined nicely and his white bow-tie seemed to match his white bushy mustache. He also wore a monocle instead of his usual glasses, which was humorous yet fascinating to the younger rebels.

"You're really happy about the ball aren't you?", Max asked. Eli chuckled.

"Of course I am sunny boy!", Eli said. Max blushed in embarrassment, something which caused laughter from Brian, Ash, and even Riles. "You young kids wouldn't know, but back in the day, the Professor here used to throw some of the best parties around! Why, me and Samuel here would be the life of the party back then!". Prof. Oak laughed.

"Yes, those were the days. Alas, we're much too old for such dancing and goofing off. It's up to the younger population to carry on that trait now isn't it? And you all won't be able to do that here now will you?", Prof. Oak said to the group. The group began to laugh over the comment, although Ash and Misty began to get slowly more and more nervous. They knew where this was going, and they didn't like it. "So then, are you all ready to hit the dance floor and start dancing? I know _some _people here have been avoiding it for as long as they can".

The professor said this particularly to Ash and Misty, but also to his grandson Gary, (who did not like dancing), and Max, (who would rather talk to the adults). Gary and Max sighed heavily in disappointment, but Ash and Misty were much more than disappointed. Gary and Max didn't have couples to worry about, they didn't have to worry about hidden feelings.

They didn't have to deal with love.

"Now then, why don't you all go out there and have, no pun intended, a ball!", Prof. Oak said. The majority of the group didn't seem bothered by this, and merely took their dates to the dance floor. Others were more apprehensive. Riles nervously looked at Emily, uncertain of what to do. He had gone to the ball with Emily not in the hopes of making her a happier person, (as Riles believed it was not right to change people if they did not want to), but rather just as an act of kindness. Emily appreciated him for it, and respected Riles' religious beliefs. But she had no interest in dancing with him. She didn't know him well enough for that. Regardless, she shrugged and walked towards the dance floor. While she wouldn't be slow dancing with him, she might as well hang out there with the others. Riles sighed heavily and followed.

Lyla was not so much scared, as she was confused. Unlike the other rebels, Lyla was not familiar with the people there. She had lived in Johto all of her life, and was not used to leaving her continent. When Misty was told to return to Pallet Town in order to discuss about the information Aleksi had found about the New Island array, she had decided to bring a few rebels with her. It wasn't necessarily mandatory to do so, (May, Drew, and Dawn in fact had arrived at the base by themselves), but it was recommended for protection. Lyla was a close trusted rebel and friend of Misty's at the base due to her dedication and motherly like personality. The others were also selected for their skills and for protection, but unfortunately, all of the others that had left Johto with Misty and Lyla would never return. They were but a few of the many who perished on New Island.

Ash and Misty in the meantime were trying their best to try to find another distraction for themselves. They didn't understand why they couldn't come up with the courage to be able to just dance with each other, but it appeared to be harder for them than they themselves even realized. Misty, upon seeing Lyla looking lost and confused, sighed in relief and approached her.

"Hey Lyla, you look lost, care to join us on the dance floor? We can just talk and hang out if you want!", Misty said, grabbing Lyla's arm with her own. Lyla sweatdropped as she looked at the out-of-character Misty.

"Uhm, well, I guess I can", before Lyla could even finish her statement, Misty began pulling her along towards the dance floor.

"WONDERFUL! Come on, let's go!", Misty said, grabbing Ash as well and heading towards the dance floor. As the trio left the area, Prof. Oak and Eli watched on with smiles. As to be expected with their age, they were quite wise, and knew what Ash and Misty were trying to do.

"Wonder how long they think they'll be able to stall", Eli said watching Ash and Misty.

"Not long I'm willing to wager. As kids their feelings for each other were still premature. It was cute, but it was mostly just young love. But over the years, their young love has blossomed into something much more. They're beyond mere love, moving into something of soul mates. If they don't get together by the end of tonight, with this kind of setting, I don't know if they ever will", Prof. Oak explained.

"Hehe, Delia's always going on about those two and how she wants grand kids. Sounds a lot like her mother", Eli joked. Prof. Oak laughed at the comment.

"Oh definitely. I see Erin in her everyday, and in Ash too for that matter", Prof. Oak said.

"I wish Erin and the others were here to see this. Ahh...this ball really brings back good memories. Erin, Claire, Tyson, Vail, Fred, me, you; enjoying the dances that Cypress would host here", Eli reminisced. Prof. Oak sighed heavily in the thought, reflecting back.

"Oh yes, good times. I do miss them Eli, each and everyday. We're the last of a golden era, me and you", Prof. Oak said. Eli nodded.

"That we are...but luckily, we have good kids following in our footsteps...they'll make good when we're gone", Eli said. He then smiled. "Especially the little girl, Angel. She's something special. That girl could change the world".

As the two adults chatted over the rebels, back towards the dance floor, Misty and Ash, (with Lyla apprehensively behind them), moved their way through the crowd of rebels dancing. They wanted to make sure that they were out of eyesight of Eli and Prof. Oak, just in case they decided to try to force them to dance.

"Uhm, Misty, don't you think we're fine just where we are?", Lyla asked. Misty chuckled nervously.

"Of course not! We need to find the perfect spot now don't we?", Misty asked. Lyla seemed completely confused by Misty's personality change. She knew of the romantic tension between Ash and Misty, but did not understand why Misty had to act this nervous over merely dancing with him. As they continued their way through the crowd, they found themselves accidentally bumping into Aleksi and Evan. They had just finished dancing and were hoping to take a break when Misty ran into them. The two looked over to see who it was that seemed to be in such a hurry to get through the dance floor.

"Uh, Misty?", Aleksi asked. Misty was in such a hurry that she did not even realize that she had bumped into them. Misty stopped making her way through the crowd and turned around to see Aleksi and Evan staring at them confused.

"Oh, hey guys!", Misty said.

"Hey, why the hurry? You got a date or something?", Aleksi asked, mostly in a joking way. Ash and Misty however failed to see the humor. They became nervous and blushed.

"Date? No, we don't have a date!", Ash said. Evan and Aleksi both looked at each other and smirked.

"Little bit nervous aren't we Ash?", Evan said. Aleksi giggled.

"Gee, I wonder why?", Aleksi asked. Ash sighed and covered his face with his hand, trying to hide the blush. Misty was also blushing, but saw this little distraction as just the thing she needed.

"So what are you guys doing? Want to talk?", Misty asked, somewhat nervously. She was being much to hopeful over this, and it was evident. Aleksi felt bad, knowing that she really needed to be distracted from Ash, but at the same time, she knew that they needed this, for their own good.

"Sorry Misty, but we've been dancing for a while now, we need a break. I was going to go and find Angel", Aleksi said.

"Yeah, and I think I'm going to go step outside for a breather", Evan stated. He then turned to Aleksi. "I'll see you soon alright?". Aleksi nodded with a smile. While she was having a lot of fun with Evan, she knew that they both needed their break.

"Yep, no problem", Aleksi said. Evan then turned and tried to make his way to the right side of the ball room, (the exact opposite end of the room where Aleksi had gone outside to see her father). However, Misty stopped him.

"Wait, if you're going to take a break, then do you know where May and Drew are?", Misty asked. Evan couldn't help but chuckle at this question.

"Oh, you mean the love birds? Why don't you look over there", Evan said, pointing to an area behind them all. As Ash, Misty, and Lyla turned around to look, Evan walked away. Ash and Misty spotted the two, and immediately gasped. They watched as May and Drew held onto each other on the dance floor, giving each other a gentle kiss on the lips. Ash and Misty could not believe what they were seeing. After all of these years, after all of the denial, the drama, the embarrassing moments...May and Drew finally got together.

It was after seeing this, that something sparked inside of Ash and Misty.

May and Drew were always in denial, always saying that they didn't love each other. While they weren't bothered by the questions as much as they were, Ash and Misty knew that they had their fair share of torment by their friends. And yet, here they were, kissing each other, clearly in love. Something as momentous as this couldn't happen just on a whim, clearly it was something much, much more. And if May and Drew could get together...

why couldn't they?

As if they were reading their own minds, they turned and looked into each other's eyes. They stared at each other for what felt like forever, trying to read what they saw. They both slowly smiled, a blush crossing their faces. Misty then slowly approached Ash, putting a hand behind her head in embarrassment.

"Hey...Ash? I think...we've been acting a bit childish tonight...why don't we have a dance together?", Misty asked. Ash smiled, trying his best to hide his nerves.

"Mist...I would love that", Ash said. Misty smiled back in response. Aleksi, seeing the reaction between the two, smiled. She hoped that things would work out themselves. She turned and looked at Lyla.

"Hey, why don't you join me, we'll leave these two alone for now", Aleksi said. Lyla turned and looked at Aleksi, then turned back to Ash and Misty. Being the motherly mature type, she could easily pick up on the romantic moment before her, and smiled.

"Yeah, sure, let's do that...Lyla", Lyla said, introducing herself. Aleksi smiled.

"Aleksi, pleased to meet you", Aleksi said. The two then walked away, leaving Ash and Misty alone, on the dance floor, together.

It was not long before Aleksi and Lyla made their way through the crowd and towards the tables. Aleksi had seen Angel scurry away after making Drew kiss May, and so she hoped that she was still at the table with the others. She soon found her guess correct as she spotted Angel surrounded by a group of others at the table, laughing and having a good time. Aleksi smiled upon seeing her have fun, she knew that she deserved it.

She had been concerned over whether Angel would be able to enjoy herself at the ball. After her emotional trauma at New Island, and then again here upon the death of Vanessa and Evan's injury, Aleksi had grown worried over her best friend. Someone at such a young age should never be put through what she has in just the past couple days. She was thankful that she was having fun, and hoped that it would stay that way. When she reached the group, she smiled.

"There you are!", Aleksi said. Angel turned and, upon seeing Aleksi, smiled greatly.

"Aleksi!", Angel said. She immediately shot up from her chair, (nearly knocking over an unsuspecting Trent in the process), and rushed over to Aleksi for a hug. Aleksi immediately returned the hug. "I was wondering when I'd see you again! Did you and Evan take a break?". Aleksi nodded.

"Yep, we were both pretty tired, he's relaxing over by the windows", Aleksi explained. Not wanting to be rude, Aleksi separated from Angel and introduced Lyla.

"Oh, and this here is Lyla", Aleksi said. Angel turned to look at the girl, but then suddenly smiled upon realizing something.

"Hey, I know you!", Angel exclaimed. Aleksi seemed somewhat shocked that she recognized someone who Aleksi herself had just met. "Yeah, you're the girl I woke up this morning". Lyla giggled with a sigh.

"Yep, that's me. You're certainly full of energy in the morning aren't you?", Lyla said. Aleksi this time was the one to sigh.

"You have no idea", Aleksi stated, though mostly to herself. Brock laughed upon hearing this.

"I guess it was a good thing I was the one who physically got you out of bed huh?", Brock said. Lyla nodded. Angel giggled.

"Yeah, sorry about that, I was just excited for the ball is all", Angel said. She then brought her attention back to Aleksi. "So how come you came over here? Didn't want to be near Evan while he took his cigarette break?". Aleksi giggled.

"Haha, you know it...but actually, I wanted to see how you're doing", Aleksi said. Angel seemed slightly taken aback by this statement. "I was wondering if you were having a good time. You were so excited for the ball, I wanted to make sure you were having fun".

"Oh! Well, I'm definitely having fun. I'm glad that I get to spend time with my friends like this", Angel said. Aleksi smiled upon hearing it. Angel smiled as well, but then, she suddenly thought of something. She remembered back to when her and Aleksi were in her room, after she had gotten out of the shower and Aleksi stepped in it. She recalled hearing her sing, and how beautiful it sounded. Then, a smile crept across her face. "But you know...". Aleksi looked at her, wondering what it was that was on her mind. "...you know what would make this ball even better? If you sang a song!". Aleksi immediately blushed at the thought while everyone else looked curious and excited.

"What? How did you know that I sing?", Aleksi asked, embarrassed. Angel smiled.

"I heard you singing in the shower the other day. You really have a beautiful singing voice Aleksi! I think it will really make this ball so much better!", Angel said. Aleksi seemed extremely embarrassed over the thought, but everyone else seemed excited.

"I didn't know you sang Aleksi!", Brenna said.

"Yeah, you really should, I bet you're a wonderful singer!", Dawn exclaimed. Aleksi could see that the group were beginning to like the idea, and became nervous.

"Oh no, really, I'm not that good. I shouldn't", Aleksi said. Angel grabbed onto Aleksi's hands and tugged on them in a pleading way.

"Pleeeeaaase!", Angel said. Aleksi looked at Angel's eyes. Aleksi could see the excitement in the idea, but also the hope. Angel didn't want to hear her sing to embarrass her, she truly wanted to hear Aleksi's voice. Aleksi had not had people ask to hear her sing since her mother, many years ago. It took her aback, but she soon smiled. How could she say no to her?

"...Alright, alright", Aleksi said. Angel's eyes grew wide in excitement, which made Aleksi giggle. The others at the table also became excited. Hunter turned over towards the band and hollered.

"OI! GET THAT BAND PLAYING! PLAY A GOOD SONG!", Hunter yelled. The group sweatdropped at Hunter's blunt request, but it worked. The band immediately got to their seats and picked up their instruments while Caitlin and the singers got to the mics. Aleksi blushed immensely as the band prepared and the dancers soon made space on the dance floor. Soon however, a beat began. As if she was suddenly possessed, Aleksi smiled, and slowly made her way to the dance floor.

"Angel...this song's for you. Always remember, you're something special, unique...like a firework", Aleksi said as she walked towards the dance floor, while the music...strengthened her soul.

_Do you ever feel, like a plastic bag,  
drifting through the wind, wanting to start again?  
Do you ever feel, feel so paper thin,  
Like a house of cards, one blow from caving in?_

Angel and the others all listened to her soft yet powerful voice as Aleksi continued. She turned around and looked at Angel with a smile.

_Do you ever feel, already buried deep,  
__six feet under scream, but no one seems to hear a thing?  
__Do you know that there's still a chance for you  
Cause there's a spark in you._

Angel could not help but feel more powerful upon each and every word that Aleksi sung. She didn't know if it was the choice of song, or simply Aleksi's voice, but something in her seemed to grow stronger and stronger. Soon, Angel found herself moving towards the dance floor, where Aleksi had finally reached.

_You just gotta ignite the light, and let it shine.  
__Just own the night, like the fourth of July_

_Cause baby you're a firework! Come on show 'em what you're worth!  
Make 'em go "Oh, oh, oh!" As you shoot across the sky-y-y!  
Baby you're a firework! Come on let your colors burst!  
Make 'em go "Oh, oh, oh!" You're gonna leave 'em fallin' down-own-own!_

Hearing Aleksi singing, Sawyer and Nick turned towards the dance floor. Sawyer felt inspired, and turned to Nick.

"Hey, I'm gonna go dance! Wanna join me?", Sawyer asked. Nick looked at Sawyer in skepticism.

"Uhm, hehe, thanks, but no thanks", Nick said. Sawyer giggled, knowing that Nick was nervous.

"Alright, not a problem, I'll go and dance myself. I'll see you soon!", Sawyer said as she walked towards the dance floor.

"Alright, but take it easy!", Nick said. Meanwhile, Aleksi turned to Angel, who had arrived to the dance floor. She smiled as she approached her.

_You don't have to feel, like a waste of space.  
__You're original, cannot be replaced.  
__If you only knew, what the future holds.  
__After a hurricane, comes a rainbow._

Aleksi reached to Angel and held onto her hands as she sung, as if sharing the strength she felt in singing with her. Angel felt empowered, like she could do anything if she put her heart into it.

_Maybe your reason why all the doors are closed,  
__so you could open one that leads you to the perfect road.  
__Like a lightning bolt, your heart will blow.  
__And when it's time, you'll know._

From the other side of the dance floor, Milo was beginning to also get into the song. While at this point in the ball he had more than his fair share of drinks, this feeling he was getting was not coming from the alcohol, but from something more. He felt his blood pumping and his heart racing. He knew he had to be out there. He turned to his date with a smile.

"Hey, I gotta get out there. I'm feeling it man. I'll be back!", Milo stated. Milo's date, thinking that he was just drunk, merely giggled and ushered him on. Milo gave a cheeky grin as he rushed out to the dance floor.

_You just gotta ignite the light, and let it shine.  
__Just own the night, like the fourth of July._

_Cause baby you're a firework! Come on show 'em what you're worth!  
Make 'em go "Oh, oh, oh!" As you shoot across the sky-y-y!  
Baby you're a firework! Come on let your colors burst!  
Make 'em go "Oh, oh, oh!" You're gonna leave 'em fallin' down-own-own!_

Angel watched as Aleksi began to spin around in circles as she sung, the music seemingly taking her over and controlling her. Sawyer began to dance around the room like a ballerina, light on her feet and elegant. Milo meanwhile began to break dance with impressive skill and quickness. Both of them, like Angel, seemed to be taken over by the beat. Angel watched on in amazement at the sight before her, as did many others.

_Boom, boom, boom. Even brighter than the moon, moon, moon.  
__It's always been inside of you, you, you. And now it's time to let it through._

Suddenly, it was as if there was an explosion of emotion. Aleksi gave it her all as she suddenly began to sing louder than before. Sawyer and Milo danced their hearts out as Caitlin and the chorus did their best to support Aleksi's vocals.

_Cause baby you're a firework! Come on show 'em what you're worth!  
__Make 'em go "Oh, oh, oh!" As you shoot across the sky-y-y!  
__Baby you're a firework! Come on let your colors burst!  
__Make 'em go "Oh, oh, oh!" You're gonna leave 'em fallin' down-own-own!_

_Boom, boom, boom! Even brighter than the moon, moon, moon!  
Boom, boom, boom! Even brighter than the moon, moon, moon!_

As the song ended, the entire ball room burst into cheers. Aleksi, trying to relax from the song, blushed immensely as she waved to the people cheering. She loved the cheers, though she felt embarrassed over them. Milo got up from the dance floor, breathing heavily and sweating profusely. He slowly walked off the dance floor, trying to catch his breath. Being drunk didn't help matters, but he laughed it off, saying it was "worth it". Sawyer sat down on a chair, trying to catch her own breath. Nick approached her and asked her if she was alright, to which Sawyer nodded. Her pacemaker was taking its toll, and the dancing didn't help matters. Regardless, she smiled, loving the chance to dance the way she did.

Angel looked at Aleksi, feeling empowered and stronger. She looked down to herself, as if truly seeing herself for the first time.

"...A firework...", Angel said, with a smile.

**BAM! WHAT DID YOU THINK!? Did you love it? In all honesty, this was something I had planned for Aleksi since the very beginning of the story. Aleksi is something special in this story, and I wanted to show it in an amazing way. I wanted someone to inspire Angel in the story, and what better way than through a VERY inspiring song? I DO NOT down the rights or anything to "Firework". The song is performed by Katy Perry and is not owned by me in anyway! I hope you all loved the quick update! (I sat at my laptop for 5 straight hours to make sure I got it out before midnight! ;D). Please be sure to F.A.R., and to check out my Twitter page! And once again, I would like to wish prettygirl17 a Happy 21st Birthday! Happy Birthday pretty! :)**

**sincerely,  
evan, a fan of aaml -EVAN AAML**


	79. Chapter 79

**UPDATES GALORE! :O The last 2 chapters came out pretty quickly, and this one also came out at a decent rate now didn't it? I'm just on a roll when it comes to this stuff! I am thrilled that the last chapter got so many positive reviews! (especially from prettygirl17, who loved it! Thank goodness! XD). As for this chapter, expect some MAJOR shocks. This chapter will bring about the end of the ball, and the beginning of something else. I won't say what, it may be terrible, it may be amazing. I won't say, but it will bring about change regardless. Let's get right to it.**

**-EVAN AAML**

Ash and Misty watched as the crowd finally began to calm down from Aleksi's song and move onto the rest of the ball. They watched as the band began to prepare for another song while the singers prepped their vocals for more. Angel had run into Aleksi for a hug, thanking her for the song to her. Misty smiled.

"That was amazing, Aleksi is such a good singer. And that song was perfect for Angel", Misty said. Ash nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, you're right. I hope that now Angel will have confidence in her abilities. She really is something special", Ash said. He then turned and looked over to Milo, who was sitting on a chair at a table. He was clearly exhausted from the dancing, but smiling the entire time. "I can't believe that Milo was break dancing like that. He really gave it his all...haha, if only he put that much effort into his work". Misty giggled.

"Yeah, makes me wonder how much the spiked punch had to do with that dancing", Misty said. She then turned towards the other side of the hall, and saw Sawyer. She sat in a chair like Milo did, catching her breath. "Sawyer really gave it her all too. Her dancing is beautiful to watch too. She told me once that she used to dance a lot years ago, and I guess she was really good at it". She then watched as Sawyer tried to calm herself, holding her chest slightly. Unlike Milo, who was just exhausted, Sawyer looked to be in pain. "I'm worried about Sawyer's recent surgery though, it really took a toll on her with that dancing".

"I know. She won't be doing a lot of work for a while now, that's for sure", Ash said, meaning work for the PTA. The two then watched as the excitement from Aleksi's song finally simmered down, and the ball was continuing. The band got ready, and began to play another song.

Another slow song.

Some dancers left the dance floor, either not having a partner to dance with, or merely wanting a break. Other dancers walked to the dance floor with their dates, eagerly waiting for this moment. Ash watched the people arrive to the dance floor, and then turned to look at Misty. He looked into her eyes, her cerulean eyes which he found himself getting lost in time and time again. They were emphasized by her blue dress, which sparkled in the light. Her soft and slightly pale skin seemed to glisten, which created an urge inside of Ash to hold her softly. He successfully pushed aside his nerves and smiled as he held his hand out towards Misty.

"Care to dance?", Ash asked. Misty looked at Ash, managing to also ignore her nerves, and smiled, taking his hand into hers.

"I'd love to", Misty answered. The two walked towards the center of the room, still hand in hand, until they found a suitable spot for them to dance and turned to face each other. Ash placed his hands around Misty's waist carefully, caressing her hips gently. Misty meanwhile placed her hands on Ash's shoulders, looking into his chocolate-brown eyes. As the music began to play, the two began to spin. They stepped in beat to the slow song, moving like a ballerina on a musical box. They enjoyed a moment of silence as they listened to the music, before Misty spoke.

"You know...I still can't get over it", Misty said. Ash looked at her, wondering what she meant. "May and Drew...after all of these years, after everything they've gone through, they're finally together...it's almost too good to be true". Ash smiled.

"I know. We always joke about it, but in the end, they really are an amazing couple, and them getting together is the highlight of the ball", Ash stated. They both glanced over towards a table in the back, where May and Drew were now heading towards. Sitting at the table were Brock, Dawn, and Tracy; along with several other rebels. Immediately, Dawn rushed up to May and wrapped her arms around her in a hug, (something May was all too quick to return), while Brock and Tracy raised their cups to Drew in a smile. The scene made Ash and Misty smile.

"Everyone knows how amazing it is for them", Ash said. Misty nodded. "And it really is. They deserve it". The two then turned back to each other as the music continued. They stared at each other for what, to them, felt like hours. It was easy for them to get lost in thought, especially given the circumstances. Ironically, what made them get lost was thinking of each other.

"So Ash, has tonight been everything you hoped it would be? I know that you weren't too keen on the ball in the first place", Misty said. Ash laughed slightly.

"Yeah, I know I wasn't. Pikachu was more excited than I was. He's been off seeing people and eating all night, don't know where he is now. But so far, it's been better than I could have ever expected...and I have you to thank for that", Ash said. Misty looked at him confused, though flattered.

"What do you mean?", Misty asked.

"Well, you've made this ball so much fun. Sure, we didn't do a whole lot, but just...being with you...it really makes everything that much better. That's one of the things I love about you Mist, we don't have to _do _anything, we could just be near each other, and it's like...I don't know...like you have this magic about you, that makes it all worth while", Ash explained. Misty blushed at the words. It was no shock that Ash had matured over the years, especially with being the leader of the PTA and fighting Team Rocket. However, it was still weird to hear such words come from the same trainer who Misty virtually grew up with. It was part of Ash's charm, he may have been impulsive at times and reckless others, but he always seemed to know what to say when to say it.

"Wow...t-thank you...Ash", Misty said, averting her gaze in hopes that Ash wouldn't see the blush. Ash himself was blushing, but ignored it as he smiled and reached over to Misty's face. He gently turned Misty's gaze back to him by turning her head with his hand. Misty looked at him confused, wondering what it was he was thinking. His soft touch caused her heart to skip a beat, and she fought off the urge to sigh in front of him.

"Don't look away...I love looking at your eyes", Ash stated. Misty's eyes became glassy at the kind words. Watching from a distance at a lone table were Angel and Aleksi. After Aleksi's song, she needed a rest, and so sat at the table to drink and calm her nerves after singing. The two had merely talked for a little bit before seeing Ash and Misty and focusing on them. Aleksi looked on with a smile while Angel sighed romantically.

"They're so cute together", Angel said. Aleksi giggled.

"I know, they may not think it, but they're the cutest couple out of anyone here", Aleksi stated. Angel made a sly smile and looked at Aleksi.

"Oh really? Better than you and Evan?", Angel asked. Aleksi blushed and playfully kicked Angel in the leg. They then turned back to Ash and Misty, who were talking to each other quietly on the dance floor. Angel watched them intently, trying to think of how to get them together. Aleksi noticed this.

"Thinking about how to get them together?", Aleksi asked. Angel turned to her.

"Yeah. It's a little bit harder with Ash and Misty I think", Angel said. Aleksi nodded.

"I'm not surprised. They've been best friends for years, it's hard to work a relationship through that when the fear of rejection and change are so high", Aleksi explained.

"Before the ball, I had talked to Misty and May, separately. And...both of them told me that they were in love with their dates", Angel admitted. Aleksi looked at Angel stunned.

"Really? They admitted it to you?", Aleksi asked. Angel nodded.

"Yes. I sort of pressured them into it, but they both told me that they loved them. And obviously May and Drew worked out, so...", Angel said.

"It's just a matter of waiting for those two then", Aleksi said. Angel nodded.

"But they're taking too long. They should have gotten together by now! So I'm thinking of what to do to get them together", Angel said. Aleksi shook her head.

"I...don't think you need to Angel", Aleksi said. Angel turned to her, uncertain of what she meant.

"What do you mean? Why not?", Angel asked.

"I think Angel...you already did everything you needed to...all it needs now is to work itself. May and Drew were a little bit different, all you did was push them into a kiss", Aleksi explained. Angel blushed, unaware that she had seen her do it. "But that won't work twice, especially with those two. May and Drew have known each other for quite a few years, and that says a lot about their love. But Ash and Misty have known each other for much longer, and have been through a lot more too. Their love can't be forced out". Angel sighed, feeling bad now. She didn't think of it when she pressed Drew into May. She thought that she was doing the right thing. She hoped that in doing that, she didn't jinx their relationship. She turned back to Ash and Misty, worried now. Aleksi saw this and smiled.

"Don't worry Angel...you've already done a lot to help it move along. Their hearts will do the rest", Aleksi explained. Angel repeated the words in her head, then smiled. She was right. Ash and Misty meanwhile were still dancing slowly and talking to each other. They smiled and laughed, talking about different things and enjoying the time they spent with each other. Both of them reflected back to the nervousness they had before over dancing with each other, and they laughed about it. Why had they been nervous? There was no need to.

"And do you remember when we danced at the festival at Maiden's Peak? And you wore that red kimono?", Ash asked. Misty smiled with a nod.

"Yeah, it took me forever to get that on", Misty admitted. Ash smiled.

"Well, did I ever tell you how beautiful you looked in it?", Ash asked. Misty blushed immensely at the statement.

"Ash! You're making me so red!", Misty said, embarrassed. Ash stuck his tongue out at her in response.

"Good, you look cute when you're blushing", Ash said. Misty blushed more and playfully punched Ash's chest. He made a grunt from the impact. "Damn! You still hit hard!". Misty glared at Ash.

"Don't swear!", Misty said. Ash chuckled.

"Yes _mom_", Ash said. Misty punched him again, prompting an "Ow!" and more giggles. There was a moment of silence from the two as they continued to dance, until Ash broke the temporary silence. "We haven't really changed a lot...have we?". Misty looked up to him for a moment, then looked back down.

"I wouldn't say that...you've changed quite a bit", Misty said. Ash looked down to her, somewhat surprised. "You've really...matured...over the years. Sure, you goof around a lot still, and we still get in play fights...but you've really grown into yourself Ash". Misty then looked up into Ash's eyes and smirked. "You're _such _a man now". Ash smirked back as well.

"Well, I _have _turned into quite the man, haven't I?", Ash asked. Misty giggled.

"That you have. But, you do still have your sincerity, your innocence, for the most part, your personality from when we were kids hasn't changed over the years, despite the...setbacks. You have changed...but for the most part, you're still you...and I wouldn't have it any other way", Misty explained. Ash smiled sincerely at Misty.

"...Thank you...Mist", Ash said. Misty smiled.

"You're welcome", Misty said. She then leaned into Ash and nuzzled her head into Ash's chest, smiling as she closed her eyes and listened to his heart beat. It was a lot faster than normal...and she liked it. Ash smiled back and placed one hand on her back and the other on the back of her head, keeping her close to his heart, where he wanted her to be, forever.

As this was going on, Evan, who was also watching the entire thing before him, smiled. He had been sitting alone ever since he and Aleksi had decided to take a break from dancing and was now just relaxing. Due to his smoking habit, he had trouble catching his breath, (though he would never admit this, especially to Aleksi or Angel), and so took his time. He knew that Aleksi would be fine hanging out with Angel for a while, and so was not worried about it. However, as it was, he found himself having a slight craving for a cigarette, and so stood up and moved towards the doors that lead to a balcony. This was not the same balcony that he and Aleksi had gone out onto earlier, this one was on the right side of the ball room, opposite the previous one. This one was also much smaller, only going out about ten to fifteen feet and being about three times as long. As he stepped out into the night, allowing the cool but gentle air to cool him down, he turned to his left and was stunned to see someone standing there.

"Ah! Ryoto, I was wondering if you had come to the ball or not. Good to see you out", Evan said. Ryoto was leaning against the wall of the building, near one of the two sets of doors that led to the balcony, (this set being closed). He was not dressed formally as most, but at least had decided to not wear his basic t-shirt and sweat pants, instead going for a plain white dress shirt and black jeans. His long black hair was still in a pony tail, which was not surprising to Evan. To Evan's surprise, his katana was placed right beside him on the ground.

"I was debating over it, but saw no reason to not attend", Ryoto stated. Evan shrugged.

"Well, it _is _good to enjoy yourself for once", Evan said. Ryoto turned to him. Evan never had a problem with Ryoto, and didn't fear him, something Ryoto respected. Many of the rebels were afraid to talk to Ryoto, even more were afraid to express their opinions around him for fear that he would disagree. Evan didn't, which was why Ryoto respected him. He simply responded by smirking. "By the way...why did you bring...?", Evan asked, referring to the sword.

"There aren't any cameras outside, so I'm safe out here. They can't hear us out here, it's probably the safest spot here, other than the base", Ryoto said. Evan looked around, and saw that Ryoto was right. Despite the many cameras inside, there were none here. Team Rocket probably figured that since the balcony was so small, it didn't need any. Evan sighed, knowing that he wouldn't have to worry about keeping quiet over PTA stuff out here.

"I see. That's good", Evan stated. "How you feeling by the way? I know you were pretty banged up".

"I've been better...but not too bad considering. That medicine really helped. I'll be ready for our fight when the time comes", Ryoto stated. Evan nodded. He then pulled out from his tuxedo pocket his flask and unscrewed the top. He took a swig from it and then looked over to Ryoto. "Want some?"

"Don't you know that will impair your skills?", Ryoto said. Evan chuckled lightly.

"Are you insinuating that we'll need them tonight?", Evan asked. Ryoto remained silent for a moment, before shrugging. Evan tossed him the flask and he caught it with ease. As Ryoto opened the top and took his own swig, Evan pulled out a cigarette from his pocket and put it in his mouth. He had just pulled out his lighter when Ryoto tossed him back his flask. Evan smirked as he caught it. "By the way, don't tell Aleksi about this", Evan said. Ryoto could not help but smile lightly at the comment.

"As you wish", Ryoto stated. He thought it silly people like Evan having crushes, but disregarded it. It was none of his business who fell in love with who. Evan put his flask back and then lit his cigarette. The smoke flew into the air, being more visible against the coldness of the night. He blew smoke out of his nose and mouth as he looked out into the darkness with Ryoto. This side of the field was not used so much for Pokémon like the opposite side, but rather more for boundaries to the forest surrounding Pallet. There were a few acres of open grass before the forest, with nothing on it save for a couple lone trees that stood proudly by. Everything else was dark and, with the exception of the ball, quiet.

"Seems peaceful", Evan said. Ryoto nodded.

"A nice change of pace", Ryoto remarked.

"If only it'd last", Evan replied. Ryoto looked out to the night sky.

"This peace may only be temporary, but we'll make it come back, and next time...we'll make it stay", Ryoto said. Evan smirked.

"My, that's pretty deep for you Ryoto, is the former Rocket showing that he has heart?", Evan asked. Ryoto once again chuckled, though only slightly.

"This former Rocket could _still _kick your ass. Remember, we're too close for your aiming skills to be much use", Ryoto reminded him. Evan laughed at the comment. Suddenly, the sound of someone approaching them caught their attention. Evan turned around towards the open doors while Ryoto merely glanced over. Approaching them was Milo, who stumbled slightly while walking outside. His tuxedo jacket was over his shoulder, and he held in his hands a cup filled with what Evan and Ryoto assumed to be alcohol. He was clearly drunk, but still had some control over himself, as he made it outside without tripping or bumping into anything.

"Hey, there's my main man!", Milo said looking at Evan. Evan smiled seeing his friend.

"Hello Milo, appears like you've been enjoying yourself", Evan joked as Milo approached him. They shook hands as Milo smirked.

"Well you know me, I'm the life of the party", Milo said, somewhat slurring his words together. Ryoto scoffed.

"At this rate you'll also be the death of the party", Ryoto stated. Milo turned to him, not realizing he was there. Evan chuckled at the joke while Milo looked slightly annoyed.

"You're one to talk Mr. Eerie and Solitary!", Milo said. Ryoto did not respond. Evan walked a couple of steps towards Ryoto while Milo remained by the door, not feeling like moving more with his drunken state.

"Well, at least we're having fun, right? That's the important thing", Evan said. Milo smiled.

"Got that right. Some more than others, I saw you out there dancing with Aleksi. You two really got a thing for each other now!", Milo said. Evan blushed slightly at the comment.

"I think you've had one too many to drink there Milo", Evan said. Milo shook his head.

"No, no, no. I know when I've had too much. I'm not so drunk where I can't see the obvious. You two are really hitting it off! Hehe, should I be expecting wedding bells in the future?", Milo asked. Evan sighed heavily at the comments while Ryoto smirked to himself over it. Evan leaned against the railing of the balcony, his back to the field, and looked down at the ground.

"Well...we'll have to wait until after the war for anything even remotely close to that", Evan said. Milo sighed at the comment.

"Yeah...guess so", Milo said, slurring his words again. Evan then turned to Ryoto.

"So, when do you think we'll attack Veridian? Ash said it'd be about a month, but for some reason, I doubt that we'd wait that long", Evan said. Milo raised an eyebrow.

"He said that?", Milo asked. Evan nodded.

"If we weren't so worried about security of the base, we'd take our time to plan things out. But as it is, it's too risky to wait too long. They'll have the array back up soon, and once they do, they'll focus on us. We need to attack soon, or we'll lose the war for sure", Ryoto explained. Milo sighed.

"Figures, god forbid we get to enjoy our peaceful time, always straight back to fighting", Milo said. Evan chuckled.

"You act like you don't like kicking Team Rocket's butt!", Evan said. Milo laughed at the comment. The two then began to joke to one another over the battles. As they did, Ryoto sighed and looked out towards the fields again. He was not one for joking around like Evan and Milo, and simply left them to it. However, while he was looking out, he caught a glimpse of something in the distance. At first, he thought it was just his eyes playing tricks on him, (something that happened frequently to him due to his paranoia). However, after close inspection, he saw it again, and knew it wasn't imaginary. Due to the full moon, there was a surprisingly decent amount of light outside, and this helped in seeing in the dark.

He looked at a tree, which was one of the few that was in the field. It was a tall oak tree, fitting for the professor's lab. In the leafy head of the tree, Ryoto caught glimpse of a reflected light, coming off from the moonlight. Ryoto assumed this was from the eyes of a night-time Pokémon, (as he had seen several over the course of the night being outside), but was not sure. As Evan and Milo continued to joke, he kept his eyes on it, ever suspicious. He saw the glare again, although this time it seemed...different. Like it was moving. He turned to Evan, then back to the tree...and then panicked.

"EVAN! GET DOWN!", Ryoto yelled. He dove immediately to Evan and tackled him to the ground. No sooner did the two collide...

than the sound of a gunshot echo across the night.

Evan and Ryoto landed hard onto the ground in a panic. Inside, the sound of screams and panic could be heard at the sudden gunshot that missed Evan and shot through the glass door and into the hall. People ran in fear and shock. Milo quickly acted on instinct and dove. As he did, he grabbed hold of the curtains that were used to cover the doors at night and pulled them along. As he fell, he covered more of the doors, until he hit the ground and the entire inside was covered. Though the doors were open, the shooter would not be able to see due to the curtains in the way. Evan immediately reached for his Desert Eagle, cocking the gun, and looking to the distance through the spaces in the balcony rail.

"WHAT THE HELL!?", Milo yelled.

"SNIPER!", Evan yelled back. Another shot echoed, and a bullet flew by over the railing and through the glass. The sniper was panicking now, merely shooting on sight. Evan looked up to where the bullet had zoomed by, but then noticed something. He looked under the railing, and saw a small black device stuck to the underside. It had a small red light that blinked every second or so. Evan ripped it off the railing and looked at it. Ryoto saw it as well.

"ROCKET BUG! THEY WERE LISTENING IN ON US! WE'VE BEEN SPIED UPON ALL NIGHT!", Ryoto yelled. Evan, angry, smashed the bug into the ground, shattering it. Another shot was fired, this one striking the balcony between Ryoto and Evan. Dust flew in the air as the stone railing cracked from the shot.

"WE GOT TO STOP THEM BEFORE THEY START SHOOTING PEOPLE INSIDE!", Milo yelled. Ryoto turned to Evan.

"EVAN! CAN YOU SHOOT THEM FROM HERE!?", Ryoto asked. Evan turned and looked to the tree. Pistols weren't meant for distant shooting, but the power of his Desert Eagle gave him more distance than normal. It wouldn't be easy, but he had to try.

"I THINK SO! DISTRACT THEM FOR ME!", Evan yelled. Milo nodded.

"YOU GOT IT! MAKE YOUR SHOTS COUNT!", Milo said. He then stood up slightly, making sure to stay somewhat low to the ground for safety, and waved his arms around frantically. "HEY! DUMB ASS! WHERE DID YOU LEARN TO SHOOT!?". A shot was fired, going an inch or so above his head. He ducked, and then looked back towards the tree. "YOU MUST BE A ROCKET, YOU CAN'T SHOOT FOR SHIT!". Another shot was fired, this one being slightly further away from Milo, but still close. Evan took this time to take aim. He looked to the tree, and looked for the glare. He took in a deep breath, inhaling from his cigarette as he did so. Time slowed down, and all was quiet. He looked across the field, and focused.

The darkness was against him, but it was still light enough to give him a chance. He looked at the tree, waiting for a sign, and then got it. The glare from the sniper's scope. Evan knew that this was the one detection to spot a sniper, no matter how skilled. He fired one shot, and heard a scream. He looked and saw a body fall out of the tree. The glare disappeared, he had hit the sniper. However, he soon saw that the glare was moving again. There were two people in the tree. The sniper must have had a spotter for him. Typical snipers didn't spot people, they had someone do it for them, while they merely compensated for it and fired. Evan was skilled enough where he did both.

Evan took another shot. This one missed. He then took another deep breath, and fired again. This time, he heard a louder scream, and saw another body fall out of the tree. He got him. He waited, to see if there was another shooter. Seeing that there wasn't, he sighed.

"I GOT HIM!", Evan yelled. Ryoto was the first to risk standing up. He slowly popped his head above the railing and looked around. While the sniper Evan shot was not the most skilled, any sniper would be able to shoot him from where his head was located. Seeing that no shots were taken, Ryoto stood up, deeming it safe. Evan and Milo were just standing up when someone rushed out from inside the main hall. This was Ash, who pushed the curtain aside as he ran to their side. Pikachu was on his shoulder.

"Are you alright!?", Ash asked his fellow rebels.

"Yeah, we're alright", Milo said as he got up. His drunk stupor was broken in the adrenaline rush he was going through due to the attack.

"EVAN!", someone yelled. The curtains moved again, this time Aleksi rushed out. She ran into Evan and hugged him tightly, terrified. She looked into his eyes. "Are you alright!?".

"I'm fine Aleksi, I'm fine", Evan reassured the scared adult. Aleksi pressed her face into Evan's chest, tears forming in her eyes. She was scared that she had lost him. The curtains were pulled back this time, revealing several more rebels.

"What happened!?", Brock asked, being one of the rebels. Behind him were Angel, Brian, Misty, Darrel, Hunter, Prof. Oak, Sawyer, and Nick.

"Damn Rocket snipers! They had the balcony bugged! They must have been spying on us the entire time! The whole ball room could be bugged for all we know!", Ryoto explained.

"And you got them!?", Brian asked, looking somewhat apprehensive to step outside. Evan nodded.

"Yeah, I got them, they fell out of that tree over there", Evan said, nodding his head toward the direction as he held onto Aleksi. Ash turned to the tree, angered. Team Rocket had ruined the ball, ruined his night with Misty, and tried to hurt his friends. They would pay. Ash rushed over towards the balcony's edge and then looked over to the others. "Come on, let's go check it out. Prof. Oak, stay here just in case", Ash said. Prof. Oak nodded.

"Wait, Ash!", Misty said. But it was too late. He had already jumped over the edge. The balcony, like most of Prof. Oak's, was not high. He landed on the grass and immediately rushed to the tree. Ryoto ran over, grabbed his katana, and did the same. Misty turned towards the inside of the ball room and looked around. Five total shots were fired, four had made it into the ball room. Luckily, it appeared like no major damage was done. There were a couple of rebels who were struck with shrapnel from broken glass or hurt in the panic, but none were shot. Catie and Wallace were already tending to the injured. Misty then brought her attention back to the boys. By now, Brian, Brock, Milo, and Evan had jumped over the balcony and towards Ash and Ryoto. Aleksi turned to Angel.

"Angel, you ready?", Aleksi asked. Angel, scared at first, soon shook it off and nodded. Aleksi nodded back, and the two also jumped over the edge, making sure to be careful to not trip over their dresses. Soon, everyone had gone over with the exception of Misty. She turned to Prof. Oak.

"We'll be back. Take care of everyone!", Misty said. Prof. Oak nodded. Misty then ran over and jumped off. It didn't take long for Ash and the rebels to reach the tree where the shots had been fired. Immediately, Ash, (Pikachu prepared to fight for his trainer), rushed up to the people on the ground. Evan, Nick, and Brian had their pistols out and at the ready, Ryoto his katana, and everyone else Pokéballs. Laying on the ground, on his back, and with a gun shot wound to the lower left side of his ribs, was a Rocket grunt. He wore the typical grunt uniform, with a black cap on his head. When the rebels arrived, he looked at them with eyes mixed with pain and hatred. He reached for his hat and ripped it off himself as Ash hovered over him.

"...Well, well, well...if it isn't the _fearless _leader of the PTA, the legendary Ash Ketchum", the Rocket said through pain. He then coughed, spitting up blood in the process. Evan walked over and looked at the teen, his pistol aimed directly at him. Evan recognized the teen, but did not act surprised. Angel rushed over and looked as well, and gasped.

It was the blonde teen who they had fought at the mart the day before.

The teen looked at Angel and Evan, then glanced over to the group, seeing Brian and Hunter there as well, (Mathinza was still inside the ball room). He looked angered, but was taking it with stride, shocking especially considering his injury.

"Told you we'd be ready", Evan said to the Rocket, his Desert Eagle ready to put him down if need be. The teen scoffed, coughing up more blood. Ash turned to Evan.

"You recognize him?", Ash asked, somewhat shocked.

"Yeah! He's one of the teens we stopped at the mart the other day!", Angel said. Ash then turned his attention back to the Rocket.

"So, you're the one that caused trouble for my friends?", Ash asked. The Rocket growled at Ash and then spat at his feet, getting blood on his shoes.

"Fuck you!", the teen said. Ash didn't give him the courtesy to respond. Instead, he turned his attention to Ryoto, who was slowly approaching the second body.

"What about him Ryoto?", Ash asked. Ryoto, (with Brian and Brock behind him), reached over the second Rocket. This one was laying face down, and was not moving. Ryoto had his blade at the ready as he bent down and turned the body over. Brian looked at it. It was the same teen that was with the blonde at the mart. The smaller one with the black hair, (which was covered in a Rocket cap). His eyes were closed, and he had a gun shot wound to the chest, near the heart.

"He's dead", Ryoto stated.

"And is he one of the teens you saw?", Ash asked.

"Yep, he's definitely one of them", Brian said. He then looked over near the tree. On the ground was a back pack and a sniper rifle. The back pack was the same one the Rocket had at the mart. He walked over and picked up the rifle. "Well, now we know what was in his back pack", Brian said, holding it out towards Evan. He kept his pistol on the blonde Rocket, but glanced over to the rifle.

"...M24 SWS. Bolt action rifle. Explains why he only shot five times and then stopped. He was reloading when I fired back", Evan explained. He then brought his attention back to the blonde teen. "Your friend wasn't very fast at reloading was he?".

"I'm gonna kill you you son of a", before he could finish, the Rocket started coughing again, spitting up more blood. Ash bent down and looked at his wound.

"Looks like he got you good, but you'll live...probably. However, unless you want a bullet to the brain, I suggest you start talking. There was three of you at that mart, where's the third one?", Ash asked. The teen looked at Ash, then at the others, and laughed.

"You think you're going to survive...long enough for any information to matter!?", the Rocket asked. Suddenly, the sound of yelling could be heard. The rebels looked up in shock, as someone burst out of the woods. The person was a Rocket, who yelled as he held out a massive machine gun, and opened fire. Evan dove and tackled Aleksi and Angel down and Nick pulled Sawyer down as everyone dove to the ground. The Rocket continued to fire, until eventually Brian and Nick opened fire back. They fired shots at the Rocket, most missing, but a couple hitting in the chest and arms. The Rocket yelled in pain as he fell to his knees, dropping the gun in the process.

Evan checked to see if the girls were alright, before getting back up and aiming his pistol at the Rocket. It was the third teen, the third teen who was at the mart. He screamed in agony from the gun shot wounds.

"That's the third Rocket Ash!", Evan exclaimed. The grunt looked up at the rebels, anger in his eyes. Through the pain, he stood up, (leaving his machine gun on the ground). He then reached his arm back, and pulled out a military grade hatchet that was strapped to his back. With rage strengthening him, he raised the hatchet high and charged towards the rebels. Ryoto immediately took action and charged the Rocket. The large grunt swung down hard on Ryoto, but he stopped it with his katana. The Rocket was strong, but he was only a teen. Ryoto elbowed the grunt in the stomach, and while he bent over in pain, he spun around and stuck his blade through the grunt's chest. His eyes widened in pain, blood pouring from his mouth and wounds. Ryoto merely glared at the Rocket before pulling his blade out. The grunt fell to his knees, then the ground, motionless.

Everyone looked to see if the action was done, and when they decided that it was, relaxed. They stood back up, looking over the devastation.

"Is everyone alright?", Misty asked the group. Everyone replied with a yes or alright. Ash was the last to get up. He looked at his friends, and then at the last surviving Rocket on the ground. The Rocket was now, for the first time, scared. His teammates were dead, and he was all alone and wounded. Ash approached the Rocket and grabbed him by the shirt. He yelled in pain, but Ash did not care. He looked at the Rocket with anger.

"You listen to me you Rocket punk. You come to my home town, you ruin our ball, you TRIED TO KILL MY FAMILY! NOW I WANT ANSWERS!", Ash yelled. The Rocket merely stared at him in anger. Suddenly remembering something, Brian rushed over to the grunt.

"Hold on!", Brian said. Before Ash could ask him what he was doing, Brian immediately reached down and grabbed the Rocket's wrist. The Rocket glared at him and tried to fight back, but Brian's superior strength out matched him. Brian pulled back the cuff of the Rocket's glove and grabbed a small cylinder shaped pill. He looked at it and then smirked.

"I've seen you grunts use these cyanide capsules before, you're not getting out of this _that _easily", Brian said. He tossed the pill in the air before catching it again and then stepping back, leaving Ash to his work. Ash looked back to the Rocket and glared at him, tugging at his shirt again.

"Now then, talk grunt! What are you doing here in Pallet Town!? Why were you spying on us!? How did you know!?", Ash asked. The grunt glared at him, blood still coming out of his mouth.

"Fuck you! I won't say anything to you! PTA SCUM!", the grunt yelled. Ash tightened his grip on the Rocket.

"Big talk coming from someone who's alone now", Ash said. The rebels around him all glared at the Rocket, their weapons at the ready. The Rocket looked at the rebels, then at Ash...

...and began to laugh.

The rebels became confused, worried, and even scared at the response. The Rocket laughed out loud, until he eventually started coughing blood again, spitting it up and causing it to slide down his cheeks. Ash shook him.

"WHAT'S SO FUNNY!?", Ash asked. The grunt chuckled some more before looking at Ash in pain, one eye closed from cringing.

"...And what makes you think I'm alone?", the blonde Rocket asked. Then, as if on cue, the sound of a large explosion rocked the entire area. Ash released the Rocket in shock and everyone covered themselves as they turned and could see a large fireball not to far in the distance. Ash watched the fireball rise in the air. The location of the fireball seemed...familiar.

Ash then realized something, the fireball came from in town. Thoughts ran across his mind, thinking...until he realized. His heart immediately stopped beating and plunged into the lower catacombs of his chest as his eyes widened to the horror.

"No...my home...mom!...MOOOOOOM!", Ash yelled as he immediately sprinted towards the explosion.

**:O WHAT A CLIFF HANGER! The story goes from a happy romantic ball TO THIS!? WHAT KIND OF SICK, TWISTED PERSON AM I!?...the kind that likes to leave you hanging! ;) Hope you like the frequent update again! I was on a roll and just couldn't stop writing! Anyway, I hope that you really liked the chapter, please be sure to F.A.R. and to check out my Twitter account. And last, but not least, I would like to ask you all to please help out. Although it's late, Hurricane Sandy's effects are still being felt in the eastern United States, especially in New Jersey, and New York, where I live. Right now, as I type this, I am watching the 12/12/12 Concert in benefit of victims of Sandy. So I please ask you, text ROBINHOOD to 50555 to donate to the cause, or go to their website, (which I can't post here, just google it and you'll see it), or call 1-855-465-HELP. Anything you can do to help will be greatly appreciated. :) Thank you. Talk to you all soon!**

**sincerely,  
evan, a fan of aaml -EVAN AAML**


	80. Chapter 80

**Before I begin this chapter, I have something I need to get off my chest. On Dec. 14th, at Sandy Hook Elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut, a gunman stormed into the building, and began to shoot at poor, innocent victims. As I write this, the story is still in development, but thus far, there have been 27 total deaths...20 of them being students, ranging from kindergarten to 4th grade. The delay of this update was done because, due to the event, I was in a terrible mind set, as I could not focus. All I could think about were those poor kids...and cry. Please keep them in your prayers, and think about them over the Christmas holiday. Me, and the families of those affected, would greatly appreciate it. **

**A lot of people were stunned over the events that unraveled last chapter. Is Ash's mom alright? What other Rockets do the PTA have to contend with? Will lives be lost? Well let's get right into it and find out.**

**-EVAN AAML**

Everyone stood in horror at the scene that happened before them. A fireball in the sky, an attack by Team Rocket on their home soil, and now Ash's mother was potentially dead. Misty covered her mouth in shock as Ash sprinted towards the fireball, not stopping for a moment. Pikachu held onto Ash's shoulder tightly, for fear of falling off. Brock immediately rushed to Misty's side and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Misty!...MISTY!", Brock yelled. Misty, in shock, could not hear Brock, but eventually did turn to him. "Come on! We need to help Ash!". Misty looked at Brock for a moment, the sudden turn of events not quite registering for her, but she soon snapped out of her confusion and nodded. The two then ran off in the distance after Ash. Soon, Sawyer began to run forward, but stopped for a moment and looked to the others.

"Come on! We need to help Ash and Mrs. Ketchum!", Sawyer exclaimed. The group, still in shock, nodded and ran off. Before they knew it, everyone had left, with the exception of Ryoto and Brian, who stood idly by to watch over the injured Rocket.

"...Good luck...", Brian said, hoping that his teammates would be able to help in time. Just then, the sound of chuckling could be heard. Ryoto and Brian looked down to the blonde Rocket, who remained on his back, coughing up blood, but laughing all the same.

"Yeah...good luck...they'll _need _it!", the Rocket said. Brian glared at the teen and gripped his pistol tightly. The Rocket saw this, and smirked. "Oh yes, they'll need all the luck they can get! They're about to go up against a hell the likes of which they've never seen before. You guys think you'll survive the night? Hehe...I can't wait to see you all die". Brian growled this time and stepped forward, the pistol aimed at the Rocket. Ryoto however, held his hand out and stopped him. Brian seemed somewhat shocked, but listened. The Rocket was annoyed.

"What? You're going to stop him?", the Rocket asked. Ryoto looked to the injured Rocket.

"...You'd want that wouldn't you?...To let me just have him have his way, shoot you dead...you know that, now that you're captured, you're as good as dead...but no, we're not going to kill you...we're going to make sure we get every single bit of information we can out of you...then, _maybe _we'll kill you...and that's a _maybe_", Ryoto explained. The Rocket glared at him.

"Do you even have your instincts anymore!? You were a Rocket! One of the _best_ Rockets! And you had to go and grow a god damned conscience! GROW A PAIR! The weak die and the strong survive! That's how nature works, and that's how WE work!", the Rocket argued, coughing up more blood when he finished. Ryoto merely stared at him, not giving him the benefit of an argument. This angered the Rocket even more.

"You just PROVED to us that you're still a cold blooded killer! You killed my teammate without so much as a HINT of remorse! So why now, do you decide that killing isn't a good idea!?", the Rocket asked. Ryoto smirked.

"Because, anything we can get on Giovanni is worth it, even if it means having to put up with you for a while", Ryoto explained. The blonde scoffed.

"Pft, good luck! I don't know anything about Giovanni. Do you think they would let a low level grunt like me have information on the leader!? You're a damn fool! If _you_, a former Rocket HEAD doesn't know anything, then what do you expect to get out of me!?", the Rocket asked. Ryoto smirked.

"I'm no fool. You clearly know something, otherwise they wouldn't have sent you to spy on Pallet. They must have suspected something here, otherwise they would have left us alone. And since you attacked us at the ball, when we were at our weakest, it's obvious that you suspected us from the beginning based on what you knew...so that just leaves to question...what exactly it is that you _do _know", Ryoto explained.

"Well you can go fuck yourselves, because I won't talk! You're all going to die, slow, and PAINFUL deaths, and I'm going to watch, and enjoy EACH, and EVERY SECOND OF IT!", the Rocket yelled. Eventually, Ryoto reached his breaking point. He swung his leg and kicked the Rocket directly in the head, knocking him out cold. After he did, Brian sighed.

"Thanks, he was starting to get on my nerves", Brian said.

"No problem...now then, take him back to the lab. Have Wallace bring him down to the base, treat his wounds, and prepare for information extraction", Ryoto explained. Brian nodded and bent down to pick up the Rocket. As he wrapped his arms under the Rocket's armpits, he looked back to Ryoto.

"Wait, what are you going to do?", Brian asked. Ryoto turned and looked back to the bodies of the two other Rockets.

"I'm gonna dispose of the bodies", Ryoto explained. Brian raised his eyebrow in confusion.

"Really? How?", Brian asked.

"Throw them in the woods, Rattata can dispose of a body in a relatively short amount of time if they're hungry enough", Ryoto explained.

"But it's two whole bodies, wouldn't that take some time?", Brian asked.

"That's why I need to...prep it for them", Ryoto said, sliding his blade out of its sheath. Brian shuddered at the thought.

"Alright, I'll leave you to...that then", Brian said. He then picked up the Rocket and carried him over his shoulder. Before he left however, he turned back to the distance, where the others had ran off. "...I just hope the others are alright".

Ash, by this time, had sprinted for nearly ten whole minutes straight. He was short of breath, and in fact felt like he could pass out at any moment. But still he ran, still he carried on. He refused to stop, not now. Not when his mother could possibly be hurt, or worse.

He heard that the others were behind him. He knew they'd catch up, he couldn't stop and wait for them. He had to focus on his destination, his home. Pikachu continued to try and calm the boy down, trying to get him to slow down, to wait for his friends in case he was running into a trap. But he did not heed his friend, he had to save his mom. He didn't care if there was one Rocket or a thousand, he would beat them all if he had to.

And he had to.

Ash soon found himself back onto his street, his house was within sight. Or rather, what was left of his house. Even from down the street, Ash could see pieces of tile, shingles, and siding that was once apart of his home. With every step he took, every piece of shrapnel he saw, he grew more worried, and moved faster. It wasn't before long he reached the remains of his home.

There were no Rockets in sight, which didn't surprise him. They wouldn't have stood so close to an explosion this big. But he soon pushed the thought of Rockets out of his head and focused on the real deal. He saw stone and wood thrown every which way, holes in the ground from where debris collided with it. Fire was roaring in different spots, on trees and on grass, on pieces of his home and seemingly out of nothing. His childhood home, his belongings, his history it seemed, disappeared with one bomb.

He finally stopped for the first time in ages when he reached what was once the street in front of his house. The crater seemed to start not inside of the house, but just at the front of it, near where the front window was located. Pikachu took this opportunity to hop off of Ash's shoulder, not wanting to have to hold on for dear life again if Ash ran off again.

"MOOOOM!", Ash yelled. The sound of another, much smaller explosion startled him. Something inside of the home had exploded due to the fire that was raging in the remains. It had blown out the last little bit of the right side wall to the home, which was not much. "MOOOOM!", Ash called out again.

"I'M HERE SWEETIE!", someone called out. Ash's heart, which was cold and heavy, finally seemed to lift in the first time in what felt like forever. Ash sighed heavily, never having been more relieved in his life. By this time, everyone else had just arrived to the carnage. The rebels gasped at the remains of the home. Ash rushed to what would have been the front door, and entered the home. Nearly every section of the house was gone. There was no longer an upstairs, with the exception of a few steps of the stairs that led up to it and part of the railing. The ceiling was entirely gone, as were most of the walls. The only one that remained was the back wall that led to the back yard, (which was ripped apart in several spots, but still standing).

In the center of the home, where the living room once was, was a large clear sphere. Inside of the sphere, was Delia and Mr. Mime. Mr. Mime's hands were extended out towards the sphere. Flames and small pieces of debris struck the sphere, only to either be pushed aside or sit on the stop. When Delia and Mr. Mime spotted Ash moving through the remains of the home, Mr. Mime lowered the sphere. Ash immediately rushed to Delia, where they embraced in a hug.

"MOM!", Ash yelled.

"It's ok sweetie, I'm alright", Mrs. Ketchum stated. Even considering the trauma that has unfolded, she still managed to retain her calm demeaner.

"MOM...I THOUGHT I LOST YOU!", Ash said, eyes filling with tears. Delia patted her son's head reassuringly.

"It's alright Ash...everything's alright", Mrs. Ketchum explained. Mr. Mime, not wanting to disrupt the scene, but knowing they had to leave the burning home, used its psychic powers to lift the trio out of the home and onto the street, where the other rebels were waiting.

"DELIA!", Misty and Brock yelled. The two immediately rushed to her side, where they embraced her like Ash was still. Even Pikachu rushed over and became involved. The rebels all aighed heavily in relief upon seeing that Mrs. Ketchum was alright.

"Oh thank goodness!", Aleksi said in relief. Angel nodded in agreement, but secretly tried to hide her tears. While Mrs. Ketchum was a dear friend to the majority of the rebels, to her, she was a second mother. Much like Aleksi and Evan were her siblings. The thought of losing her was nearly too much to handle. She felt that pain before, when she thought that her parents were gone. She never wanted to go through that pain again. As the rebels watched the bonding moment before them, Hunter happened to glance up the road and spotted something.

"Hey, look!", Hunter said, pointing his walking stick up the road. Ash and the others released Delia and turned around. Following the road, (which went up a hill before going over and through the woods), the rebels spotted a figure standing at the top of the hill. It was a person sitting on a black and red crotch rocket. The helmet on the person covered the face to the rebels, who were able to make out a surprising mount of detail due to the full moon. Ash and the others pulled Delia and Mr. Mime back while Evan, Nick, and Hunter stepped forward, guns at the ready.

The figure on the hill kept looking at the rebels below, until eventually, the person raised their hands and lifted the helmet off of their head. The person on the crotch rocket was actually a female, roughly the same age as Ash and the region leaders. She had long straight black hair that was kept in a pony tail and dark green eyes that seemed to glow, like a Persian in the night. She then opened her biker jacket to reveal a dark grey uniform and a large red "R" on her chest, (signifying that she was high up in Rocket command). She gleamed at the rebels, her smile showing the wickedness of her nature.

"WELL, NOW THAT I GOT YOUR ATTENTION!", the Rocket leader yelled from atop the hill.

"YOU! YOU BLEW UP MY HOME!? NEARLY KILLED MY MOM!? THREATENED MY FRIENDS!?", Ash asked angrily. The Rocket smirked while giving a slight salute.

"YOU GOT IT!", the Rocket said with a smile, saying it with such a positive tone. Like most Rockets, she showed no remorse, no guilt. She enjoyed the pain she had inflicted on Ash and the others.

"WHO ARE YOU!?", Misty asked. This question seemed to make the Rocket even more happy, as if she had been waiting, hoping for it.

"MY NAME IS NATALIE! AND YOU WILL REMEMBER MY NAME! BY THIS TIME TOMORROW, IT'LL BE THE LAST THING RUNNING THROUGH YOUR HEAD! THE PTA IS FINISHED!", the Rocket named Natalie exclaimed. She then blew a kiss to Ash and the others before placing her helmet back on. Hunter growled.

"ERGH! DUST THIS BITCH!", Hunter yelled. He, along with Evan and Nick, then pulled out their pistols and immediately opened fire. However, the Rocket was too far away for their aim to be very good. Natalie revved the engine to the crotch rocket. She popped a wheelie, before riding off into the night. Hunter and the others sighed as she left, lowering their weapons. For a while, there was nothing but silence. The only sound that could be heard was that of the fire, burning the little remains of the Ketchum residence. Everyone remained still, allowing the events of the night to truly sink in. Eventually, Evan, Nick, and Hunter placed their weapons back into their belts and turned to face the others.

"So...what now?", Evan asked Ash. Ash sighed.

"Now...we prepare", Ash said. Everyone turned to look at Ash. Misty and Brock, who seemed to understand where he was coming from, sighed as well as they looked at each other.

"What do you mean?", Angel asked. Ash ran his hand through his hair for a moment, as if trying to find a way to explain.

"Team Rocket knows we're here. By the looks of it, they've had their suspicions for some time now. Destroying the array weakened them and took them by surprise, but it didn't stop their intelligence gathering like we hoped. They know...they could know everything...which means now, we don't have a choice...we have to attack", Ash explained. The group of rebels all sighed heavily. This was not something they were prepared for, nor was it something they wanted to do.

"When do we need to be ready by?", Angel asked. She was the only one out of the group who didn't fully understand the situation. The events that transpired over the course of the night were too much for her to fully comprehend. When she was on New Island, she was on the mission mindset, but tonight was supposed to be about fun, peace; she wasn't prepared for this. The sudden attacks left her dumbfounded, and her confusion also caused her to worry. Ash looked down at Angel in sympathy. He didn't want to hurt the little girl, and understood the confusion she was going through. Something like this wasn't easy for anyone, especially someone at her age. But there was no easy way to explain this, and so sighed, and prepared for the worst.

"...Tomorrow. We'll have to attack Veridian tomorrow", Ash replied. Angel gasped. Tomorrow? The attack on Veridian was supposed to be in a month, how could the entire fighting force of the PTA be ready overnight? "Honestly, we're lucky we have that much time to prepare. I don't understand why Natalie didn't send the message to Team Rocket and attack us right now when we're unprepared. There must be more behind this than we know. But we have to take advantage of this. They know that the base is here, and they wouldn't care about leveling the entire town just to find it...", Ash explained.

"But you know what this means now, right?", Brock asked. Ash nodded.

"Yeah...because they know we're here, it means that the base is their main target. While we're attacking Veridian...they'll be attacking Pallet Town", Ash explained.

"But then, what do we do!?", Angel asked, worried and scared.

"We'll have to divide, half of the rebels here, and half at Veridian. We don't have a choice. Team Rocket is holding all the cards on this one. They came at us when we were unprepared. We don't have time to get the PTA mobilized for Veridian", Misty explained. Ash nodded.

"She's right...tomorrow...it's just us. All or nothing", Ash explained. The group of rebels all looked at each other in fear. They were not ready for this. They had one night, mere hours, until they had to be ready for the greatest fight of their lives. Tomorrow, everyone would fight. And either they would win...or they would die.

With nothing left to save from the Ketchum home, the rebels left the remains to burn, as they returned to the lab. The walk there was short, but heavy. Many things ran through the minds of the rebels. Thoughts of the preparing they needed to do, the plans they had, the friends and family they would possibly lose...and the thought that they, themselves, could be killed.

Soon, the rebels had returned to the base, and made their way to the main hall, where the rest of the PTA was waiting for them. Angel looked at the rebels, seeing the fear, the concern in their eyes. They did not know what was going on, much like she didn't moments before. She hated the idea of seeing their reactions to the news. Ash must have been thinking this too, as he sighed when he stepped to the center of the room and looked at his PTA rebels. He hated the idea of telling them the bad news, but he knew that they could handle it. They were strong, fearless, adaptable. This is what made them PTA rebels.

"...My friends...I'm sorry to tell you, that the ball is now over. Team Rocket...knows we're here. They have attacked some of us, and even tried to kill my mother, as they destroyed my home", Ash explained. The rebels looked on in pain, feeling for their leader. "Tonight...we must prepare. For tomorrow, the fight will begin. Half of us, will go to Veridian, and fight Giovanni and Team Rocket...while the other half, will stay here, and defend our home from their onslaught. But...I am here to tell you...that we will NOT let them WIN! We have fought for YEARS! We have fought endlessly, through BLOOD, SWEAT, AND TEARS! And we will NOT be denied this victory!", Ash yelled. The rebels all gave a resounding "Hoorah" in response to their inspiring leader.

"Let it be written in the history books now, that I am giving you all this promise! Tomorrow, will go down in history, as the day that Pokémon trainers STOOD UP...against a dictatorship, bent on world domination! Let it be known, that we stood up, AGAINST THE ODDS, with our backs against the walls, and fought for the freedom that we ALL DESERVE! We will not sit idly by while these criminals have their way, killing innocent people and Pokémon! We will rise against them, AND WE...WILL...WIN!", Ash yelled, throwing his fist into the air, signifying the symbol of the PTA. All of the rebels in the room, inspired by their leader, their hearts pounding and their spirits high, threw their fists in the air as well.

"HOORAH! HOORAH! HOORAAAAAH!", the rebels yelled. The room erupted into cheers and chants as Ash immediately went to business discussing with the other rebels and region leaders. Angel looked around the room, looked at the rebels, who just moments ago were so scared, so worried, and were now cheering; ready for battle. Angel could not believe it. After everything they had been through, after losing so many lives before she came to join them, after their heavy losses at New Island, and after now with this sudden attack when they were at their weakest, they were so confident. Where did this confidence come from?

Angel thought that perhaps it came from their leaders. Without a doubt, people like Ash were one of the reasons why the PTA were the strongest rebel force out there. People like Ash, Misty, Brock, May, Drew, Dawn, Tracy; their leadership, their bravery, their skills definitely held the PTA together. But no...it wasn't just that. Maybe it was the hardships? With the heavy losses that the members have dealt with. Mathinza's sister and family, Evan's father, Nick's best friend, and the tragedies of Aleksi's and her father, Sawyer and her brother, Emily and her loneliness. Surely no one could let those things go by without a fight. But even that, while reason enough, wasn't it.

No, the confidence didn't come strictly from their leaders, nor from their hardships, it came from within. It came from them, being them. The PTA were more than just an alliance of Pokémon trainers looking for peace, they were family. Each and every one of them, family. You didn't join the PTA by being a good trainer, or having a score to settle against Team Rocket. You got into the PTA...by having heart. This was why Ash asked her to join. It wasn't just because he wanted to help her parents, it wasn't because of pity. It was because, he saw in her, what he saw in every single person that stood before him. He saw in her, what she herself did not see until now.

This was why Aleksi had sung to her that song. She didn't do it because of music, she did it to give Angel a message. This was why Jonny believed in her, this was why no one held ill grudges against her, because they knew...they knew, that Angel had heart. She was one of them, now, and always. Angel held her hand to her heart, and felt it. Not the pounding against her chest, not her nerves getting the better of her, she felt that light, that little spark of confidence, of bravery.

Of hope.

Angel's deep thoughts were suddenly interrupted by the sound of thunder. In shock, Angel turned to the windows, where the explosions of light from lightning flashed in the night sky. Angel kept her hand to her heart, as rain immediately began to pour down from the sky, showering Pallet Town with water. Many of the rebels looked outside for a moment, before ignoring it and going back to work. Angel, however, kept looking at the rain, at the storm. Of course it would storm, it had to storm, she wouldn't expect anything less.

It was almost...to perfect.

They had the calm before the storm, they had the ball before the battle. Their moment of peace, of calm, was brief but it was there. Now, the storm was coming, now, they had to prepare for the fight. But it was more than that. This storm was also a sign of a new Angel, and she knew it. The rain was washing away the old Angel, washing away the fear, the lack of confidence, and the storm was signifying the new strength she was feeling. The old Angel was gone, this was a new Angel, an Angel who would fight alongside her friends, who would be brave like them, potentially die with them, she would show that she _is _a PTA rebel.

She knew that this was the end of a chapter, and the beginning of another. And she knew, she had to be ready.

With this in mind, she nodded to herself, and immediately went off to prepare herself. She knew she had to go back to the base and prepare herself. She left the room, and made her way to the bookshelf, to head to the base. Hours had passed, and soon, everyone was back down in the base and preparing. Though the events of the day were heavy on the rebels, they knew that they had little time to prepare, and so had to focus. Ash and the rebels had increased security heavily since the ball's end, not worrying anymore over the security cameras in the Professor's lab. Ash had also set up a schedule for the rebels, where one-third would be security, one-third would prepare for the battle, and one-third would sleep; and rotate. It was poor scheduling, but the best they could do with the little time they had.

Evan walked down the hall, about to end his shift of security. He had his Desert Eagle at the ready, though he doubted that he would need it. Since the Rocket named Natalie only came with the teenage Rockets from the Mart, (and since she left the sole survivor to them), he doubted that they would attack now. He had long since changed back into his usual attire, as had all the rebels at this point. Knowing that people were currently taking his shift, he sighed, and looked at his wrist watch. It was a little bit after midnight. Knowing that Aleksi was also on guard duty at the moment, he decided to go look for her. He refused to admit it, but he knew that there was a chance that this could be the last chance they got to hang out together, he had to make sure they did. He could think of no one else he'd rather spend his time with, than her.

He went to Aleksi's room and knocked on the door. The door was not shut all the way, and opened when he did so. It was dark inside, and Aleksi's dress was placed carefully over a chair in the room. She was not inside. Wondering where she could be, he left the room and looked for someone who might know. After asking several people unsuccessfully, he found himself at Milo's room. Maybe he would know? The door was not closed all the way, so he merely opened it.

"Hey Milo?", Evan asked. When he spotted Milo, he scoffed. Him and another person were under the sheets of his bed, though they could not be seen, there was a lot of giggling and moaning. When the sound of Evan reached them, Milo pulled the sheets off a little and looked at the door. The person with him was the same girl he had gone to the ball with. She covered herself with his bed sheets while Milo merely looked at Evan, wondering what it was he needed. The two were clearly embarrassed, but not enough so to be angry.

"Sorry, am I...interrupting?", Evan asked. Milo chuckled.

"Nah, me and...uhm, Julie? Jane?", Milo asked, looking at the girl. He did not even remember her name. The girl looked visibly annoyed.

"Rebecca", the girl responded. Milo shrugged.

"Yeah, her, were just playing a _little game_. But what do you need?", Milo asked with a smirk.

"I was wondering if you've seen Aleksi, she's not in her room", Evan said. Milo looked confused.

"She isn't? Then she must still be outside, that's where she was posted for security", Milo said. Evan looked confused and somewhat worried.

"Outside? In this storm?", Evan asked. He then looked down the hall, as if in deep thought. He soon nodded to himself however, and turned back to Milo. "Alright, I'll go see. Sorry to interrupt man...you two have fun now!", Evan joked as he closed the door. Milo flipped him off jokingly in response.

"Looking for his girlfriend?", Rebecca asked, slightly curious.

"...Yeah, he is", Milo responded. He then looked at Rebecca. "So...Rebecca? Really?". Rebecca slapped him in the face, which only prompted in a sly smile from Milo, and then more of their little game.

Evan meanwhile walked the halls of the base, then up to the lab, before looking around for Aleksi. Eventually, he found himself back in the main hall, where only hours before, people were dancing to the music being played at the ball. The room had been, for the most part, cleaned up after the events that happened, though a lot of things were still out, such as tables and the food/drink bar. The stage was now gone, revealing once again the large fireplace that took the spot. It only took Evan a moment to find Ashley, who was standing several feet away from the balcony where Evan had been attacked earlier. She was looking out to the balcony, a hand to her face in worry. Evan approached her.

"Hey, Ashley?", Evan asked. He knew that he had to find Aleksi, but did not want to leave a friend without help if he or she needed it. Ashley seemed somewhat stunned to hear anyone, and turned to see Evan. She looked relieved however when she realized it was him.

"Oh thank goodness, maybe you can help me", Ashley said. Evan nodded. She then turned and looked once again to the balcony. "It's Aleksi".

"Aleksi? I was looking for her, is she alright?", Evan asked, now turning towards the balcony. Ashley sighed.

"I don't know. I came up here to relieve her of her duty...but she hasn't moved from that spot. She's just been sitting there, on the ground, in the rain. I tried to move her, and talk to her...but nothing. It's like talking to a statue...so cold", Ashley said. Evan became worried.

"...Alright, I'll take care of it. I'll bring her downstairs. You can take her spot when we're gone. Just stay out of the cold", Evan said. Ashley nodded. Evan then went out towards the balcony. The rain was heavy at this point. While the thunder and lightning had, for the most part, stopped, (there was still some off in the distance, but this was far enough away where people wouldn't notice), the rain had only begun to pour. Evan turned and saw Aleksi, sitting on the ground. Her arms were wrapped around her knees, which were just below her chin. She had changed into her normal attire, but was now drenched from the rain. She didn't seem to notice however, as she continued to stare off into the distance, towards the tree where the Rocket teens hid in.

"Aleksi?", Evan asked. Aleksi continued to stare, not even so much as twitching. Evan stepped out into the rain, refusing to care about himself so long as his best friend was in trouble. He bent down to Aleksi's level and shook her gently. "Aleksi...it's me...Evan". Aleksi finally responded this time, turning her head towards Evan, as if just realizing he was there. She looked up to his bright blue eyes, and it was then, that Evan realized.

She had been crying the entire time.

It was hard to tell through the rain, but there was no denying it. She had been crying as she sat out here. And now, Evan knew why. He sighed and leaned to Aleksi, wrapping his arms around her body and hugging her tightly.

"Oh, Aleksi", Evan said, squeezing her to show his concern. Aleksi slowly but surely pulled her arms out and hugged back, the tears coming down more now. She sobbed quietly, gripping Evan tightly.

"Evan...it's just too much...I'm not ready for this..._we're _not ready for this", Aleksi said. Evan pulled away from her and looked her in the eyes.

"Aleksi...I know that we're not fully prepared...but we don't have a choice. Team Rocket has thrown us into a loop, we have to act. Otherwise, we'll get hurt...and I refuse to let you get hurt", Evan said, putting a hand to Aleksi's cheek. Aleksi leaned into his hand, closing her eyes as she did so. Despite Evan now being wet and cold for her, his touch was still soft and warm; like his heart.

"I know...it's just...I almost lost you today...you have...no idea, what that would have done to me", Aleksi said, tears still coming down her face. Evan looked at Aleksi, seeing her pained expression, which in turn pained him. He moved his hand from Aleksi's face and brought it to her arms. He then stood up, pulling Aleksi up to her feet with him. The two were now standing on the balcony, the rain pouring down on them as heavy as ever. Both were now completely drenched, their clothes clinging to them tightly and water dripping down the ends of their attire. They stared at each other for what seemed like forever, not wanting to look away from the other.

"Aleksi...I don't want to make out that we're both going to be fine...and that after tomorrow everything will be ok...But, if something were to happen...I want you to know...that meeting you, and Angel, was the best thing that's ever happened to me. Angel, she's like the little sister I never had, you know? She's someone who I love, and protect, and even someone I look up to", Evan explained, turning his head and looking out to the distance. Aleksi looked at him, her tears now stopping, but slowing down.

"...And me?", Aleksi asked, looking at him. Evan looked back to Aleksi.

"And you...you're something even more special than that...you're _my _angel", Evan said. He then stepped closer to Aleksi, the two now being mere inches apart.

"Evan...", Aleksi said, her tears coming down. Evan shook his head. Then, with a smile, he removed his flat-rimmed hat, and placed it on Aleksi's head. Aleksi couldn't help but smile at the cute gesture as she turned it backwards, as Evan always wore it. The two continued to stare at each other, for what felt like minutes. The rain never-ceasing, never slowing down, just continuing. Despite the shivers that went through their bodies, (though if this was from the rain or something else, they did not know), they didn't move an inch. That was, until, the two slowly began to move closer to each other.

Their eyes closed and their hearts paced as they neared each other, very slowly, but none the less moving. Eventually, they were mere centimeters apart. Their foreheads nearly touched in the close proximity. Though their eyes were closed, it was as if they sensed each other, as they waited. The rain poured down their hair and faces as they just waited there. They could feel the warm breath from each other on their faces as they stood there motionless. Until, it seemed, that they could not hold out any longer.

They leaned in the rest of the distance, and embraced once again, in a kiss.

Aleksi and Evan kept still, as the feelings from the kiss ran through their body, coursing through their veins like blood. They instantly felt warmer, and closer. As if the world no longer had any problems, as if they had found peace, in each other. They stood there for a minute or two, until eventually, they pulled apart. They looked at each other, as if they had just realized what had happened. Their eyes were wide in shock, and their heart beats were increasing the longer they stared into each other's eyes.

Eventually, the two smiled. Evan reached over and wiped the tears away from Aleksi's face, there was no more need of them on her beautiful figure. THey then gently pressed their foreheads together, all the while smiling and even laughing gently. Evan cupped Aleksi's cheek in his hand once again, as they gently felt each other's breath on them, and then once again shared a kiss through a smile.

Through war and devastation, friendship and love always found a way.

**As I'm sure a lot of you are fan-girling over this moment before you, (you know who you are! ;D), I wish to apologize for any mistakes you might see. I wrote this while trying to cope with not only the travesty of the Sandy Creek massacre, but also some personal issues that have recently popped up in my life. As such, I apologize for mistakes you might see again. Please keep the thoughts of those lost at Newtown in your hearts, and in your prayers. I will expand more on left out things in the next chapter, along with possibly, (no promises), more romance, before...the war! As Part II of "R" comes to a close, be prepared, for Part III comes with more violence, more drama, and as a warning, tears WILL be shed, by the characters and even you readers. Thank you.**

**Our thoughts, prayers, and hearts are with you Newtown.**

**sincerely,  
evan, a fan of aaml -EVAN AAML**


	81. Chapter 81

**I want to write this message to hope that everyone had a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! I hope that you all got to spend your days with your family, friends, and loved ones! :) Not much else to say in this A.N., except that I'm glad a lot of people liked the last chapter! Also, as a possibly related side note due to the holidays, I saw the musical/film "Les Miserables" the day after Christmas. I have to say, I think it's possibly the best musical ever put into film. EXTREMELY sad, so be prepared to cry, but brilliantly done. I highly recommend it!**

**-EVAN AAML**

Aleksi stirred in her bed, moaning every so slightly as she turned her body. She felt like she had the best sleep in years, she felt rejuvenated, fresh, and strong enough to take on all of Team Rocket. She looked to her bedside table, and reached for a small clock that was resting on it. Due to the darkness, she had to focus to see what it said. Six in the morning. She was not used to getting up this early. She placed the clock back down onto the table and then sat up.

She felt a wet spot on her bed, and turned to look at it. As she did, she saw that she was still wearing her wet clothes from last night. She looked at her attire. The only things she had taken off were her boots and her jacket. Everything else was still on her, and still damp from the rain. She then turned to her right, and saw Evan laying in the bed beside her. Like her, he too still wore his wet clothes, his white over shirt and hat were on the floor near her jacket. Her eyes grew wide, she had forgotten about last night.

Had they...?

No, she wouldn't have her wet clothes on if they had, and she didn't recall anything of the like. She reflected back to last night. After their kiss on the balcony, they had come back downstairs into the base, and immediately began kissing again in her room; being lost in passion before passing out from exhaustion of the day's events. She felt goosebumps on her arms and legs at the thought of their night. Their first kiss was so...perfect. It was everything she had ever dreamed about. A romantic kiss in the rain, done not only out of love, but also friendship. It was something you would expect in a romantic movie.

If only the circumstances were different.

She turned back over to Evan and smiled. It didn't matter. Today may be the battle of Veridian, but she could enjoy the little moment they had together now. She had to. Aleksi smiled as she leaned over and wrapped her arms around Evan's body. He must have been somewhat awake during this time, for he smiled and engulfed Aleksi into his arms. Aleksi nuzzled into his chest. Despite the fact that they were still wet, she still found the feeling soft, warm, inviting.

"Well good morning there Aleksi, sleep well did you?", Evan asked. Aleksi smiled.

"I haven't slept that well in ages...so thank you", Aleksi said as she looked up into Evan's eyes. Evan smiled back.

"You're welcome", Evan replied. The two snuggled in closer to each other and remained silent for some time, as if soaking in the joy, peace, and love that they were feeling at this moment. No words were needed, just feeling the presence of each other was more than enough for them. People, it seemed, forgot how to enjoy the little things they feel in life.

However, they knew that it wouldn't last. While they wanted to enjoy the moment, they knew that they had to get back to reality. They were in a war. At any moment, they could be thrust into battle where one of or possibly both of them would be killed. They had to be prepared, both physically and mentally. It was Evan who finally broke the silence after long thought.

"So...today's the day", Evan said as he turned his body and looked up to the ceiling. Aleksi did the same, but kept her head on Evan's chest.

"Yeah...", Aleksi replied. To them, there was so much that needed to be said. So many thoughts they needed to get out. Their hearts raced, their minds became cloudy. How does one feel when they sense their end coming? Do they want to be sure to do anything and everything they can? Do they feel guilt? Or do they spend the day like any other, not changing a thing; and therefore not changing themselves? The anxiety the young adults were feeling was building and building. Eventually, Evan became uncomfortable. He sighed, and Aleksi could sense his unease.

"Aleksi, listen...I know that this won't be easy for you to hear, I know it's not easy for me to say...but...if today, doesn't go as we hope. If it ends up where...I don't make it", Evan said. However, he could not finish, for he was interrupted.

"NO!", Aleksi yelled. Evan, somewhat startled, turned and looked at Aleksi, who shot up from the bed onto her knees and faced Evan. Her eyes were filled with anger, but also sadness. Her body was shaking, as if it was cold. Evan could tell that she had been thinking of the same thing, and refused to admit to it. Aleksi...was scared. "YOU CAN'T SAY THAT! IT WON'T HAPPEN! IT WON'T!", Aleksi yelled. Evan sat up now so that he was more to her height.

"Aleksi...", Evan said. He felt bad for causing her this much pain, but knew that they had to be realistic. He had to get some things off his chest before it could be too late. Aleksi, however, would have none of it.

"NO! YOU...YOU CAN'T DIE! I WON'T LET YOU!...", Aleksi yelled. She was shaking more now, and her eyes were fighting off tears unsuccessfully. Evan looked on with pain in his heart, seeing his love cry like this. "We're going to survive this Evan! We're going to be fine, all of us! And, when we're done, we're going to live in peace, and you, and me, we're going to be together, happily. We...we're going to, because I love you, and I know...in my heart, that it's going to happen...I refuse to think otherwise...I can't think of a life without you".

Evan understood now. Aleksi was aware of the chances of one of them dying. But she wouldn't admit it to even herself. She remained optimistic over the outcome of the battle, however bleak. Evan was not sure if this was denial, or her insistence of a happy life at the end of it all. But whichever it was, he couldn't argue with her. Her logic, while not necessarily sound, worked. It was the same logic Ash used, insisting confidence. It allowed the rebels to remain positive and confident even when at their bleakest. And it was working here for Aleksi as well.

Evan smiled. He leaned forward and put a hand behind Aleksi's head, pulling her closer to him. They pressed their foreheads together, which caused the two to blush despite last night. Evan rubbed his thumb gently over Aleksi's cheek, feeling her warm skin and smiling all the while. Her words moved him in ways he never thought possible. He could see why she was such a great leader.

"...Ok...you're right", Evan said. Aleksi was not sure how to respond to this statement. Was he agreeing with her? Or was he merely saying this to make her happy? She didn't know, but the soft kiss that followed the statement made her lean towards the former. They remained in that kissing position for a few more seconds, before Evan slowly removed his lips from hers. Aleksi looked into his eyes lovingly. She never felt this way before. She always considered herself the romantic type, though she never showed it much. You had to be tough in a war. It wasn't a written rule, but it felt like it. And showing romance was apparently not strength. Aleksi didn't agree.

She felt that showing love was an example of strength. That you were strong enough not only to show what you believe in, but show what you are willing to fight, (and even kill) for. Aleksi felt that to love was to show true strength. And she loved Evan, with all her heart. He made her feel like a better person, like a strong person; as if with him, she could do anything. Her heart pounded just from the close proximity they had with each other. Her eyes became glassy through her soft tears and her blush spread across her face. She sighed dreamily, something she felt embarrassed to do, but could not control. Evan however found it cute, and smiled.

"If that's what you truly believe in Aleksi...then I will believe it too...I love you", Evan responded. With those words, Aleksi's heart rose to new heights. She smiled as small tears began to fall from her eyes. Evan could not help but smile at the beautiful girl before him. There was so much to Aleksi, so much that made her special. She was so amazing in so many ways, and he could not help but love her more and more each moment they were together. He had been alone ever since his father died, and for a while, he liked it that way. But now, he felt that he didn't need to anymore. He had her, and that made all the difference.

Aleksi dove into Evan's arms and hugged him tightly, as if letting him go would result in him going away. Evan hugged back just as tightly, fearing the same. At one point, the two began to giggle. For what reasons they didn't know, there was nothing particularly funny over their conversation, and there certainly was nothing funny over today. But there they were, giggling in each other's arms. They continued to enjoy each other's company, in their wet clothes, on the now wet bed, for as long as they could. Just each other.

True love.

In another part of the base, more serious action was taking place. Ash walked down the hall with purpose in his step. He walked quickly and with stride, knowing exactly where he had to go and what he had to do. Pikachu rested on his shoulder. He rubbed his eyes, not used to being woken up so early. However, considering the circumstances, he did not complain. He simply kept quiet on his friend's shoulder and prepared for whatever would come. As Ash rounded the corner, he ran into Sawyer and Nick. The two were merely standing in the hallway, (most likely finishing their guard duty), when they spotted Ash.

"Ash, what's going on?", Nick asked. He could tell by Ash's pace that he was doing something important, and he wanted to help. Ash did not stop walking, and Nick and Sawyer had to quickly catch up to him.

"I'm going to grab Noah", Ash said. Nick and Sawyer looked at each other in confusion.

"Noah? How come?", Sawyer asked, wondering what the young teen they had found had to do with anything.

"He said when we found him that he was attacked by a group of teens. I want to see if those teens were the same as the Rockets who attacked us last night", Ash explained.

"Do you think the prisoner will talk?", Nick asked.

"I don't know, but we're going to find out", Ash said. Soon enough, the trio found themselves at a door which was currently being guarded by two PTA rebels in the traditional black uniforms. When they spotted Ash, one stepped aside while the other opened the door for him. Ash, Sawyer, and Nick then stepped inside. Once they did, they spotted Noah. He sat on his cot, fully dressed and with his Pokéball belt around his waist. It was clear he was also preparing for the day. Noah looked at them with a mix of curiosity and worry. It was clear that his "stay" at the base was not what he had hoped thus far, and while he did not blame them for being overly cautious, it did make him somewhat paranoid.

"Can I help you?", Noah asked, nervously rubbing a Pokéball on his belt. Ash noticed this.

"Don't worry Noah, we're not here to hurt you. As you know, last night, we were attacked during the ball", Ash explained. Noah nodded.

"Yeah, I heard", Noah said.

"Well what you didn't hear, was that he captured one of the attackers. We want you to see if he was one of the same guys who attacked you. Do you think you could recognize him if you saw him?", Ash asked. Noah thought for a moment.

"Uhm...I might. If I heard him talk at least", Noah said. Ash nodded.

"Alright then, come with me", Ash said. Noah nodded, glad that he was finally doing something other than being watched over. He grabbed his backpack and then walked out of the room with Ash, Sawyer, and Nick. As they left the room, Noah noticed that the two PTA rebels followed them. He was now guarded in the front and behind. He looked nervously at the rebels MP5s, was he still considered a threat?

It didn't take long for the group to reach another area of the base. This area was somewhat distant from the rest of the base, something that was likely structured as such on purpose. As the group walked down the hall, they reached another guarded door. This door also had two rebels standing guard in the traditional uniforms, and also held MP5s in their hands. They spotted Ash and the gang and then one of the two knocked on the door they were guarding. Ash and the others stopped for a moment as the door slowly opened and out stepped Wallace. He sighed heavily, taking off his glasses and wiping them on his white shirt.

The white shirt that was spotted in red.

On his shoulder rested his Skorupi, which looked as if it had been busy. Its buggy eyes remained fixated on the others as Wallace faced them. Noah looked at Wallace with shock. He didn't look like he was just doing medical work. Did the same man who helped him recover and get back to his feet do something terrible to the Rocket? He didn't want to know.

"Well, he's not as weak as we thought", Wallace stated matter of factly. Noah and now Sawyer looked somewhat unpleasant at the statement. Sawyer had seen first hand Wallace's cold attitude and potential at torture on New Island. She didn't want to know what it was he could have done to the Rocket they held prisoner. While it was clear that Ash did not approve of such things, he knew it was a necessary evil.

"You didn't get anything out of him?", Ash asked. Wallace shook his head.

"Nothing we didn't already know, which I think was his intention. Mostly he just vented angry thoughts. I haven't tried everything yet though, but going much farther could prove...deadly for him", Wallace exclaimed, placing his glasses back onto his face slowly. Noah looked at Wallace with new-found fear while Sawyer grimaced. "He did say though that he wanted to talk to you Ash, so maybe he'll open up more with you. Should I work in him more before you do?".

"Don't worry over it. We're going to have Noah see if he was the same person who attacked him", Ash explained. Wallace nodded.

"Understood. Then what do we do with him when you're done?", Wallace asked, more out of curiosity.

"We'll keep him here for as long as we can. I can't say what will happen here today, but if Team Rocket decides to not attack, or if we're able to fight them off, we may be able to get something out of him later", Ash explained. Wallace nodded.

"Makes sense...well then, shall we?", Wallace asked. Ash nodded. One of the rebel guards then opened the door, and Ash, Wallace, Noah, Sawyer, and Nick stepped inside. The room was not very large, especially considering the size of most of the rooms in Prof. Oak's hidden lab space. The room consisted of merely a table on the left side of the room with paper work on it, (it also currently held a vast variety of tools, some of which bloody. These were most likely Wallace's), and a black jacket and hat. A tack board was hung on the wall near the table with more papers on it.

Sitting at right side of the room at a desk in a basic wooden chair was another PTA rebel. He too wore the typical PTA uniform, but had his jacket draped over the back of the chair he was sitting at. On the table were a pistol and more tools, ones which looked more menacing in comparison to the others. He had his feet propped up on the table, (making sure not to knock over the pistol or tools), and had the chair leaning off of the ground somewhat. When he saw Ash enter the room, he immediately pulled his feet off of the desk and stood up straight from the chair. The remainder of the room, (two-thirds of the room about), was a jail cell. From wall to wall were bars that enclosed the majority of the room off from the outside. The jail cell was built to be able to hold about up to ten people, however today, there was only one.

The blonde-haired Rocket sat in a wooden chair situated in the middle of the jail cell. His blonde hair and face were covered in sweat, and a decent amount of blood. He was panting somewhat as he leaned forward in his chair, looking at his arms with his head down. His wrists were red and somewhat scratched up, (Sawyer noticed pieces of rope on the ground near the jail cell door, she figured the Rocket was bound moments before they arrived). He still wore the Rocket uniform he was found in, though his jacket and hat were removed, (these were on the table to the left of the room). His muscle shirt was soaked in sweat and blood at this point. He had bandages wrapped around his lower ribs, probably from the gun shot wound he sustained from Evan at the ball. It was clear that Wallace at least treated his wound to keep him alive. His boots were dirty from being outside earlier and his pants were torn in places from Wallace. He looked very beat up and unkempt, much unlike his snobbish personality.

He looked up from his chair, his bright blue eyes glaring at the group. However, despite the pain he was in, despite what horrors Wallace possibly put him through, his eyes revealed something different. Something more along the lines of...pleasure. He smirked as the PTA rebels closed the door after them, leaving Ash and the others in the room with the Rocket. There was a short silence before the Rocket spoke.

"Well, well, well, nice to see you again Mr. Ketchum", the blonde Rocket said with a smug grin. He sat up straight in the wooden chair while Ash merely looked at him from outside the jail cell.

"You look pleased to see me", Ash said. The Rocket scoffed.

"And you don't look absolutely furious. I'm assuming then that Natalie failed to kill your mother. A damn shame really, we were really banking on that surprise attack working", the Rocket grunt said. He acted as if slightly disappointed, like if he lost a small bet. It was sickening to see such a reaction, he acted so nonchalant over the idea that someone almost died. Ash however did not give into anger. Despite everything, he kept his cool, something that impressed Nick and Sawyer, and was admired by Noah.

"You failed to take into account my mom's Mr. Mime. It placed a protective barrier around her when the explosives went off", Ash explained.

"Pft, figures", the Rocket said. Ash turned to Noah, making sure to side step out of his way so as to get a good look at the Rocket.

"So then, is he the guy?", Ash asked. Noah looked at Ash, then at the grunt, and nodded.

"Yeah, that's definitely his voice", Noah said. The Rocket grunt looked at them curiously, wondering what he meant by that. It was then that he understood. Ash purposely talked to him to get his voice out, so that he could be recognized. He looked at Noah for a moment, and then immediately recognized him.

"What? You! You're that little brat we saw the other day!", the Rocket said. Noah looked at him, somewhat fearful, and nodded.

"Yeah, that's me", Noah said. The Rocket was clearly upset over seeing him again, but could easily tell that the young teen was afraid of him. He smirked an awful smirk, showing his slightly bloodied white teeth at the teenager. He spat on the floor.

"Yeah, that's you alright. We kicked the ever loving piss out of you didn't we? Yeah, I remember, you were scared shit-less! Yeah, I only wish we had killed you when we got the chance! But don't worry kid, I've never let a target go yet, and there's still _plenty _of time left for me to gut you like a GOD DAMN MAGIKARP!", the Rocket yelled. Noah looked on terrified. Sawyer placed a hand on his shoulder, causing him to somewhat jump at the reaction. The Rocket laughed as Sawyer calmed down Noah. "Yeah, you be sure to make him feel better. Perhaps you should change his diapers too while you're at it sweetheart!".

"Shut your mouth!", Nick said, calm but slowly getting agitated at the Rocket's attitude. He would not stand for such talk at Sawyer. The Rocket turned and looked at Nick with a fake act of shock.

"Oh? Grown some balls all of a sudden have we? Good for you!", the Rocket said. Nick became more agitated, but Ash calmed him down. He then stepped forward, looking at the Rocket dead in his eyes.

"...I want to know how you found out about us. How you were able to figure out where we were and how you were able to place bugs here", Ash said. The Rocket chuckled slightly, which looked painful to him, as he bent over as he did so. His ribs were still hurting from his gun shot injury, and potentially from whatever else Wallace did to him. He slowly stood up from the wooden chair and approached the jail cell door. He had no weapons on him, and the door was locked tight. This however did not stop the PTA rebel from becoming wary and putting his hand on his pistol at his side.

"...You PTA...you really aren't as...secretive, and powerful, as you think you are! It's funny really. Those lower down in the Rocket totem pole, like me, we always talked about the "_big bad PTA"_, and how they were formidable foes. But truth is, the higher-ups weren't even the _slightest _bit worried about you! Sure, we didn't know where you guys were, but don't you think if we TRULY wanted to know, we'd find out?", the Rocket asked.

"You didn't answer my question", Ash stated. Whether the Rocket was speaking the truth or merely talking Ash did not know, but he would not let him get the upper hand psychologically. He knew better than most people that even a low-level grunt was extremely skilled at getting into people's heads. They were specially trained for such tactics, and it worked. Ash however would have none of it. The Rocket paced somewhat in his cell, not out of nervousness, but more in theatrics.

"After your little fiasco on New Island, we decided that you guys were more trouble than you were worth. I don't know everything, which I'm sure you know that. But Giovanni was none too happy about the destruction you did to the array. So, he decided that your time had come. He had all of his UCs in all of Pallet and Johto on high alert. We knew that you wouldn't be dumb enough to stick around the Orange Islands, especially after all the damage you caused, so we kept on patrol to the only two areas you could go to on such short notice. Although I think Giovanni knew you would land in Kanto", the grunt said.

"Did Giovanni suspect we were in Pallet?", Ash asked.

"Hell if I should know. I certainly didn't. But it didn't matter what I thought, I was assigned here, and I did my job. And look where that got me!", the Rocket said with a smile, holding his hands out towards the cell walls.

"Yeah, a dead team and you locked up", Wallace stated. The Rocket looked at Wallace confused, but with a smirk.

"I'll be welcomed back as a fuckin' HERO! I discovered the infamous PTA!", the Rocket said.

"How long were you stationed in Pallet?", Ash asked.

"About two weeks. We have people everywhere Ash...you should know that", the Rocket said with a smirk.

"And the bugs? How did you manage to place those around the lab?", Nick asked.

"Pft, it wasn't difficult. We didn't need to place any inside, we made it simple, stick them on the balconies. We slipped them on after you checked everything, we were watching the entire time, we saw you guys making sure we couldn't see a thing, but you failed miserably! We put them on the rails at night while you were just getting the ball started and we got ready! After that you gave everything to us! We knew that you would slip up eventually, especially outside where the cameras weren't located!" He then chuckled to himself.

"Oh, and yes, we DID use the cameras. Up until New Island, we didn't give a shit about them since all there was at the lab was the old man Oak and his brown-nosing lab assistants. As soon as the array was taken down however, we got back to them. We saw your little door in the library. It wasn't enough to say for sure that it was a base, but the bugs got everything we needed after that", the Rocket explained.

"So then, what does Team Rocket have on us? The region leaders?", Ash asked. The Rocket chuckled even more.

"I haven't a clue! I'll admit, you did get us there, we couldn't seem to track you and your little leaders moving about, coming here for your plans. But you all made one...tiny little mistake. YOU LET THE ISLAND COMMANDERS ESCAPE!", the Rocket yelled. He then began to laugh out loud, bending over in pain from the laughter. The rebels watched the Rocket in shock and horror. How could any man become a monster like this. It was as if his snobbish egotistical personality was just a cover for his true persona, a man lost in insanity and madness, nothing short of a demon like the group he was a part of. He looked at the rebels. "HOW THE FUCK COULD YOU BE SO STUPID!? If you had killed them, or even took them prisoner, you would be IN THE CLEAR! But no, you fucked it up, and it cost you! They told us everything, what you looked like, what you told them, EVERYTHING!".

"...What can you tell us about Natalie?", Ash asked. He was aware of the costly mistakes that he and the PTA had made, but he knew that acting upset over them would only cause the Rocket to get what he wants, for the PTA to panic and become unorganized. The Rocket looked at Ash with a smirk, calming down considerably from his maniac personality.

"Oh, Natalie? Hehe, well, let me put it this way...if you think _I'm _a monster...you have seen nothing yet. I won't say she is as skilled or as...charismatic as our Rocket commanders, but she can do well enough on her own...and well...let's just say, you don't want to be caught down a lone dark ally with her", the Rocket said. The rebels all looked at one another, becoming more and more worried. They knew that they had their hands full, but it seemed like this Rocket was just the tip of the iceberg. They had to be prepared, and they had to be prepared now. Ash turned to Nick.

"Nick, I want you to get everyone moving. If they are, get them moving faster. Then, grab the region leaders and any rebels you see fit, we're going to have a meeting before we set off. We need to change our plans", Ash said. Nick nodded.

"Done!", Nick said. He then rushed out of the room. The Rocket watched this and laughed.

"You know, I think it's really funny...that you think you'll be able to stop us. Whether it's here or in Veridian, you won't be able to match the might of Team Rocket. We will hunt you all down one by one...and we will kill you, slowly, painfully, and in the ways you fear most. And when we're done with you, we'll go to your families, your loved ones, and we'll do to them what we did to you, and set an example to EVERYONE...that you DO NOT...FUCK...WITH TEAM ROCKET!", the Rocket yelled. Sawyer heard these words, and immediately reflected to her sister, and her parents. The thought of them being attacked by Team Rocket had her terrified...the thought of her brother helping scared her even more. Noah was now shaking in fear. It was clear that he was not used to things like this. He may have wanted to join the PTA, but he did not realize how in over his head he was.

Ash turned and saw the fear in Noah, and the restlessness in Sawyer. He too was becoming nervous, but for an entirely different reason. He slowly turned to the Rocket, who was looking at him with a smile. The blood from his injuries was now sliding down his body and to the floor. His adrenaline was causing his blood to pump more, and only added to the intimidating personality he was giving.

"...Why are you telling us all of this?...Why now?", Ash asked. Everyone looked at Ash, then to the Rocket. Even through Wallace's torturing, the Rocket remained quiet, but now, seemed more than willing to talk. The Rocket looked at them, and smiled. He chuckled to himself as he walked to his chair and sat back down, now more comfortable. As if he was at home, talking to guests.

"Because...I wanted to see your faces...I wanted to see what you'd look like...when you found out", the Rocket said. Everyone's hearts dropped in their chests. They looked at one another, and then back to the Rocket.

"...Found out what?", Sawyer asked. The Rocket chuckled lightly.

"...Found out that I was only saying what I was told to say", the Rocket answered. Ash became more worried now. He found it difficult to hide it now, and to turned to the rebel guard. The guard nodded in response and reached for his pants. He pulled out a keychain, and with a key in hand, opened the jail cell. He immediately aimed his pistol at the Rocket as Wallace walked in. Before the Rocket could even react, Wallace punched him across the face, causing him to nearly fall out of his chair. Wallace then held the Rocket down in his chair, Skorupi pinching its claws intimidatingly while Ash came into the cell and looked at the Rocket in annoyance.

"What did Team Rocket want you to tell us!? What do you mean!?", Ash asked. The Rocket chuckled now even more, his cheek now red and his lips now bleeding even more from the punch.

"Did you honestly think I would just decide randomly to talk? ARE YOU THAT STUPID!? Me...and my crew...we were _prepared _for this! We anticipated being captured! True, we didn't expect to be shot at, but we knew well enough that becoming POWs would be a likely outcome! We were told exactly what to say, and when to say it! I have told you guys NOTHING that I was not already told to tell you by my superiors. You won't get shit out of me! I'll be welcomed back like a hero!", the Rocket said.

"Then why tell us what you did? What purpose did it have?", Ash asked.

"Hehehe...to instill fear...did it work?", the Rocket asked.

"...No", Ash answered. The Rocket smirked.

"...We'll see", the Rocket replied.

"When will Team Rocket attack!?", Ash asked, now almost yelling. The Rocket laughed now.

"They could already be on the way! For all I know, they could be ready to attack...right...now", the Rocket said. Ash looked at Wallace for a moment, and then immediately rushed out of the cell. "YES! YOU GO AND PREPARE ASH KETCHUM! BECAUSE WE'RE COMING FOR YOU! YOUR FAMILY! YOUR FRIENDS! YOUR BELOVED PTA! AND WE ARE GOING TO KILL EVERY...LAST...ONE OF YOU!", the Rocket yelled. As Ash rushed out of the room, Noah and Sawyer turned and looked at the Rocket. The Rocket made a point of looking at Noah. "Oh, and I'll be sure to kill you personally", the Rocket said. Sawyer covered Noah and led the young teen out of the room. Wallace turned to the Rocket with a glare, punched him once again, and then left the room. The PTA guard locked the door and left the room with Wallace, leaving him alone in the room.

"YOU'RE ALL DEAD! YOU HEAR ME!? YOU'RE ALL DEAD!", the Rocket yelled at them as they left. Outside of the room, Ash turned and looked to the entire group.

"Alright, listen. Team Rocket could be on their way this very second, we need to get ready, NOW!", Ash said. He then turned to the jail cell guard. "You, go off and get ready for an attack, but then come back here. You need to keep watch over him. If he gets out then he could leak more information", Ash explained. The guard nodded and then ran off. Ash then looked to the security. "You all go and get ready too. Don't worry about guarding for now. Get as many rebels ready as you can!", Ash said. All of the rebels nodded and ran off as well.

"What about us?", Wallace asked. Ash looked to Wallace, Sawyer, and Noah.

"You're all coming with me, we're going to have that meeting. Grab as many people as you see fit and bring them to the meeting room. We need to make this brief and effective...we're in a lot more trouble than we anticipated", Ash explained. Everyone grew nervous, but nodded. The four then ran off to do their jobs.

**I think that's a good spot to end it! I apologize for the severe delay everyone! I originally wanted this to get out before Christmas for you all, but as you can imagine, I was quite busy. So delay after delay occurred, and here I am now weeks later. But late is better than never I suppose. Regardless, I hope you enjoyed the chapter! I put a lot of time into getting the emotion correct, and expect more of that in the next couple of chapters. "With Ash and the others now preparing for a Team Rocket attack, will they be able to attack Veridian after all? Will Angel ever be able to save her parents? Is this the end of the PTA? Stay tuned to EVAN AAML's "R"!". Haha, haven't done narrating in a while. ;P As an ending A.N., I would like to give a shout out to prettygirl17, who's HIGHLY anticipated "Tried and True" will be coming out soon! If you're a fan of the renaissance, then you'll love this! She will also be updating her popular "Madness" story soon as well. She updates more than me, so stay tuned. XP Anyway, please be sure to F.A.R., follow me on Twitter, and talk to you all later!**

**sincerely,  
evan, a fan of aaml -EVAN AAML**


	82. Chapter 82

**Welcome back everyone! First off, I would like to wish a belated Happy Birthday to my friend Miya Toriaka on Deviantart! :) Also, for those of you who haven't heard, Pokémon announced that in October of 2013, they will release a new generation of Pokémon, entitled Pokémon X and Y. My thoughts?...AGAIN!? COME ON! Alright, now as you can imagine, I LOVED the original Pokémon series, it was amazing and started something huge. Then there was Johto, which was my personal favorite. First time with a new generation and new land. Then Hoenn came out. I thought it was a bit much, but still, loved it! After that...it started going downhill. Sinnoh, cool, but now we have tons of Pokémon. Unova, ok, enough please! And now THIS!? -_- I'm afraid to fall asleep for fear that 2 new generations will arrive when I wake up! But, eh, enough of me ranting. Not much else to discuss in this A.N. really, so I suppose then I'll stop wasting your time with this and get right to the story! **

**-EVAN AAML**

Nick ran down the halls of the base, making sure to get everyone moving as quickly as he could. Being a man of action, his adrenaline was pumping more than usual, and because of this, he was psyching himself up. However, due to the potential danger they could be in at any moment, he figured it was just cause. Most of the rebels immediately heeded his words and got straight to work getting ready. Although none of them knew if they would be part of the force going to attack Veridian or part of the force staying in Pallet to protect the base, everyone prepared their weapons and items. Nick eventually found himself stopping for a moment against a wall to catch his breath. He had been running and yelling for so long that he ran out of energy before he knew it. He looked up and down the hall as he panted, seeing if anyone was making their way towards him. After a few seconds, he pushed himself off of the wall and continued on his way.

It only took a few seconds before he found another room he would check for people. The door to the room was closed, and outside the door was a small sign that read "Storage". Nick however knew better. Most of the rooms that were for storage did not in fact have signs saying so. These signs were really placed there purposely to confuse Rockets should they break into the base. While it was simple and quite frankly unoriginal, they found that this tactic worked, simply because Team Rocket is too smart for their own good and never expects something so obvious.

Nick opened the rather large doors and looked inside. The room was filled with mechanical parts and tools. So much so that Nick couldn't even tell what half of them were or what they would be used for. The room had a couple of lights on, but the room was still dark due to the sheer size of the room. The sound of something loud caught Nick's attention, and he walked more into the room. Walking passed large machines and boxes of equipment, Nick soon spotted sparks flying near the end of the room. Realizing that someone was in here welding, he made his way towards the sparks.

He ducked from chains hanging from the ceiling and maneuvered passed tables as he made it to the sparks. Nick gasped when he saw the object being welded. It was a large cylinder shaped machine that nearly reached the ceiling and must have weighed well over a ton. The sides were heavy metal and the center of the cylinder looked like a liquid, though Nick doubted this was the case. Welding the front of the machine was Brian, who had his sleeves rolled up and a welding mask over his face.

"HEY! BRIAN!", Nick yelled. Brian immediately stopped the welding and turned his head towards the noise. When he spotted Nick, he flipped the mask up, revealing his face. He was sweating quite a bit and looked tired.

"What is it Nick?", Brian asked.

"Ash wanted me to get people ready. He's getting nervous over when Team Rocket might attack. We're going to have a meeting soon to decide what to do before we head out", Nick explained. Brian nodded.

"I see. Alright, let me finish up here then. We need to get this thing done or our plan is all for nothing", Brian said.

"Is this the EMP?", Nick asked, looking at the large metal cylinder. Brian turned to it and nodded.

"Yep, this is it. Luckily Team Rocket had built most of it themselves, I think they originally built it for a large bomb, I merely took out most of the explosives and adjusted it a bit so that it wouldn't...you know...explode on me", Brian explained. Nick nodded.

"Right. How do you intend to get this out of here?", Nick asked. Brian flipped his mask down and tried to light his gas welder with a flint starter. He motioned behind them with his head as he did so. Nick turned and noticed another pair of large doors. Nick approached the door and opened them. The room immediately lit up as he opened the doors and revealed the garage. The two rooms were connected. Nick nodded. He knew that they would carry the EMP by car for most of the trip, only using Brian's Onix when they reached Veridian. Nick hoped that it wouldn't be too hard to move into a car with it being so close. Soon, the sound of the welding stopped once again, and Nick turned to see Brian remove the welding mask entirely.

"Well, it's done. Now it's just a matter of setting the computer's timer, which I'll do when we get to the base", Brian explained. Nick nodded approvingly.

"Do you have a back up starter? Just in case?", Nick asked. Brian nodded.

"Yeah, I learned my lesson from New Island, have two starters close to you. I'll set it on a timer, but I have a remote detonator at the ready should Team Rocket stop it in time", Brian explained. He threw his mask and tools down onto the ground and then looked over to Nick. "Well then, shall we get going?", Brian asked. Nick nodded. The two then ran out of the room and back to the halls.

It was not long before the meeting room was crowded over by rebels. All of the region leaders, along with several other rebels, were sitting in the chairs while many others stood along the walls or over the table where chairs were not located. The room was surprisingly quiet, as if the rebels were waiting to hear the sounds of gunfire, explosions, or screaming. On the table were more files, more papers, more documents on Team Rocket and their Veridian base. Cups of coffee and the smell of cigarettes also filled the room from the tired and nervous rebels. Ash sat at the head of the table, overlooking his teammates, his friends, his family. The sound of feet running towards them silenced the entire room. Everyone turned to the open doors, their hearts racing.

It took a few seconds for Nick and Brian to reach the room. They looked at everyone watching them, somewhat in stage freight. The rebels sighed, calming down when they realized it was just them. Ash nodded, relieved himself.

"Alright, I think we have enough people, we can close the doors and begin", Ash said. Nick and Brian entered the room and stood along the wall with the other rebels, closing the doors behind them as they did. Ash then looked over to the PTA. "I shouldn't have to tell you how important today is. Today is _the _day, it's our final battle. Either we win, or we die". The rebels looked at one another, some showing some uncertainty, more so showing fear. But all of them were ready.

"I just came back from interrogating the Rocket we captured last night. He was told what to tell us if he got captured, they were more prepared than we thought. Natalie said last night that they would attack us today. Both her and the Rocket confirmed this. While it could be a lie merely to divide up our forces and get us psyched out, we cannot take that risk. If Team Rocket destroys or takes over this base, we're done for. So, as you all know, we need to split up the PTA into two sections. One half will stay here, the other, will attack Veridian. Are we in agreement on this?", Ash asked. All of the rebels looked at one another. While they did not like the idea of dividing up their forces, they knew that they had to.

They couldn't risk not attacking Veridian, especially after the allies lost at New Island, and especially knowing that Team Rocket was aware of them. Time was the only thing on their side, Team Rocket was prepared, but still hurting from the array being destroyed. But they also could not risk Pallet Town. This town was their home now, they had family here, friends here. And they would not risk their lives for this fight, not now, not ever. Ash, seeing their reactions, nodded.

"Alright. So then, I'm going to divide up the forces as evenly as I can. The plan for attack will be the same as it was before, but now we'll have to switch up the people attacking...Brock", Ash said. Brock, who sat beside him to his right, looked at him. "You're going to be in charge here, you'll lead the home defense". Brock nodded.

"You got it, we won't let this base be taken over!", Brock said determined. Ash nodded with a smile.

"I know you won't buddy!", Ash said. He then turned to Tracy. "Tracy, I know that you were insistent on fighting at Veridian, and I am glad that you were. But I think you're more needed here now. We weren't expecting this attack, and we'll need someone with your smarts here as well helping Brock. Do you understand?", Ash asked. Tracy looked at Ash, then towards the other rebels. It was true that he, despite hating the fighting and violence, was fully prepared for leading an assault at Veridian. He was ready to fight, and even die, for freedom. However, he also knew that the base was in danger, and he couldn't allow his family to get hurt here. He appeared confident as he turned back to Ash.

"I understand. I was set for Veridian, but I know that I'm needed here more. I'll make sure that everyone stays safe. Fight on strong at Veridian!", Tracy said. Ash nodded with a smile, he was proud of his friend. He then turned to the other region leaders.

"May, Drew, Max, you'll be staying here too, helping defend the base in another section", Ash continued. Immediately, May turned to Ash. While Drew accepted it without a problem, and Max kept his contempt quiet, May would not let this slide without her opinion out.

"What? I should be out there in Veridian, not here!", May said. It was not that she believed that staying at the base was the worse of the two jobs, and she meant no disrespect towards it. However, she felt that she should be in the front of the battle with her teammates, leading them to victory. Ash however shook his head.

"Normally you would be May, but your injuries have not quite yet gone away. We were expecting this attack to be within a month, instead we have a few hours. So they're a lot of rebels who are still recovering from New Island who will have to stay here and defend the base", Ash said. This statement caused a bit of a stir among the rebels present. Ash could tell that some were upset over the news, but had to assert them. Sending injured rebels to the fight in Veridian was nearly a death sentence, while keeping them at the base was, while still extremely dangerous, at least safer. He looked to some of the rebels who were still injured from the New Island attack.

"So yes, Hunter, Sawyer, Ashley, you too will be staying here. You're far too injured yet to go on this attack", Ash explained. Sawyer and Ashley looked quite disappointed, Hunter, more so.

"Like HELL I will! I'm going to fight at Veridian whether you like it or not!", Hunter exclaimed adamantly. Ash merely stared at him. He knew that Hunter would argue, it was in his nature to be out there in the fighting, but his injury was too severe. He would not risk his life.

"Hunter...you're staying here", Ash said. He showed no anger, but the voice was said in such a stern way, that it sent chills down the spines of several rebels. Even Hunter looked somewhat stunned. "If you were at full health, I would have you out there with Darrel leading the charge, but you're simply not healthy enough to do that. So I need you here to protect the base. I'm not doing this because you're a liability, it's strategic. I'm promoting you to field general as well, just like Darrel". Hunter was not sure how to react to such news. He had never felt he was qualified for such a promotion, he was aware that he was loud and disruptive, but Ash had confidence in him, something he felt honored by. Darrel smiled for his friend, shaking him with a smile.

"You'll be leading the defensive charge here under Brock and Tracy while Darrel leads the offensive one at Veridian...Luke, Logan", Ash said, turning to the twins. The twins, who had been standing at the end of the room, not expecting to have attention drawn towards them, looked somewhat startled as they were called upon. "You're staying here with Hunter, you're both going to be his officers. Think you can handle it?". The twins looked flabbergasted, but happy.

"You bet!", Logan said with a smile, flexing his arm.

"We'll protect our house!", Luke threw in cracking his knuckles. Ash smirked.

"I thought so...so Hunter, any complaints?", Ash asked. Hunter looked from the twins to Ash. It was clear that he was still upset over not going to Veridian, but soon, he nodded.

"Fine..., I'll protect the base", Hunter stated. There was a round of minor applause as Ash nodded. He made his way down the line of rebels, going next to Wallace.

"Wallace, you're coming to Veridian with us. I think we'll need you more there", Ash explained. Wallace nodded, adjusting his glasses on his face.

"Agreed. I shouldn't have to tell you all the risk of severe injury on this mission, we'll all need to be on our guard", Wallace explained. Ash nodded.

"Do you have a second in command?", Ash asked. Wallace smirked.

"I'm promoting Catie to that position this second. She is more than capable", Wallace explained.

"Alright, then she will stay here and be in charge of the medics", Ash said. He then turned around and looked to Brian, who was standing by the door since he had entered the room. "Brian, how's the EMP?".

"I just finished the final touches before I came down here. It'll be a pain to move it into a vehicle, but I think a few good strong Pokémon can handle it. I have two ways to start it and will set it up once we're under the base", Brian explained. Ash nodded.

"Alright...good...but, are you...ready for the distraction?", Ash asked more solemnly. The room became quiet at the question. Everyone knew what was on the line, and they were waiting for a response. Brian looked at Ash with a clear conscience.

"...Yeah...I'm ready", Brian said. He was prepared for the worst, but he refused to go down without a fight if it were to come to that. "But...did you decide on who would be doing this with me?".

"Yes, I did...Riles?", Ash asked. Riles, who stood on the other side of the room towards the middle, turned and looked to Ash. He looked as stunned to be called on as the twins were. "Riles, I know that you're a pacifist, and I know that this is asking a lot, but...do you think you can handle being there with Brian? I know you're a skilled trainer, and I think they could use your help", Ash explained. Riles looked nervous. He was not much of a fighter, and he was not certain of the outcome. But his belief in God gave him confidence. He felt a light within him, like a fire burning strong, inspiration. He nodded.

"I'll do it", Riles said. The room was silent at first, knowing that this was one of the most dangerous parts of the assault, but soon, people clapped for Riles. He smiled at the responses, appreciating the applause. Ash did as well.

"Thanks Riles. I'll also have Michael go with you, his fighting skills and knife throwing match your battling skills. It'll be a good combination. He's getting ready now, so let him know Brian", Ash finished. Brian nodded. He was not fond of having Michael be with him and Riles, not because he did not like him, (he was actually fond of his goofy antics and respected his skills), but he was only sixteen, too young to be a part of such a dangerous mission. But still, he knew it was smart to have him. He nodded.

"Now then...Ryoto is meditating right now, preparing for the attack. I would prefer him here due to his injuries, but unfortunately we'll need him to get around the base. Aleksi last night gave me a memory card she received from her contacts. I had Brenna look over it, which is what she's doing now. Emily?", Ash asked. Emily turned and looked at Ash. "Could you contact Brenna? See what she found?". Emily merely nodded and pulled out her Pokénav. It only took a few seconds for her to make contact with Brenna. It looked like she had been working for quite some time, but she was ready for more.

"Brenna, this is Emily. We're at the meeting, what did you find on the memory card?", Emily asked. Brenna slid over towards the Pokénav on her computer chair, moving her hair out of her face when she reached it.

"More than I could have possibly imagined. Whoever Aleksi got this from risked a lot giving it to us! It's not complete, but it'll definitely come in handy when we attack. I'm downloading it now to everyone's Pokénavs", Brenna explained. She clicked a few buttons on the Pokénav, then slid back over to the computer and pressed a single button. Within a few seconds, people began getting map details on their devices. "There, it's done. This should help greatly!".

"Great to hear Brenna, you're a champ!", Ash said. Brenna blushed slightly at the statement. "Also, Brenna, I want you to be on your toes. If Team Rocket does attack, you need to defend the library, do you understand?". Brenna's blush faded and she looked at the screen. She looked nervous, but soon nodded. She knew what was at stake.

"Yeah, I know. Don't worry, they won't get anything here! Give my regards to Angel!", Brenna said before closing the link. As Emily put the Pokénav away, Misty, who was also in the room, looked around.

"Hey, where is Angel anyway?", Misty asked.

"She went down to get Ledyba checked on", Brock explained.

"She'll be ready by the time we leave, I have no doubt of that", Ash stated. "Back to before, Ryoto will have to come with us to Veridian. My group, which consists of Me, Misty, Aleksi, Angel, Milo, and Ryoto will remain the same. We'll head in from the top and look for Giovanni...Emily". Emily looked up to Ash once again. "You know a lot about the base too, so I'm having you come as well. You'll be in a separate group, attacking the Rockets".

"Are...are you sure?", Emily asked. Ash nodded.

"I have confidence in you Emily, I know you can handle it", Ash explained. Emily looked down for a moment, uncertain if she could handle such a task. The group didn't know about her past as a Rocket baby, they didn't know of her advantage, and yet they still trusted her; when she didn't even trust herself. Ash turned away from the nervous Emily for a brief moment and looked to Gary.

"Gary, I'm switching you out from the defense here and moving you to Veridian with us. You'll lead the group with Emily on the back assault. Round up a group for yourself when the meeting ends", Ash said. Gary nodded. He then turned back to Emily, who was still nervous. "...Emily?". Emily finally looked up to Ash, although slowly. She was lost in thought, reflecting back to the days when she used to go on missions, when she failed, and when people left her. She felt alone all over again. Her heart felt like it was being pulled in different directions, tugging away at her emotions.

Most of the rebels saw this as only nerves, others seemed concerned if she could handle it. Dawn however saw the truth. She knew about Emily's past, and she knew why she was acting like this. She leaned over towards Emily and put her hand on her shoulder. Emily, in shock, turned and looked at Dawn. They shared eye contact for a moment before Dawn smiled.

"It's ok Emily...you can do this...I know you can. You're not alone", Dawn reassured. Emily stared at her for a moment or two before slowly smiling. She felt the tugging at her heart loosen, and she took control once again. She nodded and turned back to Ash.

"Yes...yes, I'm ready...I can do it", Emily said. Ash nodded confidently with a smile. He then turned to Dawn.

"Dawn, you'll still be leading the secret assault with Mathinza and a group of your own. Just like Gary, you can make the group when we're done", Ash explained. Dawn nodded.

"Understood", Dawn said.

"Great. Evan will still be stationed as sniper outside the base, and Prof. Oak and mom will remain here, protected in the base. Let's see...Ashley", Ash said. Ashley turned to him. "I know you wanted to go on and fight with us at Veridian, but you haven't recovered fully yet. So I'm having you stay with Brock and Tracy. You'll be helping defend the base", Ash said. Ashley nodded. She knew that a fight was imminent, and was prepared. "Nick?", Ash asked. Nick looked to Ash.

"I want to stay here...I mean...I wanted to fight with you guys, but...", Nick started. Ash smiled.

"It's fine...stay here...I know what it's like to want your best friend safe, no matter the cost", Ash said. After saying this, he glanced at Misty briefly. Misty caught this, and blushed, but didn't have the chance to say anything, for Ash continued. "You'll do good here Nick, I have faith in you". Nick nodded. Sawyer looked at him, which Nick caught. She mouthed "Thank you", to which Nick nodded back with a smile. "Alright, it's settled, you two can be with May and Drew. That just leaves...our newest recruit", Ash said. Everyone in the room remained silent as Ash slowly turned towards his left. Standing next to Brian and Nick, remaining quiet, was Noah. He had been paying attention to the meeting, but seeing as how he was new and did not yet know everyone, he kept to himself. That was, until the attention was brought to him.

"Wh...me?", Noah asked, stunned. Ash nodded.

"Yes, you", Ash said. The rebels all looked around at Noah and Ash, and then at each other.

"Uhm, Ash, do you think that's a good idea? I mean...we don't know him", Drew said. Ash continued to stare at Noah.

"I know...but I trust him. He came all the way from Hoenn just to join us, that takes courage. And he knew his life was at risk joining us. I think he has what it takes...so Noah...do you?", Ash asked. Noah looked at Ash, a loss for words. The majority of the rebels, siding with Ash, all smiled, (though some still had their doubts, Drew and Emily being some of them). Noah was nervous, but soon smiled. This was his chance. He nodded.

"Yes!...Yes, I can!", Noah exclaimed. Ash nodded with a smile.

"Good, then you'll be stationed here to protect the base with Brock, Tracy, and Ashley. I don't know yet how much you've recovered from your attack, so I can't risk you on the field just yet...what are your skills Noah?", Ash asked. Noah felt like he was on the spot, and so was somewhat flustered. But he soon regained his composure.

"Uhm, well, I'm a good trainer, I know that much. Better than good actually. And...oh! I'm training in Wave Guidance! I'm not very good at it yet, but I'm getting better!", Noah explained. Most of the rebels looked at him in utter confusion, not understanding what Wave Guidance was. Ash however seemed familiar with it.

"Wave Guidance huh? Do you have a Lucario?", Ash asked. Noah shook his head.

"No, a Riolu, we're both just starting out on it", Noah said sheepishly. Ash chuckled.

"It's tough, I know. You'll get the hang of it. It'll be a useful skill in the battle", Ash explained. Noah, not realizing that Ash had experience with Wave Guidance, was immediately impressed and flattered. He smiled and nodded. Ash then looked over to the rest of the rebels. "Alright, we all know what we have to do now. If anyone is confused, just ask me or another region leader. Be sure to make up your squads and get everyone else ready, we need to get going now before Team Rocket comes. Meeting adjourned", Ash said, standing up from his chair. Everyone began to get moving, but suddenly, Sawyer stopped them.

"Oh, wait!", Sawyer exclaimed. Everyone seemed somewhat confused, but did so. They turned and looked to Sawyer, wondering what was on her mind. Now that all attention was on her, she was somewhat sheepish, however, she went on. "Uhm, well, because this is our final battle...I thought I should show you all something...that I have been working on for some time now", Sawyer said. Everyone looked somewhat stunned at the statement as Sawyer bent down and lifted up a small backpack that was on the ground. She placed it on the table and pulled out what looked like a folded up piece of cloth.

"Awhile ago, I came up with the idea of designing an official logo for the PTA...we never had one really, and I thought...I don't know, that it'd be nice. Be warned, I'm not exactly the best at sewing", Sawyer explained. She unfolded the piece of cloth several times, allowing it to get bigger and bigger. Eventually, she finished, revealing a large flag. Everyone looked on with gasps and smiles.

The flag had blue and red stripes going horizontally across, with an all white circle at the center of the flag. Coming up from the bottom of the flag and reaching the center of the white circle was a white hand with a black outline to show against the white circle. In the hand was a red and white Pokéball, which faced the rebels. Across the top of the flag, above the hand and Pokéball were three letters. P.T.A.

"Wow!", Dawn exclaimed.

"It's amazing Sawyer!", May said. Nick leaned over and gave Sawyer a gentle kiss on the cheek.

"It's wonderful Sawyer", Nick said. Many of the rebels continued to look at the flag in amazement. While the PTA were always known, they never bothered with an official flag for them. Ash felt that their group worked best in secret, and that their time should be better spent working for freedom than designing. Their "official" PTA attire in fact wasn't even theirs, they were stolen from Team Rocket over the years and re-designed. However, this was their last battle. Team Rocket knew they were coming, and it would all end today...why not show pride in who they were. Ash looked at the flag as he slowly approached it. He felt the fabric between his fingers, as if making sure it was real. He was at a loss for words.

"...Yes...", Ash said softly. It appeared that no one heard him. So he spoke louder. "...Yes...this is exactly what we need. This will be our last battle, we should not be afraid of announcing ourselves, we should show pride in who we are and what we do. This flag is the exact thing we need to show the world that we are standing up for ourselves and them. This flag will be used as a symbol to represent us throughout history as the group that ended Team Rocket!". The room erupted into cheers. Ash then turned to Sawyer. "It's a fantastic job Sawyer, it's a pity we only have the one". Sawyer giggled at the comment with a sweatdrop.

"Well...that's not _entirely _true", Sawyer said. Ash and the other rebels looked on in confusion. Sawyer sheepishly giggled. "Well...me and your mom have been...working on this...for some time now. I only showed this one because I did it entirely by myself...your mom was the one who did most of the others", Sawyer explained.

"Uhm...how many more do we have?", Ash asked.

"Hehe...uhm...I lost count?", Sawyer said. Ash collapsed. "We have a bunch of flags made, and we even made entirely new outfits. Your mom thought that the black ones were cool, but made us look like Team Rocket too much. Do you remember, when I was on that spy mission awhile back? My first mission? We were tracking shipments up north?", Sawyer asked. Ash nodded.

"...Yeah, they were delivering supplies to Rockets in Sinnoh, you stopped the shipments before they left Kanto", Ash explained. Sawyer nodded.

"Right. Well, a large portion of the shipments were clothes for Rockets stationed at Snowpoint City. And since we never really used them...me and Mrs. Ketchum decided to...use them for new PTA uniforms", Sawyer explained. Ash couldn't help but chuckle. He wasn't surprised in the least that his mom would do this within such a short amount of time and behind his back. "Because they were meant for Snowpoint, they're completely white, but we took out a lot of the insulation and I think they look good. We've already put the flag on the uniforms, and even started on names for them. We also have plenty of flags made for us here and at Veridian".

"You girls have been busy! Well...no better time to try them out then right now huh? Alright, if anyone would like to, go and put on your new uniforms!", Ash said. The rebels, filled with a new boost of confidence and even some excitement, began to leave the room. As Ash was about to himself, he felt someone tug on his arm. He stopped and turned to see Misty holding onto it. Her eyes looked stern, like she had something on her mind, and needed to get it out. Ash could feel the soft yet intense gaze on him, and nodded. He waited for everyone else to leave the room, (Brock being the last one, who could tell that they needed time alone, and so closed the doors after him), and then spoke.

"Something's on your mind", Ash said. Misty nodded.

"...Yeah...", Misty responded. Ash turned to face her completely, putting his hands on her arms reassuringly.

"If there's anything you need to get off your chest, do it now Mist...it's the best time", Ash said. Misty looked down for a moment, as if in deep thought. She had several things she wanted to get off her chest, but she didn't have time for all of them. She knew that time was of the essence, and they had little of it. Instead, she got right to the point.

"...I want...no, I _need..._to do more", Misty explained. Ash raised an eyebrow. While he did not know for certain what it was that she wanted to say, this was certainly not something he expected.

"Do more? You don't think you've done enough? Mist...you're the third in command of the entire PTA, you're the region leader of Johto, you fought on New Island, what do you mean?", Ash asked.

"Ash, being third in command of the PTA does not mean anything, you have the skills and talents to do everything without even needing me or Brock. And while I'm often busy at Johto, it's usually small work. And on New Island...my _help _consisted of controlling a com room and driving boats and buses", Misty explained. Ash looked somewhat quizzical. He didn't understand why she was so bothered by this. "Ash, so many of our friends, our family, are dying. We lost so many at New Island...and we both know that we're going to lose even more lives today, whether here or at Veridian...I am tired of being the _all talk__, _the commander who merely makes orders and does nothing else...I know, in my heart, that I can do more. I _have _to do more. For them...and for me", Misty explained.

Ash looked at Misty. He could see the fire in her eyes, the intensity she was feeling. Misty always had a fighting spirit, even when they were kids. She was a highly skilled gym leader and fighter, and she had the fight and determination that many people even in the PTA lacked. He was stunned that she was feeling this way, but understood what she meant. He felt the same way when he was on Blaine's boat at Cinnabar. He sat there doing virtually nothing while his family and friends risked or even lost their lives fighting a war he himself started against Team Rocket. While he felt that Misty did more than enough, if she felt that she had to do more, he wouldn't argue against it. He smiled.

"...If that's the way you feel...then fine. We'll be sure to do a lot more when we attack Veridian. We're going to get Giovanni, and we're going to end this war", Ash said. Misty nodded. "Now then...is there anything else you need to get off your chest?". Misty thought for a moment. She knew what she wanted to say, she knew what she wanted to admit, but she couldn't. Not yet. She had to wait for later...and there _would _be a later. She shook her head.

"No, that was it...for now at least", Misty said with a smile. Ash smiled in response. Slowly, he leaned forward, his hands still holding Misty gently, as he kissed her on her forehead. Misty's face turned red at the soft touch, and she felt weak in her knees. Ash himself could barely control himself, but managed to long enough to look at Misty in her eyes.

"...For now", Ash said. He then slowly stepped towards the doors. He opened them up, but before he left, he turned back to Misty. "By the way Misty...what do you intend to do...once the war is over?". Misty, who was still lost in thought over the kiss, took a few seconds to register the question, before answering.

"I don't know...I would like to go back to being the gym leader at Cerulean...I've missed it", Misty answered. "And you?". Ash smirked.

"Well, I have a few things on my mind. Possibly retire here in Pallet, possibly continue my journey...but I do know one thing I'm going to do...when all of this is over, I intend to ask you out on a date", Ash said. Both of their faces turned red from blush as Ash left the room, leaving a heart-struck Misty behind.

Meanwhile, in another section of the base, as rebels prepared to either defend the base or travel to Veridian, one little rebel decided to take her time in calming her mind and body. Angel stood at a large machine, waiting for it to stop running. The glass sphere that was closed glowed a white light as it hummed softly. She looked at the machine intently, lost in thought as it ran. Soon however, a double beeping sound snapped her out of her thoughts. The sphere opened up and revealed a lone Pokéball, positioned in a small hole, with five other empty holes, forming a circle.

The room was where the rebels checked their Pokémon for injuries and gave them a basic healing. It was much like a typical Pokémon Center, minus the Rocket control. It was surprisingly high-tech, despite the lack of money for the PTA. The room was nearly entirely white and filled with complex machines Angel couldn't even begin to understand, (the only reason why she knew how to operate this one was because instructions for its simple usage were placed on the front of it). Angel pulled out the Pokéball and looked at it. As she did, the sound of the swinging doors opening echoed throughout the room. She turned to see that no one was visible. That was, until the sound of scurrying and a hop or two also echoed in the room. Angel giggled as Pikachu hopped onto a counter beside Angel, his ears perked up high and smile on his face.

"Pikachu!", Pikachu said. Angel smiled.

"Good to see you too Pikachu. Came to check up on me did you?", Angel asked, walking over to the little rodent and scratching its chin. Pikachu sighed at the touch. "I just came down to make sure that Ledyba was ready for today...I'm going to rescue my parents today Pikachu...think you can help me?". Pikachu nodded and gave a peace sign with his paws.

"Pika!", Pikachu said. Angel giggled once more.

"Thanks! I knew I could count on you!", Angel said. She then aimed her Pokéball at the counter and it burst open. Ledyba appeared next to Pikachu, opening its wings up and stretching. It buzzed happily upon seeing its trainer as she placed the Pokéball necklace around her neck before shrinking it back down to size. Angel got closer to the counter and the two Pokémon. "How you feeling Ledyba?". Ledyba buzzed in response. Angel smiled. "I'm glad to hear it! Well...today is the day...after all of this preparation, after years of being on the run, only to realize that my parents are alive...after training, and fighting...my life has come to this", Angel said to the Pokémon, though mostly to herself. Pikachu and Ledyba looked at each other, then at her.

"I've...I've always been afraid...always had little confidence...I survived just by sheer luck and possibly even fate. I kept running, kept hoping that Team Rocket wouldn't find me. Whether I was hiding up a tree, or in a cave, or in a bush by the river...always hoping that I wouldn't be found. But now...I have a job to do. I'm a part of the PTA, and we're fighting to end this war, end Team Rocket. I have my parents...who I need to save...and I have my friends...who I need to help and protect. I...I didn't think I could do it at first, I didn't have the skills, or the bravery...or the confidence...but now I do. I know I can. Aleksi, Delia, Evan...they have confidence in me...and now, I have confidence in myself. I know I can do it!".

Pikachu and Ledyba smiled at Angel, glad that she was now full of confidence. Angel looked at the two cute Pokémon before her and couldn't help but giggle.

"Alright...let's do this!".

**BAM! Well, what do you all think? It's mostly filler, and I apologize, but this stuff will all play out for a reason in the end! "With the PTA getting ready for their final battle, will things get heated up? Or is this battle over before it even began? Find out next time on EVAN AAML's "R"!". Not much else here, please F.A.R., check out my Twitter, and see you next time!**

**sincerely,  
evan, a fan of aaml -EVAN AAML**


	83. Chapter 83

**Hello everyone! :) Glad to see that everyone liked the last chapter! Before I begin this one, there was something I wanted to mention in the last chapter that I forgot to. To those of you reviewing my stories as a guest, I have received a lot of guest reviews as of late, and I do love them a lot, you guys are amazing! However, because you are guests, I cannot reply to your reviews! :( So if you wish to read my review replies, you'll need to make an account onto this site so that I can reply to you properly. It pains me to read your kind reviews and not be able to thank you properly. But, if you can't make an account, for whatever reasons, then just know that I AM reading your reviews, and I thank you all! :)**

**This chapter is dedicated to authors TimPrime1, (Trent in this story), and AK1028, who shared their 1 year anniversary. **

**-EVAN AAML**

This was it.

After years of preparing, years of fighting, years of praying...

this was finally it.

The rebels rushed around the base, making sure that they had all the provisions they needed, while also forticating as many rooms as they possibly could from a potential Team Rocket attack. There was no time for chatting, no time for playing. They had a goal now, something they had to attain. Something more important to them than anything else.

Freedom.

A single word, but a million meanings. A single word that Team Rocket was able to manipulate, and change. A single word, that the PTA wanted back. The rebels began to put on their new uniforms, official proof of who they were and what they did. The rebels enjoyed them, finally being able to say that they were proud to be in the PTA. They knew that having something official to wear would mark them down as enemies of the country, and considered to be traitors to the cause. However, they knew better. They knew that they were heroes. Whether they lived today or died, they would be remembered only as that. A group who stood up, who rose against the tyranny, and fought on.

The uniforms were simple enough, much like their previous all black attire. They consisted of a white long-sleeve t-shirt, (which some rebels immediately ripped up or cut to become short sleeve), a pair of white pants, and a white hooded jacket which had the new official PTA flag on their backs. On their chest were their last names, (for some, not all, as time was short), and on their arms were rankings. While the uniforms were cool, most people either did not have an outfit to call their own, or did not want to wear them, instead going as they always went. Region leaders opted not to wear the new outfits after serious debate, so that they could be easily identified by their teammates should they need their help.

Angel helped prepare just like all the others, moving boxes and supplies here and there and making sure that people were moving. Due to her small size, there was no outfit that would fit her, which suited her just fine. She did, however, place a badge of the flag onto her dress, which she wore proudly, (all the region leaders and many of the rebels who did not wear the new uniforms did this as well). She felt her nerves build occasionally, but she managed to quell these nerves time after time again, her new-found confidence overbearing her fears.

She had just finished moving a crate and stopped to catch her breath. She had been working so hard that she forgot she was only a twelve-year-old. She would need to relax a little bit more if she was to be at one hundred percent for Veridian.

"Getting tired?", someone asked. Angel turned around to see Mathinza standing a couple of feet away, carrying a smaller box in his arms. Angel nodded with a sigh.

"Yeah, I've been working non-stop since I woke up, and I'm afraid to be too tired for Veridian", Angel remarked. Mathinza nodded.

"I understand. You have to remember, as mature as you are, you're still only twelve, you need to take it easy. It's more important that you're ready for Veridian than moving a few boxes", Mathinza explained. Angel nodded as Mathinza walked over and placed the box down in its designated spot. He then leaned over another large crate as he looked back to Angel. "So, how are you feeling otherwise? Is your concussion doing better?".

"Well, I would be lying if I said that it was gone entirely. I still get headaches and sometimes looking at the lights makes me dizzy. But, it's good enough for me to fight", Angel explained. Mathinza nodded.

"Good to hear, we'll need you", Mathinza said.

"Got that right", someone else said. Angel and Mathinza turned to see Trent walking towards them, holding in his hands a couple of rifles. "With something as big as we're doing, we'll need all the help we can get".

"You don't think we can win?", Mathinza asked. Trent shook his head.

"No, I think we can win...I just don't think it'll be easy", Trent explained. He then looked around, and then moved in closer to the two. "I don't want to psyche people out of the battle, that's the last thing we need right now. But, at the same time, we need to be practical here. We are heavily outnumbered and outgunned. We'll need to rely on our battling skills, our personal skills, and quite frankly a lot of luck to win this war and come out alive".

"Yeah, I get that feeling too", Mathinza stated.

"It _will _be difficult", Angel said. But then she looked up to the two older boys. "But, I know we can do it. We have a lot of things Team Rocket doesn't. We have heart, we have a cause, we have people we're fighting for...these things will be what allows us to win", Angel explained. Trent smirked and Mathinza clapped.

"Spoken like a true leader! When all this is over, you should look into politics", Mathinza said. The trio then laughed at the comment. Suddenly, the sound of someone yelling caught their attention.

"Alright! Listen up!", someone yelled. The trio turned to see Brock standing in a relatively open area, holding a rifle in his hands. Most of the rebels stopped their work and turned to the leader, while others quietly kept to working while listening. "I know that you're all working hard, but we have to start diving up out groups into teams and sections. Those of you who know you're going to Veridian, start heading down to the garage. We'll need help loading the vehicles and then you'll be heading out. Those of you staying here, continue what you're doing, but save your energy. We'll need it for later. And for those of you who don't know where you're going, come see me", Brock said. Angel and Mathinza got up and turned to Trent.

"So, are you going to Veridian or staying here?", Mathinza asked. Trent shrugged.

"I don't know yet, I'll have go to see. If I stay here, I'll do my best to protect the base. If I don't see you later, I wish you two good luck", Trent explained. Mathinza nodded, tipping his trilby hat.

"Same to you, aye?", Mathinza said. Angel nodded.

"Yeah, good luck Trent", Angel said. Trent smiled. Angel then turned to Mathinza in a more serious manner. "We should get going". Mathinza could see the seriousness in her eyes and nodded. The two then made their way out of the room, leaving behind Trent, who immediately went over to Brock to see where he would be stationed.

As this was going on, in another section of the base, a different kind of preparation was underway. Aleksi had been up until this point making sure that she had all of her items for the battle ready. She missed the meeting, but knew where she would be stationed and what she would be doing. Instead, she spent the time she would have wasted at the meeting preparing; gathering things and being certain that she was well stocked for what would be her final mission in the PTA. She had washed and dried her clothes for the battle, opting to not wear the new attire. She loved the design and loved the idea of them even more, but wanted to go into battle as she always has. However, she did place a patch of the new PTA flag onto her back, (which covered the majority of her midriff jacket), and her ranking symbols on her arm. She placed her backpack on her bed and began to place different things into it. Medical supplies, (which she kept handy, she knew she would need them), Pokémon medical supplies, clips and magazines for different guns, (most were universal), and some other things she thought might come in handy. She looked around the room and spotted something she had placed near her dresser.

It was another composite bow, much like the one she had used on New Island before losing it in the ocean in their escape. The day before, Evan had found another, better quality bow while going through stock with Eli and decided to give it to her for this attack. It was folded like the one she had before, but it also had string with better draw strength, which meant that the arrows would travel farther, faster, and harder. She picked up the bow, along with the bag of collapsible arrows and placed them on her bag, tying the bow onto the top of the bag and the arrow bag to the side. She scrunched the bag down as well as she could without breaking anything, and then sighed. That would probably be enough. She picked up the backpack and placed it on her back. After she did, she looked around her room.

It was pretty dark, being lit only by her light on her bedside table. It was also quiet, something that made Aleksi have mixed emotions. The quiet made her feel relaxed in a sense, feeling like she could actually give her heart, (which was racing uncontrollably and even began to hurt her), a break. But at the same time, she was scared of it. It felt too quiet, like any second now she would hear the sounds of explosions, gunfire, screaming.

Death.

Her nerves were beginning to get the better of her. This wasn't exactly new to her, she has had this happen to her many times before, especially in her younger years in the PTA. But this time was different. This time, everything was on the line. She could be the difference between people living and dying today. So much was riding on her shoulders.

Could she handle it?

Angel. She thought to her "adopted" sister. She knew that she was depending on Aleksi, looking up to her for guidance on this mission. She had to rescue her parents, Aleksi knew this. But she knew that Angel couldn't do it by herself. Aleksi had to be strong in order to help her sister save her parents. She couldn't let her down. She _wouldn't_. Angel had done so much for her in the few days she's known her, she couldn't fail. She thought it strange. She had only known Angel for six days, not even a week, and yet she felt like she had known her for years. Angel had that effect on people. She knew that she had to help Angel save her parents, even if it meant her own life.

She looked around her room, seeing the familiar room that she had looked at nearly everyday for years now. On most days she would look at it and think nothing of it. But on days like today, days of an important mission, it always felt new to her. Like she had to remember it all. Because it could be the last time she would ever see it again.

She looked onto her bedside table. She had pulled out the green-felt bible earlier and had left it on the table, under the lamp. She didn't know why she did, but she felt compelled to. She flipped through the bible for the first time she could remember, reading different passages and keeping them in mind. She didn't see herself as religious as someone like Riles, but felt that there was a spot in her heart specifically for just that. She especially looked at the quote bookmarked by the photo of her and her father. The line highlighted by Adrian for her to read. While it wasn't necessarily any more special than any other quote in the book, it held something special in her heart because it was special to her father.

Which annoyed her to no end.

She couldn't get over the fact that it affected her this way. But it did. She seemed to get more annoyed over her father the more she thought of him, so she pushed the thoughts out of her head. She wondered if he would return to her once the war was over, though she doubted it. She then turned to her dresser. On top of the dresser was the black rose that Evan had given her, the same rose that she had turned into a corsage for the ball. It had wilted ever so slightly over the two nights, but still held its form for the most part. She looked at it, thinking of Evan. She would never have thought that within the past six days she would have not only found a sister in Angel, but a love in Evan. She wondered, when things were over, where their relationship would take them. She thought about the future, about being together, maybe having a home together, having a family.

A blush spread across her face at the thought.

But, as much as she tried to push the thought out of her head, as much as she tried to insure herself that it wouldn't happen, she couldn't help but think of what could happen...should they die. She thought about the odds of her dying, and what that would mean to people. But it paled in comparison to the thought of losing Angel or Evan. She did not wish death upon anyone in the PTA, but she knew, deep down, that it would happen. Someone she would call a friend today, would be gone after today's events. It was only a matter of who. The thought of losing Angel was unbearable. She was only twelve. She was too young to die, she had her whole life ahead of her. The idea of her, fighting for her life for two years, then fighting for the PTA in this terrible week, only to die right before having the chance to see her parents again...it killed her.

Losing Evan was just as bad. She had finally found someone she loved, someone she could see herself spending her life with. While it was perhaps immature to think of such a thing, considering they had only known each other for less than a week, and dating for only hours, she knew in her heart that it was true. But, was Evan right? He was the one who thought that there was a chance one of them wouldn't survive. He even tried to prepare Aleksi for it. At that point, she refused to believe it, even making Evan change his mind. So then why now did she think the same thoughts he did earlier? Maybe it was because she was finally coming to terms with the idea.

No, she couldn't.

She tried to pushed the thoughts out of her head, but found it difficult. What would happen if she lost both of them today? If she had lost not only her sister, but her love? What would happen if she lost only one of them? Which would she prefer? Her heart ached and her head began to make her feel dizzy. She knew that the stress was getting to her, and she had to stop it. She slapped herself in the face a couple of times and then took deep heavy breaths. The thoughts pushed themselves aside for now, and she was relieved. Not wanting to stress herself out anymore, she took one final glance around her room before heading towards the door.

She reached for the handle and tightened her grip on it, but before she opened the door, she turned to her bedside table. She had left the lamp on. She debated over going back over and turning it off, but decided against it. For some reason, she felt it had to be left that way. Something about it made her feel so. She couldn't explain it, but she didn't need to. Slowly, she turned the doorknob, opened the door, and left; leaving the light on, and her room be.

After closing the door behind her, she turned and made her way down the halls. As she walked, more thoughts ran through her head. Not the same hurtful thoughts she had in her room, (which she was thankful for), but rather planning. She thoughts of strategies she could use, reactions she would need, worst-case scenarios that might appear. She found herself thinking too much, as before she knew it, she found herself walking aimlessly around the base. She stopped when she realized that she was in a smaller hall. It lead towards the garage, so she knew that she was on track, but she had taken the scenic route, something she thought she might have done unconsciously so as to think more. The halls here were tighter, an odd choice by the architect. Otherwise they were the same as the rest of the building, white and empty.

"Aleksi?", someone called out. Immediately, her heart rose in her chest. She spun around, her ponytail bouncing slightly as she did so. She soon spotted the source of the voice, and unintentionally sighed. Evan stood at the end of the short hall, looking at Aleksi with a mix of worry and curiosity. The two stared at each other for a while before Aleksi smiled.

"I'm alright Evan", Aleksi said. Evan walked forward towards her.

"I didn't say you weren't. You just seem...lost in thought", Evan stated. Aleksi fully turned her body to face Evan as he approached. Now the two were only a few feet apart.

"...Maybe. But, it's nothing you should worry about. It's just typical nerves, I'll get over them", Aleksi lied. Evan could see right through this, but decided against saying anything. He could tell that she was thinking of more than just the mission itself, but him contributing to the thoughts could make her more nervous, and he couldn't have that.

"...Alright", Evan answered. Aleksi felt relieved, thinking she had tricked him. "So then...are you ready?", Evan asked. Aleksi nodded.

"Yeah, I got everything I think I'll need...you too?", Aleksi asked, leaning over to check his bags. Evan had a large backpack like Aleksi's on his back, but also carried his Intervention by his side. Like Aleksi, he had decided to wear his usual attire over the new ones, (though since his over shirt was white to begin with, it didn't matter). He placed the PTA flag patch over his shirt pocket and his ranking symbols on his arm. His pack looked to be more full than Aleksi's, which made her wonder what exactly he was carrying. He smirked somewhat.

"Yeah, took me a while, but I think I'm good", Evan joked. Aleksi giggled softly. There was a brief silence between them before Evan went on. "Listen, Aleksi...about earlier".

"Evan, please, we can't keep bringing it up", Aleksi said, knowing that it was about the possibility of one of them dying. Evan sighed.

"I know, and I believe that you're right...but this has to be said", Evan stated. Aleksi felt uncomfortable, but allowed him to continue. "I think that we'll be alright...but...if I _don't _come back...I need you to do something", Evan said. Aleksi could already feel the tears trying to fight their way through, but she fought them away for now. "In my room, near by bed, is a small little table. Open it up. Inside, there's something I want you to have. But, don't worry, you won't need to do this, I just...wanted you to know", Evan said. Aleksi nodded. She covered her mouth, afraid to let anything saddening slip out. Evan could see the sadness she was trying to hide and immediately felt guilt. He didn't want to make her worried, he knew that they would be fine. But he had to let her know, just in case. He immediately thought of something that might make her feel better.

"Oh, and before I forget, I have something that might come handy for you later", Evan said. Aleksi looked back to Evan, wondering what he meant by this. She watched as Evan reached into his jeans pocket and pulled out a small object. Before Aleksi could even guess as to what it was, Evan tossed it at her. She immediately reached out and grabbed the object with both hands and looked at it. It was Evan's lighter. She raised an eyebrow and looked back to Evan.

"Your lighter? But, won't you be needing this?", Aleksi asked, holding it out to him. Evan smirked, approaching her even more.

"No. Haven't you heard? I quit smoking", Evan said. Aleksi's sadness immediately vanished, and the presence of a smile could be felt as her heart began to leap out of her chest. "Yeah, some girl kept harassing me about it, all she would do is nag, nag, nag; so I figured I would try to give it up for her". Evan by this time was right in front of Aleksi with a smile across his face. It was a pretty cocky smile, he knew how smooth he was being, but Aleksi didn't care. In fact, she was growing to love that smile. She immediately dove into Evan's chest, wrapping her arms around him as she pressed her lips against his. Evan immediately wrapped his arms around her, and the two held onto one another tightly, as if trying to transfer the amount of love they felt to each other.

Aleksi sighed and felt weak at the knees, but held strong for Evan while Evan slowly put a hand to her cheek, feeling the few strands of hair that remained there. Soon, Aleksi got onto her tip-toes to reach more as the two smiled and even giggled in their kiss. The world around them, like last night, and like this morning, melted away. Now, it was only them, only emotion, only love. They felt like they could stay in this embrace forever, neither wanted to let go of the other. But, alas, they knew they had to. After what felt like forever they released each other, but stared into each other's eyes. Evan smiled, pressing his forehead against hers and rubbing the tears of joy off of her face.

"Don't worry Aleksi...nothing's going to happen...Heaven's got a plan for you, you'll see", Evan stated. Aleksi sighed happily, a smile across her face and tears of joy coming down more. Evan couldn't help but blush at the beauty before him. Something about her toned skin, her greenish-blue eyes, her mocha hair, it made his heart leap with joy. But it wasn't just that...it was something more. It was _in _her...yes, he could see it. Her strength, her courage, her passion, her righteousness...

her heart.

Yes, this was Aleksi, this was who she was, and this was who he had fallen in love with. He had always known this, but now he knew that she felt the same. This was Aleksi, and he wouldn't want her any other way. He leaned back only slightly so as to get a better look at her.

"I love you Aleksi...and I always will. For forever and a day", Evan said. Aleksi smiled at the comment. It was cheesy, but it was him, and she loved it.

"...And I love you...Evan", Aleksi replied. The two shared one final embrace in the hall, holding onto each other tightly and soaking up as much as they could, before deciding that it was time, and moved out.

By this time, the majority of the people who were picked to fight in Veridian were already preparing at the garage. Due to the massive amount of rebels, the garage doors were open, (with rebels stationed outside for lookout and protection), to allow people room. The sun was up and shining bright by this time; a huge contrast to the storm last night. Though the ground was still wet, it would soon be dried up in the Kanto heat. Rebels began packing up the jeeps, vans, trucks, ATVs, and any other vehicle they could. Some rebels checked their weapons and supplies, others formed passing lines to put items into vehicles. There were a couple of groups talking, some hugging, others praying. To most of them, this was their goodbye.

Ash walked to different groups, seeing if they were prepared, giving them support and encouraging words, and helping those who needed it. He knew that he had to, not just because he was their leader, but because they were friends, and he always helped his friends. Misty, Gary, and Dawn also aided the rebels whenever possible, most of which in their own squads. The region leaders who were staying at the base were also here, but mostly to say their goodbyes and wish the others the best of luck.

"Come on May! Let me go! I can do this!", Max yelled, his shirt being held onto tightly by May. He was tugging to be released, but to no avail. May merely sighed.

"Max, I told you already, you're NOT GOING! Now quit it!", May told her little brother sternly. Max finally snatched himself free from May's grip and turned to look at her angrily.

"And why not!? You know how good of a Pokémon trainer I am! I can protect myself!", Max explained.

"Max, it doesn't matter how good of a trainer you are if you have a gun pointed at you!", May said. Max, upon hearing the comment, quieted down. May felt guilty and sighed. "Max...I know you want to help the others, and I know that you think you can do more. Trust me, I feel the same way...but we have to think smart about this. You don't have any field experience, you would only be a liability. What do you think mom and dad would think if they found out you did something like this?", May asked. Max sighed.

"...I know...but I feel like I have to do this May! I can't just sit around here! You know that if I do, they'll only tell me to just sit back and let you guys do all the fighting!", Max said. May started to become more frustrated, but at the same time, felt bad for her brother. She knew that this statement was true, but she couldn't blame anyone for thinking this. She herself would make sure Max wasn't fighting. She couldn't lose her only brother to the war, especially since this was their last battle.

"I'm sorry Max, but the answer is no!", May replied sternly. Max was visibly angry and upset, but could do nothing more to argue his point with her. Though technically May did not outrank Max, there was still the older sister status to take account for. Max merely stomped off, leaving May behind. Drew, who had stood by and watched the entire argument, approached May and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Do you think I made the right decision?", May asked. Drew nodded.

"I think you did. Max wants to help, and I respect that in him. But he's way in over his head if he thinks he can handle himself on what would be his first field operation. Especially one of this magnitude and danger. You have to think of his safety...and yours for that matter", Drew explained. May turned to him.

"I know Drew. My injury isn't so bad where it'll inhibit me on the field. I'll be alright", May reassured him.

"I'm sure you will be, but I still don't want you putting yourself into danger if you can help it...I...I don't know what I'd do...if I lost you...", Drew said with difficulty. Drew's feelings for May were strong, and he had no fear of putting them out there. But Drew was merely not the emotional type. He stuck to his guns and kept himself strong with an air of confidence and even arrogance. But even he knew, that he couldn't stand the thought of losing May, his love. He felt that way before on New Island, and he promised himself he wouldn't again. May smiled, knowing that it was difficult for Drew to open up like this. She placed a hand on his arm.

"...I don't know...what I'd do...if I lost you too", May said. Drew looked at May. The two shared eye contact for a while before eventually leaning in and giving each other a short but passionate kiss on the lips. "...I love you Drew", May said. Drew smiled.

"And I you", Drew replied. As the two shared this moment together, several feet away, watching them, Misty and Dawn sighed. Dawn leaned over a metal barrel, holding her head up with her hands while Misty stood, holding a small box to be put in the jeep beside them.

"Aww...how romantic", Dawn stated. Misty nodded with a smile.

"Yeah, those two deserve each other", Misty replied. Dawn smiled and turned slightly towards Misty, while keeping her eyes on the couple ahead of them.

"Aaaand...what about you and Ash? Did you two enjoy your little...private moment after the meeting?", Dawn asked. Misty blushed heavily, thinking back to the moment the two had.

"Listen, when you get to my age, you'll understand that moments like that are", before she could even finish, Misty found herself being interrupted.

"Your age? Misty you goof, you're not that much older than me!", Dawn said, sticking her tongue out at her.

"WOAH! WATCH IT! THAT'S FRAGILE!", someone yelled. Both Misty and Dawn turned around to see what the hassle was all about. Several feet away from them were Milo, (who had decided to wear his new PTA uniform coat, but kept the rest of his usual attire on), and Brian, (who didn't wear the new uniform at all, but placed the flag patch on his arm). The two were helping move the EMP from out of the maintenance room and into one of the vans in the garage. Also moving the massive EMP were a Machamp, Donphan, and Sceptile, who were doing most of the work. "IF THIS THING DROPS THEN WE'RE ROYALLY SCREWED! BE CAREFUL GUYS!", Brian continued to yell. It was clear that he was nervous, he knew more than anyone the sensitivity and destructive power of the EMP, and wanted to make sure it was handled correctly.

"Don't worry bro! We got this!", Milo reassured him. Suddenly, the sound of grunting caught the group off guard. Milo looked up onto the machine, the source of the noise, and spotted a very small yellow rodent sitting on top of the machine, its black and yellow ears bobbing this way and that. Sitting on top of the machine was a Pichu, which tugged onto a very small latch on the machine. It pulled and pulled, grunting in the process. It was trying to help, but failed to see that it was doing nothing. "PICHU!? 'OI! WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING UP THERE!? HOW'D YOU EVEN MANAGE TO HOP UP THERE!?", Milo yelled. The Pichu, while still tugging on the latch, turned and looked at Milo. "YEAH, I'M TALKING TO YOU, GET DOWN HERE BEFORE YOU PULL YOUR BACK!". Pichu responded by tugging it's lower eyelid down at Milo and sticking its tongue out at him. Milo retaliated in foul language.

"CAN WE JUST GET GOING!? THIS THING ISN'T THE LIGHTEST YOU KNOW!", Brian yelled. Misty and Dawn sighed.

"With this much going on, there's no time for romance", Misty said. Dawn nodded.

"Agreed", Dawn said. Soon enough, the EMP was carefully placed within the back of a van, (one of the same ones used to bring the rebels back to the base from the shore line), and the teens sighed.

"Alright, good job everyone, we got it in. We'll take it from here...return!", Brian said, returning his lone Pokémon Sceptile. Milo nodded, pulling out three Pokéballs to Brian's one.

"Great job boys!", Milo stated, returning his three other Pokémon. They then turned to Ash, who was approaching them. "Alright Ash, the bomb's tucked in nicely and we're set to go!". Ash nodded to Milo.

"Good to hear", Ash said. He then turned to face the crowd of rebels. "Ok everyone! The EMP is in the van! Now is the time when we have to go! Everyone get into a vehicle with your gear and get ready to move out! Remember your orders, be prepared for anything...and good luck to us all". The PTA raised their fists into the air, matching their new flag and symbol.

"GO PTA!", the rebels yelled in unison. Ash smiled, thrusting his fist into the air as well.

"GO PTA!", Ash yelled back. The rebels then began to place their things into the vehicles and get moving. May, Drew, Brock, and Tracy stood by and waved goodbye to their friends, (giving hugs goodbye to their fellow region leaders). Angel reached the back of one of the jeeps and was helped up by Evan. Region leaders drove their own vehicles, (whether they were trucks, vans, jeeps, or otherwise), as everyone else huddled into a vehicle of their own choice. Angel, like many of the rebels, sat in the back of a large jeep with a tarp covered cargo bed. Along the side were benches for all the rebels to sit in while the back of the jeep was relatively open. Other rebels packed tightly into the same white vans they packed into when they returned from New Island. Ash went into the driver's seat of a pick up truck and turned to look at the region leaders staying home.

"Good luck everyone! If you can, head on out to the front door and see us out, just in case", Ash said. Brock and Tracy nodded, immediately rushing back into the base to head over to the front door. May and Drew turned one final time to wave goodbye before also heading out. Ash motioned for the security detail outside of the garage to head into the vehicles and then made his way out. Angel grew nervous as the engine to the jeep roared to life and began to move. She looked around to her fellow rebels, looked to her friends, looked to her family. She knew that this was it. She knew that, after today, within a matter of hours perhaps, she would either have her parents with her safe and sound...or she would be dead.

**"Angel and the gang are making their way to Veridian! But will their trip go without a hitch!? Will Pallet Town be safe!? Will Angel ever get to see her parents again? Stay tuned to EVAN AAML's "R"!". Hope you liked the update! I put a lot of effort into the last couple of chapters, so it means a lot to me that you all like where this is going. I apologize for grammatical/spelling errors, I've done most of this work during the night when I didn't get sleep. :P From here on out, expect more fighting, more tension, more drama, and A LOT more death! I certainly hope you didn't pick favorites in terms of characters, because I can't guarantee any character will survive! :O While the primary focus will be on Angel and the gang at Veridian, I will flip through between them and the gang at the Pallet Town base, so don't be afraid thinking that your favorite character may not get a lot of screen time! Also, as a side note, I will be going back to school soon, so unfortunately, expect some delays in updates starting next week. Until then, please be sure to F.A.R., check out my Twitter account, and I will see you all next time!**

**sincerely,  
evan, a fan of aaml -EVAN AAML**


	84. Chapter 84

**To start off this A.N, I would like to let you all know that I am currently back in school, so unfortunately, this means that I will be much busier than normal. While I will try to update my stories as often as I can, I cannot guarantee that they will come out as quickly as they have the past couple months. Also, I would like to GRIPE ABOUT THE STUPID SMALLER SIZED TEXT! -_- To those of you who do not know, I write out my stories on the site's Document Manager. Normally the text is nice and big, easy for me to read. But now, for some reason, they shrunk the size down so now I can barely read it! It gives me a headache just adjusting my eyes to it. Blah. With that said, let's get back to the story! **

**-EVAN AAML**

Ash revved the engine to the truck and it began to move faster around the hill leading away from the garage. One by one, the vehicles left the garage. ATVs left out separate doors, acting as security for the vehicles should they be attacked by Rocket patrols, (which was very likely, as Team Rocket was certain to know that they might attempt an attack). The vehicles drove down the small road and eventually made their way around the base. As Ash reached the main road, he turned to see the line of vehicles behind him. He thought of all of the rebels who were coming with him. All of his family who wanted to fight alongside him in Veridian, and all those who may not make it back home. As he thought this, Misty, who sat in the truck next to him, grabbed his shoulder.

"Ash, stop the truck", Misty said. Ash, not understanding why Misty would say such a thing, turned to face the road. Immediately, he saw what she was referring to, and hit the brakes. Sitting in the middle of the road, in front of the Professor's lab, was a lone man. He stood beside a motorcycle and looked up towards the lab, as if lost in thought. He was a massive person, standing at around six-foot three and possibly up to two hundred pounds. He had short dirty blonde hair and bright green eyes, but he looked battle worn and tested. He wore a pair of riding goggles, (which were on his head), and a long black trench coat that hovered above the dirt road and was riddled with what looked like bullet holes and knife marks. He also wore a Kevlar vest underneath the coat, protecting his body. He had dark blue jeans and black boots, both just as worn as his coat. His bike was not a crotch rocket like Natalie's, but was more of a traditional bike style. Leather bags were on either side of the bike, and the sleek black color shined in the sun.

As did the large letter "R" on the side.

Seeing the "R", Ash immediately reached for his pistol on his side, opened the driver side door, and aimed his gun at the stranger. A couple ATVs also drove up to the truck's side and the PTA passengers aimed their weapons at him as well. The stranger turned, saw the massive number of rebels, and became uneasy at the number of weapons pointed at him.

"DON'T MOVE OR WE'LL SHOOT ROCKET!", Ash yelled, his gun aimed directly at the stranger's head. Just then, the front door to the lab opened up, and Brock and Tracy stepped out. Immediately, they saw the stranger standing in the middle of the road, and Ash and the rebels with their guns out. Knowing that they were in danger, they rushed down the stairs, Pokéballs at the ready. The stranger looked at Brock and Tracy approaching him, and then turned back to Ash.

"You're not Team Rocket!", the stranger yelled, as if just coming to that realization. Ash appeared perplexed by the statement himself and slightly lowered his weapon.

"...And apparently, neither are you", Ash said. The stranger shook his head.

"Honestly, I'm insulted you'd think I am...though, I guess I can't blame you", the stranger said, turning to his bike. "To be fair, I just acquired this bike and never got time to remove the "R" yet, though I did add my own feature to it". Ash took a closer look at the painted "R" on the bike. A large scratch was marked along the "R". Ash sighed, realizing that this was in fact not a Rocket.

"It's alright everyone, stand down", Ash ordered. The rebels did as they were told. Brock and Tracy, (who had just reached the bottom of the stairs), kept their hands at the ready, just in case. Ash slowly drove the truck closer to the stranger and then hopped out of the vehicle. He approached the stranger without fear, though kept at the ready in case he was tricking him for a close range attack.

"So, I take it by your hostility towards Rockets and your location, you're Ash Ketchum", the stranger said. Ash nodded.

"I am", Ash said.

"Well then, that makes this group here the PTA. Hope you know how hard it was for me to find you guys", the stranger said. Ash looked quizzical.

"And may I ask, who are you?", Ash asked. The stranger pulled the goggles off of his head and tossed them onto his bike before turning back to Ash, holding his hand out to him.

"Name's Jake, you don't need to know my last name. Between you and me, it's safer for me and my family that way", Jake said. Ash nodded and shook his hand.

"Fair enough. So Jake, what brings you to Pallet Town?", Ash asked. He realized that he was in a hurry, but his friendly personality and insisting need to help anyone he can prevented him from leaving without knowing what Jake needed that he would travel so long to find them.

"Well, to keep things short, as it looks like you and your group are in a hurry, I'm a Free Lancer, working to get rid of Team Rocket. Thought that, maybe, you could use my help", Jake said.

"A Free Lancer? Hmm, haven't worked with any of your kind recently", Ash said suspiciously. The PTA did work with Free Lancers before in their years fighting Team Rocket. Their lack of affiliation and hatred for Team Rocket made them perfect allies, as they would work for them and not give away secrets should they be captured. The bad side to this however was that they liked to do things their own way, not following the chain of command as the PTA rebels did. This often times would lead to conflict. However, they were handy in a fight, which Ash respected.

"I'm not surprised, especially given the busy work you've been doing lately", Jake stated.

"How have you heard of that?", Ash asked. Jake was proving himself more and more to potentially be a Rocket in disguise.

"News travels fast among the rebellions here in Kanto. I've worked with different rebellions before going solo, and I learned their methods and styles. I could tell from the details I got on the New Island attack via contacts that it was probably a PTA job", Jake said. Ash chuckled somewhat.

"And what? You were impressed and wanted to join?", Ash asked. Jake chuckled this time.

"Not quite. Actually, I never came down here to join, coming down here had nothing to do with New Island", Jake explained. Ash seemed confused, so Jake went on. "Well, story is, I was doing some..."work" of my own out east by Lavender Town. Attacked some Rocket recruitment stations in the area. While resting up, I overheard a conversation about some ball that was being thrown by Prof. Oak here at the lab. So, I decided that, hell, I deserved some relaxation, and a ball might be fun. So I decided to try to make it to Pallet Town for the ball". Ash nodded in response, ushering him to go on.

"I was running late, due to the number of Rocket patrols and stopping stations that increased since your last job, and stopped not far from here for gas. When I was there, I just so happened to run into a rebel from a separate group. I never worked with him personally, but I worked with his group, and knew he could be trusted. He was the one who informed me that this was a PTA only ball, and even said his daughter was in the rebellion", Jake went on. Ash immediately recognized the rebel as Adrian Cash, Aleksi's father. His story thus far was checking out. "So, knowing that I wouldn't be invited, I just stayed at a motel until today".

"Yes, well, unfortunately you probably would have not been welcomed with open arms, considering how paranoid we were. And especially given what happened", Ash explained. Jake looked on curiously. "A small group of Rockets attacked, the leader of the group blew up my house. Luckily, no rebels or friends were harmed. We managed to capture one of them as well", Ash explained. Jake seemed somewhat shocked.

"That would explain the remains of that house I passed coming into town. Glad no one got hurt", Jake said. "If I had known that you were under attack, I would have come down immediately. The rebel I ran into didn't say anything about it, so I'm assuming he didn't know either. Gotta say though...pretty ballsy hosting a ball after what you did to Team Rocket. Gotta respect that though. So, if you need me, I'm here to help", Jake said. Ash looked to him. While his story checked out, he still could not trust him entirely. Free Lancers tended to work by their own rules, and while they fought against Team Rocket, some were known to cause trouble for rebellions as well. And Ash didn't have the time to get to know Jake long enough to figure out if he could be trusted.

"Well Jake, while we could use all the help we can get, as you can imagine, I can't just let anyone join the group to help fight", Ash explained.

"Understood. Although I would only be helping you for this fight. I have no intentions on joining a rebellion ever again", Jake explained. Ash took this as no surprise. It wasn't uncommon for Free Lancers to be former members of rebellions, this was where more times than not they would learn their skills. It was clear though that Jake had some kind of bad experience with one, which did not bode well. "Tell you what, if it means anything, I'll give you all the information I can, if you need anything".

"As it is, half of the PTA is going to Veridian to put an end to Giovanni and Team Rocket. However, we believe that they in turn intend to attack our base here, so the other half are staying here to protect the town", Ash explained.

"Well then, tell you what, I'll give you the information of the roads heading into Veridian, and I'll even stay here and help protect Pallet Town, free of charge. I don't even need to go into your base, I can stay out here and fight", Jake said. Ash seemed apprehensive to the idea. The information to the roads would be very helpful to them, but at the same time, could he trust someone he just met to protect his hometown and fight alongside his friends?

"I say let him stay", Brock said. Ash and Jake turned to Brock, who along with Tracy had been quiet up till now. "I don't trust him fully either, but we can use all the help we can get. And if he causes trouble...well...I don't think he would be dumb enough to cause trouble with Team Rocket and the PTA breathing down his neck". Jake shrugged.

"He's got a point", Jake said. Ash was still worried, but trusted Brock's judgement.

"Alright then Jake, you're hired", Ash said. Jake smirked.

"Good! Alright, here's what you'll need to know. Every main road is being watched over by Rocket patrols, stopping stations, and barricades. It'll be impossible for a convoy like yours to make it through there without a fight. Luckily for you, you're already close to Veridian, so you'll avoid most of it", Jake explained. He then walked over to his bike and opened up one of the leather bags. He pulled out a folded paper and then opened it up. It was a map of the Kanto region. Ash walked over to the map as Jake pointed to it. "If I were you, I would take the long way to Veridian, going along the east coast and then enter Veridian from the right side. It's closer to the gym that way, and there's a lot less patrols. Just be careful, I can't guarantee you'll avoid fights along the way. Make sure that you take out any barricades you see quickly or else they'll warn the base". Ash nodded.

"Alright, thanks for the advice", Ash said. Jake nodded, putting his map away.

"No problem. Anything to get rid of Team Rocket. Now then, do _me _a favor, and rid this world of that filth. I would like to enjoy an early retirement after today", Jake said. Ash nodded with a smirk.

"We'll try our best", Ash said.

"Good. Now then, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to hide my bike somewheres, I don't want it getting damaged in the fight", Jake said. He then turned to Brock and Tracy. "I'll be back shortly, let me know what you want me to do when I get back", Jake said. Brock chuckled.

"I don't think so. Me and Tracy will _help you_ hide your bike, then we'll come back together", Brock said. They knew that they could not run the chance of Jake running off to alert Team Rocket if in fact he was a UC. Jake nodded, not being able to argue with their logic.

"Fair enough", Jake said. Brock then turned to Ash.

"You better get going, you've wasted enough time here as it is", Brock said. Tracy nodded.

"I agree. Don't worry, we'll hold the fort down...good luck", Tracy said. Ash nodded.

"Thanks, same to you", Ash said. He then hurried back to the truck while Jake walked his bike out of the road and out of their path. Ash started the engine and they drove off, leaving Brock, Tracy, and Jake behind. The rebels watched them as they passed, wondering if Jake could be trusted, and if they would be able to see them again. The vehicles moved down the dirt road, no longer stopping to talk. They had a mission, and little time to finish it. They knew what they had to do, and they had to do it now. As Ash drove the truck down the road, Misty turned to him.

"Ash...do you think that was a smart move?...can we trust that guy?", Misty asked. Ash sighed.

"Honestly, I don't know. But I trust Brock's judgement, and regardless if Jake joins the PTA or not, at least he's willing to help fight them off", Ash explained. Misty however was not convinced.

"I just hope you know what you're doing", Misty said. It was not that Misty did not trust Ash, or his judgement. He never steered any of them wrong before, and he always thought best for the rebellion and his friends. But, with everything on the line, and the fight of their lives fast approaching, was Ash beginning to lose his grip? Misty didn't know, and that's what worried her. Ash looked out his driver side window, deep in thought. Before he knew it, he was passing his home, or rather, what was once his home. The flames had now died down, though smoke was still floating gently in the air in different parts of the remains. Pieces of debris were still scattered this way and that. The walls and structure of the house that remained standing looked like a grim reminder of what could be, or, what might be. It sent chills down Ash's spine as he passed it.

"I do too Mist...", Ash replied, continuing his way. They soon made it up the same hill where they had seen Natalie just last night. When they reached the top, they overlooked the horizon. The sun was directly in front of them, shining brightly over the land of Kanto. The ground by this time was almost completely dry from the storm last night, only a few remains of it were to be seen. Ash couldn't help but chuckle to himself at the symbolism. It almost seemed too perfect. The sun rising, signaling a new day, a change. He didn't know if this was some sign from a higher being, or if he was merely over thinking everything. Regardless, he didn't let it get to him. He continued on his way, leading the rest of the PTA into battle.

In the other vehicles, the rebels began to get a little nervous. The stop they made to talk to Jake only allowed them more time to think, and that was time they wish they never had. It was finally beginning to sink into them, that this may be the last day they ever live. Their friends, their lovers, their acquaintances, even them themselves, could very well perish today. It was unsettling to say the least. Their hearts raced they felt shivers travel along their bodies. Despite the warm weather they felt cold, but at the same time, hot. Some felt like they would throw up at any moment, while others thought that they might faint. But they carried on still, knowing that they didn't have a choice.

Not if they wanted freedom.

They had to fight, they had to _win._ If they didn't, then no one else would. After everything that the PTA had done up until this point, if they lost here, then people would lose all hope. They would think that, if the PTA couldn't bring them down, no one would. Team Rocket would finally crush that last bit of hope and have an iron grip on the world. Rebellions would still fight, but not to the power or the extent that they had. There was more to this fight than just _their _lives, no. This fight had the lives of the entire world riding on it. They could not lose.

Sitting in the back of one of the large trucks, looking down at her feet, was Caitlin. She had long changed out of her blue dress from the ball, (though part of her wished that she could still be wearing it). She now wore a white tank-top with pink stripes going across horizontally, and jean shorts with a light brown belt and black sneakers. Her hair was no longer done up, but was now let down in a fishtail. She also kept on her lucky Pichu earrings, hoping that they would help. She nervously held her hands together, gripping them so tightly that they turned white from the lack of blood flow. Gary, who was sitting in the truck with her, noticed this.

"Nervous?", Gary asked. He asked this quietly, as he did not want to get the attention of everyone in the truck. Most people were silent, too nervous to speak, and he didn't feel like becoming a psychologist for all of them. Caitlin was the youngest there, and clearly the most nervous, she needed the help the most. Caitlin looked up to Gary for a moment, then sighed.

"Yeah, I guess so", Caitlin said. Gary moved over closer to the young girl. "I...I've never gone out on a field mission before. At least, not like this. I'm relatively new to the PTA, and I've only ever done one minor UC mission. I never did any actual fighting...I'm scared", Caitlin explained. Gary nodded. He understood what she was going through. He has seen it all too much. Usually the PTA would assign small missions to new recruits to "break them in", only giving them harder missions when they have become more acquainted to their cause. However, due to the last week of events, many rebels were thrown into battles they weren't nearly as prepared for as they could have been.

"I don't mean to be scared. Honestly. It's just...I don't know what to do. I feel like I can't compete nearly as well as the others. I'm not the best Pokémon trainer, I don't have any skills with weapons. I just...don't know how good I'll be. And that could get me killed", Caitlin explained. Gary shook his head.

"You can't have that mentality. Everyone here has their own particular set of skills. No one is exactly the same, and it's that difference in talent that gives us an edge", Gary said. Caitlin looked at him, uncertain of what he meant. "Team Rocket trains their recruits nearly all the same. Sure there's variety, but it's not extensive. You ever notice how many Rockets have the same Pokémon? It's easier for them to train them that way. They may have numbers, but that doesn't mean they have the advantage. Us, the PTA, we have variation. We have trainers, computer hackers, fighters, brainiacs, UCs, we have everything. So you shouldn't worry about not having a skill in something you think is more useful, because everything is useful...see what I mean?".

"...Yeah...I do. But that's not going to help me when I'm in a pinch now is it?", Caitlin asked. Gary smirked.

"Well, that's what you have your lucky earrings for isn't it?", Gary asked. Caitlin couldn't help but giggle at this remark. Gary smirked, knowing that he had made her at least a little at ease. Though truth be told, he himself was just as restless and nervous as everyone else. He was aware of the dangers of going into this mission, and the odds of their survival. He was a scientist, numbers and percentages were a part of what he did for a living. It was a curse to him in this case. He looked throughout the interior of the jeep. There were thirteen people in total. He crunched the numbers, and figured that about half of them would survive.

If they were lucky.

He rubbed his temple, cursing himself for thinking the way he did. But, at this point in time, it was more habit than anything. He turned back over and looked to Caitlin. She was clearly still nervous, but at better spirits than before. Gary sighed slightly. At least he managed to calm someone down. He then looked to everyone else. They were all about his age, perhaps slightly younger. The oldest people in the PTA were probably in their early thirties, and that was merely a guess. The average age for PTA rebels was roughly eighteen to twenty-two. Gary still found it hard to believe that they were made up of such young soldiers.

There was no age restriction to speak of in the PTA. Angel was proof of that. While she was most likely the youngest member in the PTA, there were still plenty of people only slightly older than her as well. Gary was thankful that only the main base was involved in this fight. A large number when looked at as a group, but small compared to the number of rebels they had in the PTA all over the regions. That being said, there were still young trainers with them, more than there should be. Any loss would be unbearable, but to lose people who were too young to even remember life without Team Rocket control...it was unthinkable.

Gary sighed again. He had to make sure that, if anyone were to survive, it would be the youngest members. He would work to make sure that everyone would make it out of this battle alive, but being a man of science and facts, he knew that this was wishful thinking. He had to protect as many as he could, but he had to prioritize the youngest, to give them a better chance at life.

Sitting in another jeep, more towards the back of the line of rebel vehicles, were Mathinza, Dawn, and their squad. They were mixed in with members of the assault squad since their group was small. Their vehicle contained more supplies than people, (this being because the EMP took up an entire vehicle alone, and many rebels couldn't carry all of their items in with them). Mathinza sat at the end of the jeep, his gun out at the ready should they be attacked from the back. He listened as the ATVs and other smaller vehicles drove around them, making sure that they were protected. Dawn meanwhile sat closer to the passenger compartment of the front. Sitting next to her was Darrel, who was discussing possible plans with her for attack.

"What do you think if we were to flank them from the sides, while keeping our main assault at the front here?", Darrel asked, holding a smaller version of the base map made from the memory card given to them by Aleksi's father.

"That would work. Just remember, the first three levels of the base are all for show. The real targets will be underground. So eventually, you'll have to make your way through the building in tight corridors", Dawn said. Darrel nodded.

"Right, so we'll probably start the descent with an assault of Pokémon attacks, then move forward when they're taking cover", Darrel noted. Dawn nodded.

"Good thinking", Dawn said. Suddenly, the jeep hit a slight bump in the road. The group of rebels bounced up slightly from the unexpected bounce, but recovered soon enough. However, after hitting the ground, someone yelled a muffled "Ow!". The group of rebels all turned and looked at each other, wondering who it was that said this. Mathinza turned and looked to a pile of dark green covers, (used as spares for the canopy of the back of the jeep), where the sound came from. He and two other rebels who were beside him aimed their weapons at the pile, uncertain of who was hiding underneath them. The entire jeep tensed up as slowly, Mathinza moved forward, and pulled the covers to reveal...

Max.

"Uh...hi?", Max said. The rebels eased a little, seeing that they were not in danger. Mathinza put his gun down and looked at Max in frustration.

"Dammit Max! What are you doing here!? You're supposed to be stationed at the base aye!?", Mathinza said, scolding the young teen. Max got up from his hiding spot, fixing his glasses, and looking at the rebels in a begging manner.

"But I _had _to come! I can't just sit around doing nothing while everyone else is fighting! This is my last chance to help you guys!", Max explained. Dawn sighed heavily, disappointed in the fellow original member, and got up to approach him.

"Max, please tell me this isn't just about getting in on the action. I know teenagers like you want to get into a fight like this just because you think it's cool. This isn't "cool" Max, this is life or death. We're fighting for peace and freedom, not for bragging rights", Dawn explained. Max, somewhat frustrated, stood up from his hiding spot.

"I know that!", Max said. Dawn sighed.

"Then why did you come? You know as well as I do that the base in Pallet could very well be attacked. Your _sister _is there Max, and she could have used your help", Dawn explained. Max looked at Dawn for a while, uncertain of how to answer. While he did originally want to just help everyone the best he could, he did think that some bragging rights would be cool, and being a young teenager, what's cooler than being in a fight? He looked down, disappointed in himself.

"I'm...I'm sorry", Max said. He then looked up to Dawn. "I know I should have stayed, and you're right, maybe I do want some glory. But you have to believe me when I tell you that I also want to help. I'm no fool Dawn, I know the implications this battle will have, victory is a must for us. And if I am able to help achieve that victory in any way I can, then you bet I'm going to". Dawn looked annoyed at the stubborn teen in front of her, but at the same time, was also proud. She knew that Max was, out of all the original members, the least prepared for any battle. He was young and still immature in many ways. While Dawn was not much older in retrospect, she had matured much faster in becoming a region leader and fighting Team Rocket in Sinnoh. She was like Max once, and she was glad to see that Max was finally becoming of age, even if it was not the best, nor safest, way to do so.

"...Alright", Dawn said. Mathinza sat down onto his seat, his gun at his side, and looked at Dawn.

"So, what now? It's too late to turn around and drop him off. He'll have to fight now", Mathinza said. He was not fond of the idea of letting Max fight. He was young, and inexperienced on the field. He didn't like Angel fighting either, but at least she had proven her skills in battle, and she of course had her parents to save.

"I know. So...he'll just have to join our group", Dawn said. Mathinza had mixed feelings over the matter, but did not argue against his leader. "However...". Dawn turned back to Max, pulling something off her side, which was soon revealed to be her Pokénav. "_You'll _have to call up May and let her know what you did". Max gulped in nervousness. While he knew that he would have to admit to her what he did eventually, he had hoped it wouldn't be until after the fight. However, he knew that he had to do it. And so, he reached forward and took the Pokénav from Dawn. With his heart beating in his chest, he clicked the buttons that would connect him to May. It only took a matter of seconds before May's face appeared on the screen. As soon as she saw Max's face, she gasped.

"MAX! WHAT ARE YOU DOING ON DAWN'S POKENAV!? YOU'RE HEADING TO VERIDIAN!?", May yelled into the Pokénav. There was a voice from off-screen, which May turned to face. Though it was slightly muffled due to distance, Max assumed it was Drew. "No, he's on the jeeps heading to Veridian!", May said to the voice. She then turned back to Max.

"I'm sorry May! I just...I had to do it! I needed to help the others, and I can't do that just sitting around like I always do!", Max said. May huffed angrily.

"MAX! THIS ISN'T A MATTER OF PRIDE! THIS IS FOR FREEDOM! DAMMIT MAX, THINK ABOUT MOM AND DAD! DO YOU THINK I'LL BE ABLE TO FACE THEM IF YOU LEFT UNDER MY WATCH AND GOT KILLED!?", May yelled. She was frustrated with her brother, as an older sister would be. Max understood her anger, but was also frustrated himself.

"MAY I KNOW THIS ISN'T ABOUT PRIDE! I'M DOING THIS TO HELP MY FRIENDS!", Max yelled. Eventually, Dawn reached over and took the Pokénav from Max. She had wanted Max to calmly explain to her what he had done, not get into a quarrel. She however should have guessed that the two siblings would bicker. She then began to speak to May, who was clearly emotional over the ordeal. She looked angry, but also terrified. Tears looked like they could fall at any moment. The red on her face caused the green on her bandanna to stand out more, and her orange vest to nearly blend in.

"May, it's Dawn", Dawn said. May tried to recollect herself for the conversation, but found it difficult.

"Dawn, listen. I...", May said. Dawn smiled and shook her head.

"Don't worry, I'll watch over him. I won't let anything bad happen to him", Dawn said. May looked at Dawn for a while. The two had been friends for many years now, even before the war had started. But despite this, May wouldn't normally give Dawn such a heavy burden. However, she didn't have a choice in the matter. Max was with them, and he would stay with them until the fighting was over.

"...Thank you. I wouldn't put so much on you normally, you know that. Just...please...make sure he stays safe", May asked. Dawn smiled reassuringly. Mathinza, who couldn't help but overhear the conversation, nodded.

"Don't worry May", Mathinza said. Dawn turned to look at Mathinza, and then aimed the Pokénav towards him so that May could see him as well. "I'll keep my eyes on him too. He'll be safe". May nodded with a smile, relieved.

"Thank you Mathinza, I appreciate it...and you too Dawn. I owe you big time", May said. Dawn turned the screen back to her and smiled.

"Don't worry about it, that's what friends are for. We'll all see you when the fight's over", Dawn explained. May nodded back.

"Ok. Thank you. See you all soon", May said. With that, the connection ended. Dawn put her Pokénav away and then turned back to Max. He was still flustered somewhat from the conversation, but it was clear that he was calming down.

"...Thanks", Max said. Dawn merely nodded back. She then took her seat back next to Darrel. Max stood still for some time, as if he was lost in thought. But the truth was, he felt awkward now. He had not only been embarrassed by the PTA for being caught sneaking with them to battle, but he got in a fight with his sister in front of everyone. To him, he felt weak and embarrassed, not tough at all. Though this was merely over thinking on his teen mind; the others did not even think of such things.

"Hey, you going to sit down or what?", Mathinza asked, seeing Max still standing. Max snapped out of his train of thought and looked to Mathinza.

"Oh, oh yeah, sure", Max said. But before he could make his way over to the bench beside Mathinza, the jeep suddenly made a quick stop. Max swayed back and forth trying to catch himself before ultimately losing his balance and falling backwards onto the spare canopy for the jeep. The others looked at one another in confusion, wondering why they had stopped so suddenly. Now worried, Mathinza fixed his hat on his head, grabbed his gun, and walked over towards the right side of the jeep, (close to where Max had fallen). He leaned over the back-end and looked out towards the front of the jeep carefully. There was a moment of silence from him before the others began to question what he was seeing.

"Mathinza...what is it?", Dawn asked.

"...I hope you're prepared to fight Max...", Mathinza said. Max looked up from his spot on the covers as Mathinza slowly turned his head towards the inside of the jeep. "...because we're about to have our first one".

**DUM DUM DUM! Bit of a cliff hanger there to leave you excited for more. But you all should be more than used to that from me by now huh? "With Max now a part of their gang, will they be able to protect him from Team Rocket? Are they ready to fight for their lives? What danger now presents itself to the PTA? Find out next time on EVAN AAML's "R"!". Now then, if you don't mind, I am going to rest, as I finished writing the second half of this chapter with a bit of a headache. XD Please be sure to F.A.R., and to check out my Twitter account for updates and news! Until next time, this is EVAN AAML, signing off!**

**sincerely,  
evan, a fan of aaml -EVAN AAML**


	85. Chapter 85

**Woohoo! They brought the bigger font size back! :D Now I can actually READ what I'm typing! A quick note, a reminder to those under Guest, I cannot reply to your reviews, so if you ask me questions, I cannot reply. But to answer the question I was asked by an anonymous reviewer, a UC is an Under Cover. Ok, so last chapter, I left you all hanging with a bit of a cliffie, what a shock there huh? So, let's not delay any longer and get right into the story. **

**-EVAN AAML**

All of the vehicles stopped abruptly. Many rebels were unprepared for the sudden halt and lost their balance in the vehicles they were in. Immediately thinking that they were under attack, they readied their weapons and prepared themselves for battle. Ash and Misty in the front truck looked on in worry and even some fear. Ahead of them was a small blockade. Several Rockets were stationed there, watching them. One was inside of a small building that was built on the side of the road, while everyone else was standing outside near a road block or the building itself. They looked as though as they were expecting them, even smiling as they stared them down.

The rebels on the ATVs immediately positioned themselves along the line of PTA vehicles and aimed their weapons down at the Rockets. They didn't look the slightest bit worried, although they raised their hands in the air, as if giving up almost immediately. For a while, the two groups just kept their eyes on each other. The Rockets did nothing to attack, or even warn the base. They just all stood there, their hands in the air almost carelessly. It was as if they had rehearsed the same thing a million times over and were in fact bored with it.

It worried the rebels.

"I don't like this", Ash said. Misty nodded.

"Neither do I. They were obviously waiting for us, so why give up so easily? And why not have more numbers?", Misty asked. However, knowing that they needed to get passed the Rockets to head to Veridian, Ash stepped out of the car. He aimed a pistol at the Rockets while many rebels aimed weapons of their own out from the windows of the vehicles they were in.

"Stand down and you won't be fired upon", Ash ordered the Rockets. The Rockets merely smirked. From inside one of the jeeps, Evan and Aleksi looked out towards the blockade with worry.

"This is too easy. They have something planned", Evan said. Aleksi nodded.

"I agree. I've had my eyes on the Rocket inside the booth. He has yet to radio anyone. They were clearly waiting for us, so why not call for backup? I think this is a trap", Aleksi said.

"We better get out there and help then", Evan said, pulling his Intervention out and pulling the bolt back. Aleksi grabbed her pistol and put a bullet into the chamber.

"Wait, let me come out and help too", Angel said. Evan turned to her.

"No, you stay here. If this _is _a trap, we'll need you safe", Evan said. He then hopped out of the jeep. Aleksi turned and looked at Angel, putting her hands on her shoulders for reassurance.

"We just don't want you getting hurt. Stay here for now. If we need you, we'll call. If things get ugly, we'll need you to lead an evac, ok?", Aleksi said. Angel looked disheartened, but nodded. Aleksi did the same, and then hopped out of the vehicle. Angel was left inside with the other rebels, including Ryoto, (who was prepared for a fight, but stayed put), Lyla, and Milo. The group was nervous, but remained where they were. Evan and Aleksi approached the front of the vehicles, along with a few other rebels as Ash continued to look down at the Rockets.

"I won't warn you again, stand down!", Ash said. The Rockets did nothing to lament being shot at, but also refused to get on the ground. They just kept on smiling, their hands in the air.

"We were told you might be arriving down here", one of the Rockets said. He looked about Ash's age and wore the typical Rocket grunt uniform, as did the other Rockets. It was rare for anyone higher ranked than a grunt to work road blocks.

"Who told you?", Ash asked. The Rocket chuckled.

"Natalie, I think you've met", the Rocket said. Ash growled at the name. "Yeah, she told us to keep an eye out for you guys. Said that you would probably do something stupid. Even said not to bother alerting the base, it wouldn't need to be done". Ash became worried at these words. Team Rocket were by no means stupid. Even a rookie grunt with little training would know to radio the main base if they caught wind of a group like them approaching town. They would never risk taking on a group this large on their own...unless they had a trap set. The Rocket who had been talking up till now carefully looked at a wrist watch he had on with a smile.

"Yep...you're all going to die in about...well...now", the Rocket said with a smile. Suddenly, the ground began to shake. Ash and the rebels tried to keep their balance as the dirt road beneath them seemed to move.

"THEY TRICKED US! THEY HAVE GROUND POKEMON TRYING TO CAVE US IN!", Misty yelled from inside the truck. She then immediately hopped out. From inside the truck, Angel and the others looked on in horror.

"They're gonna fuckin' bury us!", Milo yelled.

"We need to get away from the vehicles, NOW!", Ryoto yelled. Just as the rebels were about to move, Angel stopped them.

"Wait!", Angel said. The rebels looked at her confused, but did as she said.

"What? Angel, we need to get moving!", Ryoto said. Lyla however looked at the little girl in curiosity. She did not know Angel well, and in fact had barely talked to her at the ball. However, she walked over and bent down to Angel's level, looking her in the eyes.

"You have a plan...don't you?", Lyla said. Angel smirked and nodded. She quickly pulled out a Pokéball from her belt and opened it. Soon, a relatively large purple Pokémon popped out. A Gengar. It gleamed at the rebels with its traditional creepy smile.

"Gengar? I thought your only Pokémon was Ledyba?", Milo said. Angel turned to Milo.

"This is Jeremy's Gengar. When I went to get Ledyba checked on, I found the Pokéballs of the rebels who didn't survive New Island. I was told that one Pokémon wouldn't be enough, so I borrowed Gengar, and Jonny's Seviper", Angel explained. She then turned to Gengar. "Listen Gengar, I need your help". Gengar nodded. "We're being attacked from under ground by ground-type Pokémon. Can you go through the ground and take care of them? Hurry!". With a simple nod, Gengar phased through the jeep and into the Earth below. Everyone waited in anticipation to see what would happen.

The ground continued to shake violently for a few seconds, (causing some panic in the vehicles as many rebels jumped out for fear of being buried alive), but eventually, the shaking stopped altogether. There was a long pause as everyone stood still, wondering what had happened. From outside, Ash and the others kept on their feet, thinking it was another trick. Unbeknownst to them, Gengar phased back through the truck and gleamed. Angel smiled as the others sighed in relief.

"That was quick! Thank you Gengar!", Angel said. Gengar chuckled. Angel then quickly returned Gengar. The Rocket grunts looked around in concern. The attack was not meant to stop. They looked to each other, uncertain of what to do now. Ash and the others, realizing that the attack had stopped, brought their attention back to the Rockets.

"So then...about you standing down", Ash said. The Rockets became nervous. It was clear that they were banking on their trap to work. From inside the booth, one of the Rocket grunts eyed down the telephone as he stood with his hands in the air. All he had to do was pick up the phone and press a single button that would direct him to the base in Veridian. It was just a matter of having time to make the call. With sweat rolling down his face and his heart pacing, he quickly reached for the phone.

A gun shot stopped it.

Before the Rocket could press the button, a bullet had blasted through the glass window, striking him in his right side. He fell to the ground, dead on the spot. Everyone had ducked from the gun shot and then turned to see Evan, who was still standing; his rifle aimed towards the booth. A small trail of smoke left the barrel of the gun before eventually fading away. Evan exhaled and lowered his rifle. He had been watching the Rocket for a while now, suspecting that he would make a call. The other Rockets turned and looked at their fallen ally in shock, horror spreading across their face. They knew now what kind of trouble they were in.

Aleksi stepped forward passed Evan, pulling a Pokéball off from her belt. She turned and looked to Evan.

"Let's do this more quietly", Aleksi said. Evan nodded in agreement. Had it not been urgent to stop the Rocket immediately, he would have never fired the shot and risked giving away their location. A handgun would be quiet enough, but a gun as big as the Intervention could be heard from a distance. Aleksi threw her Pokéball into the air. "Go Vileplume! Stun Spore!". The ball burst open and the large flower Pokémon appeared. Without hesitation, it shook its head towards the Rockets and launched a cloud of orange powder. One of the Rockets turned and tried to run while the others stood in shock. However, even the running Rocket could not escape the attack.

The entire group of grunts immediately became paralyzed and fell to the ground, unable to move. They involuntarily twitched here and there, but nothing more. The rebels all sighed, being relieved that they were able to avoid a fight.

"Good job you two", Ash said to Evan and Aleksi. They nodded.

"But what happened back there? I thought for sure we would be buried", Misty said.

"I can explain that", someone called out. Ash and the rebels turned to see Lyla approaching them. She had stepped out of the jeep when she heard the gun shot. "Angel used a Gengar she borrowed from a fallen rebel and it stopped the Pokémon by phasing through the ground".

"Very creative, that's something I'd expect from you Ash", Misty joked. Ash chuckled sheepishly, but soon got back to business.

"Alright, let's move the Rockets away, take what we can, and head out. I don't know if anyone heard that gun shot, but if they did we can't stay here", Ash explained. Everyone nodded. Ash, Misty, Aleksi, Evan, Lyla, and a couple other rebels from the ATVs then walked over and began dragging the paralyzed Rockets away from the road. They didn't bother moving the dead Rocket in the toll booth, it would be too messy and he was hidden enough. Within a few minutes, the Rockets were placed on the side of the road near their personal jeep and their weapons taken. When the job was done, Aleksi turned to the gang.

"Ok, shall we get going?", Aleksi asked. As the other nodded in agreement, from behind them, someone was stirring. One of the Rockets, the one who had tried to run away from the Stun Spore, was beginning to move. He was in pain and gritted his teeth with every muscle he moved, but he did it. Because he tried to run, he was able to avoid the majority of the spores, thereby retaining some mobility; though limited. He turned his head to the rebels, who were not paying attention. They thought that they were all still paralyzed. The Rocket, knowing that the rebels had removed his machine gun and Uzi, went instead for a knife sheathed on his belt. As quietly as he could, he pulled the blade out and crawled over towards the closest rebel to him.

Aleksi.

The rebels were too busy talking, debating whether they should move the Rockets more or not. They did not suspect one of them was inching his way to them. He was within a foot of her before he began to make his move. He knew that if he took too long getting up, he would be spotted before being able to attack. He had to do it all in one move. It would be sloppy, but it would work. With his knife in his hand, he quickly used all the energy he could to shoot up. With her back to him, Aleksi did not notice the Rocket lunging at her. Evan however, did. In panic, he quickly lunged forward himself and pushed Aleksi away. He threw a fist into the Rocket's face, then followed with a hard kick to the gut. The Rocket, still injured from the Stun Spore, fell backwards onto the dirt. Evan then quickly pulled out his Desert Eagle and pulled the firing pin back.

The air was thick and silent. It had all happened so fast that the others were still registering what had happened. Aleksi turned and looked at Evan, who did nothing but keep his eyes and gun on the Rocket. The Rocket himself looked genuinely shocked at the sudden turn of events, but eventually smirked. He slowly reached for his knife, (which had fallen by his side), as he kept his eyes on Evan.

"You won't do it...I know you won't", the Rocket said through gritted teeth. It was hard for him to talk due to the spores in his throat. Soon, a foam-like substance began to slowly creep its way out of his mouth. Evan noticed this. "...you don't have the".

The Rocket was silenced with a bullet to the chest.

Everyone jumped somewhat at the unexpected shot. Evan stood still for a moment or two, staring down at the now dead Rocket before him. The hole was relatively large even for a high-caliber pistol like his due to the close range. Blood began to slide out from under the body and down the small hill to the grass. The Rocket's eyes were wide open, the shock forever fixated on his face. Eventually, Evan placed his pistol back onto his belt and turned to face the shocked rebels.

"I've lost one loved one to Team Rocket...I won't lose another one", Evan said. He spoke these words with authority, but also with some anger. Aleksi became worried. While she believed that Evan killed the Rocket to protect her, she felt that he didn't have to. Had he fried the shot because the Rocket said he wouldn't? She hoped that wasn't the case.

Only Rockets kill for pride.

Aleksi however soon shook the thought out of her head. Of course Evan wouldn't kill for that reason. She knew Evan, she loved Evan. And she knew that he wouldn't do something like that. Ash could only nod to Evan in response. While he also did not think shooting the Rocket was necessary, he didn't blame Evan for taking the extra measure to protect Aleksi. Had he been in his shoes, and Misty's life on the line, he might have done the same thing.

"Alright...let's get moving", Ash said. The group made their way back to the vehicles in a hurry. The rebels on the ATVs, seeing their group ready to head out, revved their engines and motioned for the others to get ready. Evan, Aleksi, and Lyla made their way back into the back of the jeep, where Angel and the others were waiting for them. They had heard the gun shot, but were not certain of what had happened. Angel approached the trio.

"What happened out there? We heard a gun shot, is everyone alright?", Angel asked. Evan, who had kept quiet for some time after he shot the Rocket, turned and looked at Angel. She looked up to him with curiosity and worry in her eyes. Evan reached over and put his hand on top of the girl's head and smiled.

"Nothing you need to worry about, we're all fine. Great job on protecting the convoy there Angel, we're all really proud of you", Evan said. Angel smiled, though she could tell that Evan was hiding something. Evan then walked over towards the end of the jeep, placing his rifle down beside him. Ryoto looked at Evan, knowing that there was something more to it than that. He could tell that something had happened, and put two and two together. However, he kept it to himself. Milo was not fully aware of the situation either, but didn't want to get involved. Aleksi looked worried, but knew that Evan would be alright. She looked over to Angel.

"He'll be fine", Aleksi said quietly, knowing that Angel was worried. She then walked over to her spot, which was across from Evan. Angel remained standing as the vehicle began to move. Lyla could tell that Angel was still curious, and so ushered her over to the bench. The two sat down on the bench close to Aleksi. Lyla looked over to Evan, and then to Aleksi. She was not trying to be secretive per say, but was not certain if they would be upset over her talking about what happened. Angel looked at her, growing more and more curious and concerned. Lyla looked down at Angel and smiled.

"Sorry to keep you worried like this Angel", Lyla said quietly. She was not whispering, as the noise of the vehicles moving would muffle out the noise. But she made sure to be quiet enough so as to not be overheard.

"What's going on?", Angel asked.

"Well...when we were out there, Aleksi used Vileplume's Stun Spore to paralyze the Rockets. We dragged them away from the road, but...one of them was not fully paralyzed. He went for a knife and tried to attack Aleksi. Evan saved her...but he shot the Rocket when he was down", Lyla said. Angel looked stunned at the revelation. It was not that Evan had killed a Rocket to protect Aleksi that shocked her, as all the rebels would kill a Rocket in that situation. However, the fact that he shot the grunt when he was down was not something Evan would do.

"He...shot him when he was down?", Angel asked, turning and looking over to Evan. It was clear that he was lost in thought.

"Yes...the Rocket was going for his knife again...but he wasn't really a threat. I...I think he might have done it...because the Rocket said he wouldn't", Lyla explained.

"What do you mean?", Angel asked.

"When Evan had the gun aimed at him, the Rocket said that he wouldn't do it, that he didn't have the guts to. I think, Evan wanted to prove him wrong", Lyla said. She did not know Evan, and so did not know how he was as a person. For all she knew, this was something typical of him. Angel's reaction to the news however said otherwise.

Angel continued to look at Evan in disbelief. Had he really killed someone just because he was "dared to"? The Rocket almost killed Aleksi, so it was understandable that Evan would go the extra length to make sure she was safe. But Angel knew that Evan had a sense of honor. He wouldn't kill an opponent when he was down...would he?

Lyla felt bad for making Angel upset. It was clear that she looked up to Evan, and this was a blow to her view of him. Angel suddenly got up from her seat, which caught not only Lyla's attention, but the attention of several of the rebels in the jeep. She walked over and approached Evan, which concerned Aleksi. Evan turned and looked at Angel, who stood there, staring at him. He could tell that she knew now, but acted oblivious.

"Hey Angel, what's up?", Evan asked with a smile.

"Why'd you do it?", Angel asked, no such smile across her face. She was not angry per say, but more like a mother scorning a bad child. She was disappointed, which upset Evan more. He sighed as he re-positioned himself.

"Angel, listen", Evan said. Angel interrupted him.

"No!", Angel yelled. Evan looked at Angel in shock, as did many of the rebels. "Evan...just answer me...why did you kill him...when he was down? And don't you DARE tell me it was because he said you wouldn't!", Angel said, her face beginning to turn red in frustration. Aleksi looked on in worry, uncertain of what to do. Lyla immediately felt guilty for starting this incident. Ryoto, Milo, and the other rebels looked on, wondering exactly what had happened. Evan stared at Angel for a moment or two, just looking at her, not saying a word. She was upset, and she wanted answers. Eventually, Evan sighed.

"Angel...I did it...because it was for the best", Evan said. Angel looked at Evan in anger and confusion.

"For the best? He didn't HAVE to die Evan! He wasn't a threat! You took him down, you could have left it at that!", Angel said. Evan kept calm as Angel yelled at him. He knew that Angel was upset because she didn't want to believe that Evan had killed someone when he didn't have to. She was a kid, he couldn't hold it against her. Eventually, he spoke.

"Angel...he was going to die anyway", Evan said. Angel looked at Evan with skepticism. Even the other rebels looked at Evan with confusion. "I will admit, the main reason why I did what I did was so that he would not be able to harm Aleksi or anyone else again. However, when he was talking to me, I saw something. He was foaming at the mouth. I've seen it before when working at the Safari Zone. He had an allergic reaction to the Stun Spore. Unlike say, Sleep or Poison Powder, Stun Spore can lead to severe allergic reactions. It's not exactly common in humans, but it can be deadly. That Rocket ran away from the attack because he knew that he was allergic. He had a reaction to the attack, and he would have died a slow painful death had I not ended his misery", Evan explained calmly.

Angel didn't know what else to say. Evan had remained calm the entire time because he knew the truth. He knew that what he had done was right after all. Angel felt terrible, having called him out the way she did. The guilt was beginning to make her feel sad, which Evan caught. He smiled and reached over, giving Angel a hug. She wrapped her arms around him immediately.

"I'm sorry Evan...I didn't know", Angel said.

"It's alright, I know you didn't. I'm not mad", Evan said. Watching this, Lyla sighed. She was glad that Angel felt better, and that everything worked out in the end. Aleksi looked at the two with a smile, happy to see them like that. She didn't believe that Evan would kill a Rocket like that for no reason other than being called out. She was worried, but she knew that the Evan she fell in love with wouldn't do that. Eventually, Evan and Angel broke the hug and began to causally talk about how Angel had saved the group with Gengar.

As the vehicles moved on out, everyone began to become more nervous. The last stop was minor, but only proved to make the rebels more tense. They felt the same on the way to New Island, but due to their misunderstanding of how secure the base was there, they went in with higher hopes than now. This time, it would be completely different. This time, they'd be lucky to survive, let alone win.

In one of the vehicles, another large jeep, the rebels remained silent. While some cars had their passengers chatting away to pass the time and make themselves more comfortable, this one was as silent as the grave.

Perhaps an example too fitting for the situation.

In the back of this jeep were rebels such as Riles and Michael. They were to join Brian, (who sat across from the two), in planting the bomb and being a distraction. A job they did not take lightly. They knew that there was a good chance that they would not survive; this was part of the reason why they were so quiet. Riles spent the entire time praying, something that the rebels were not surprised about. He read from his small little bible to himself, barely being audible to Michael and the others. Michael meanwhile merely kept to himself, holding onto one of his throwing knives and examining it closely to distract himself. The gleam of the metal from the little light that came in from the back caused him to flinch a little. He knew that he was pre-occupying himself, and eventually looked across to Brian.

"So when we get out of the jeep, we'll just have your Onix dig a hole and drag the EMP underground until we get under the base?", Michael asked. He knew of the plan, but was really just making small talk. Brian nodded.

"That's the plan. Then I'll set the timer on the bomb, then we dig our way through their basement and give them a little surprise. Hopefully by then the EMP will go off, but if not, I have a detonator on me and I'll activate it myself", Brian explained. Michael nodded.

"Right...then we just...hehe, try to survive...right?", Michael asked. Brian felt bad for making the sixteen year old nervous, but could see no other way around it. He chuckled lightly himself, trying to make it sound like a joke.

"...Yeah...pretty much", Brian answered. Michael then turned to Riles.

"So what about you Riles...you ready to do this?", Michael asked. Riles looked up from his book and smiled, though his nerves could easily be distinguished.

"Yeah...I guess so", Riles said. Michael felt bad. Here he was, just a sixteen year old boy, going into what he considered to be a suicide mission, but it was the older teen next to him that was the most nervous over the whole situation.

"Little bit nervous huh...I don't blame you...I am too", Michael said. Riles looked away for a moment, then turned back to Michael with a smile on his face.

"Though an army encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; though war arise against me, yet I will be confident", Riles said. Brian smiled upon hearing the verse. Michael did the same. While he never considered himself to be the religious type, he felt that it was inspiring, something they all desperately needed right then.

"Leave it to Riles to get our morale up with a bible verse", Brian said. Riles blushed somewhat at the compliment.

"Yeah, and we could definitely use that now", Michael said. Upon saying that, the air became thick with tension. Questions began to swirl in the minds of the rebels. Would be able to stop fighting after today? Would this fight actually put Team Rocket down for good? Would they be able to enjoy peace? Would they even survive the day? Michael immediately regretted saying the comment, knowing that tensions were high as they were. For a while, no one else spoke. The rebels merely sat in the back of the jeep as the vehicle rolled down the dirt road.

Towards the back of the jeep sat a younger rebel. He was leaning forward, his head being supported by his arms, which were resting on his legs. He kept quiet for most of the ride, but then, suddenly, he began to softly whisper the words of a little tune. Because he whispered it, it was inaudible due to the jeep driving. "Glory, glory hallelujah. Glory, glory hallelujah. Glory, glory hallelujah. His truth is marching on", the boy whispered. Suddenly, he felt slightly empowered. While it was not much, it was at least enough to get him to begin to sing it quietly.

_Glory, glory hallelujah.  
Glory, glory hallelujah.  
Glory, glory hallelujah.  
His truth is marching on._

The rebels who sat near the young teen began to hear the tune. They looked at each other, almost incredulously, and began to sing along. They didn't know if they did because they liked the song, if they wanted to lift the spirits of the others up, or if they genuinely thought that this would be the last time they'd ever get to do something like this; but they did it anyway.

_Glory, glory hallelujah.  
__Glory, glory hallelujah.  
__Glory, glory hallelujah.  
__His truth is marching on._

Soon, everyone on the jeep began to hear the tune. They sang louder, this time to that everyone could hear them. For whatever reason, they smiled, laughed, and even put an arm around each other in a jolly fashion as they sang along.

_Glory, glory hallelujah!  
__Glory, glory hallelujah!  
__Glory, glory hallelujah!  
__Our God is marching on!_

The rebels sang for a few more minutes, feeling jolly and even uplifted. However, soon, the song ended when the jeep suddenly came to a halt. The rebels all immediately reached for their weapons and became tense once more, thinking that they were possibly under attack once again. Suddenly, the rebels heard the sound of knocking coming from the driver's compartment. This was the signal.

They had arrived.

At the front of the line, Ash and Misty hopped out of the truck and immediately made their way to the other vehicles, making sure that the rebels were preparing. Soon, rebels exited the vans, trucks, jeeps, ATVs, or other vehicles they were riding and made themselves ready. Brian immediately hopped out of his jeep and began work on carefully removing the EMP with the help of several Pokémon.

Seeing that they had now arrived, Evan stood up from his seat in the back of their jeep, grabbed his Intervention, and walked across to the girls. He first went over to Angel, who looked up at him with some worry. Evan could tell that she was concerned for his well-being. Evan merely smiled.

"Alright Angel, good luck on your mission. Stay safe, watch over the others, and make sure you save your parents alright?", Evan said. Angel nodded.

"You got it!", Angel said with confidence.

Evan smiled. "Good, see you soon". He leaned forward and planted a light kiss on her forehead. Evan then stepped over towards Aleksi. The two shared eye contact for a moment before Evan spoke. "Aleksi...listen". Evan found himself being silenced when Aleksi placed her finger on his lips. Aleksi shook her head and smiled.

"I'll see you later", Aleksi said. Evan could not help but smile. It was just like Aleksi to say that, and it's one of the infinite number of things he loved about her.

"...Alright. I'll see you later", Evan said. He then leaned down, causing Aleksi to lean forward. Angel watched with wide eyes as the two shared a passionate kiss. She was not with them last night, and did not see them until they left Prof. Oak's lab, and so did not know of their new-found love. The two broke from their kiss and looked into each other's eyes. "...I love you", Evan said. Aleksi smiled, her eyes becoming glassy.

"I love you too", Aleksi replied. They stared at each other for a little while longer before eventually Evan stood back up straight and made his way to the end of the jeep. Before he hopped out however, he remembered something and quickly turned around.

"Oh, don't want to forget these!", Evan said, walking over and picking up his backpack on the ground.

"What's in the bag?", Lyla asked out of curiosity.

"Claymores. I'm not taking any chances on this mission. I'm going to place them around the hill I'll be on in case some Rockets decide to sneak up on me", Evan said. He then turned to the rebels. "Goodbye everyone!". He gave one final wave as he hopped out of the jeep. Angel, seeing that Evan was gone, turned and looked to Aleksi wide-eyed over the love admission. Aleksi could not help but smile and the two began giggling like school girls.

While this was happening, Ash walked around to make sure that people were moving. By this time Brian had managed to get the EMP out of the back of the jeep and was now preparing to get it moving. As he made his rounds, he spotted Gary, who was now just getting out of the back of his vehicle. The rest of his squad, (including Emily and Caitlin), were beginning to get out with their gear as well.

"Ok, who's leaving?", Ash asked.

"Everyone's leaving at this point except for your group and the frontal assault. Me and my squad are going to go around the back way and attack there", Gary said. Ash nodded.

"Alright. Good luck, see you when this is all over", Ash said. Gary nodded.

"Yeah...right", Gary said solemnly. He then turned to his squad, who were now fully prepared. He motioned with his hand and then placed both hands in his coat pocket while the others followed. As they left, Emily turned and looked to Ash.

"I'll keep in contact when I can. Good luck. And make sure Angel gets to her parents", Emily said. Ash nodded in response, and Emily moved on with her group. Ash was glad that Emily was beginning to make more friends. Ash suddenly felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned to see Evan and Misty.

"I'll be heading out soon too", Evan said. Ash nodded.

"Alright, you know what you're doing?", Ash asked. Evan smirked.

"Yeah, cover fire. _Someone's _gotta keep you guys out of trouble", Evan said. Ash couldn't help but chuckle at the response.

"Ok, good. When you think your job is done, head down to the frontal assault and help fight there. It'll be too much trouble for you to get into the base, and they could use your battling skills", Ash said. Evan nodded, swinging his sniping rifle over his shoulder.

"You got it", Evan said. Suddenly, the sound of a Pokéball opening caused Ash, Evan, and Misty to turn to their side. Brian had just released Tremor, his Onix. The Onix bent down and brought its massive head to Brian's level, where Brian began to tell it instructions. Soon, it nodded and turned towards the grass. Brian then turned towards Ash and the others.

"Ok, Tremor is going to dig the tunnel now. It'll drag the EMP slowly with its tail, so that should move things along faster", Brian explained.

"Good to hear. You three stay safe alright? If it's a lot of trouble, don't fight back, just surrender. We'll come and get you", Misty explained.

"Give up without a fight? That's not very PTA like now is it?", Michael asked with a chuckle, turning around and pointing to the PTA flag on the back of his white PTA uniform. The group shared a laugh at the comment, though truth be told, it was a morbid one. Tremor had begun digging the hole in the ground and wrapped its tail around the EMP. Slowly, the EMP was dragged underground.

"Well, that's our que, let's get going", Brian said. He turned to Ash, Misty, and Evan and threw his fist towards them. "Go PTA!". The three did the same to him. With that, Brian, Michael, and Riles began to make their way through the hole. Evan turned around.

"I guess I'll take my leave as well. I'll sneak through the little bit of woods there and make my way to my spot", Evan said.

"Alright, make sure that your mic is on", Ash said. Evan nodded, reaching into his shirt pocket and pulling out a small ear-piece. All of the rebels were given some form of communication device. While most rebels used their Pokénavs, some people for stealth or practicality reasons used ear-pieces instead. Evan turned it on and placed it into his right ear. He then gave a thumbs up to Ash and Misty.

"Stay safe Evan...for Aleksi's sake", Misty said. Evan smiled.

"I'll do what I can...you stay safe too...I don't want me and Aleksi to be the _only _couple to stay together by the end of this", Evan said. Misty and Ash blushed lightly at the comment, though were able to keep their cool for the most part. Evan chuckled and then walked off. "Watch over Aleksi and Angel for me!". With that, he left. Ash and Misty watched as the groups began to go their separate ways for the assault. Many of the vehicles would be hidden in the forest, where they would hopefully be picked up later. The rest of the vehicles, including most of the ATVs, would keep moving forward until they reached the base. Misty then turned to Ash.

The two shared eye contact for a moment, as if reading each other's mind. After a minute or two, they both nodded to each other. They both knew, that they had to remember the moment. It could very well be the last time they would see these people alive.

**I apologize for the delay again people! For those of you who follow me on Twitter, I had stated that this chapter was going to be up the other day. However, just as I finished the chapter, a computer error deleted a sixth of my update and ignored the previous save. Because of this, the end of this chapter may seem rushed. Next chapter will begin more of the "fight", though I can't promise that the PHYSICAL fight will start yet. I want to, but I have to see if I can fit it in. It will be some time yet before I switch to Pallet Town, so I apologize to those who have OCs still at the base. Rest assured, your characters will have their time. "With the group having reached Veridian, will their attack go off as planned? Is Team Rocket waiting for them? Find out next time on EVAN AAML's "R"!" Please be sure to F.A.R., (Favorite, Alert, Review), please check out my Twitter account EVANAAML, and please make sure that you have an account on this site if you wish for me to respond to your reviews! :)**

**sincerely,  
evan, a fan of aaml -EVAN AAML**


	86. Chapter 86

**Is everyone ready for fighting, survival, and murder!? I hope you are, because it's coming soon! And as a warning to you all, there is NO ONE safe in this story. Every single character that has been in this story is a potential victim. :O Even Ash, even Misty, even Angel! You never know who will suddenly get a bad case of the deadsies. But enough of that, let's get onto "R"!**

**-EVAN AAML**

It felt like only minutes ago that everyone was moving and getting busy. Angel in fact had purposely stayed inside of the jeep she had ridden in so as to not get in the way of people who were preparing. Now, suddenly, silence. Angel looked out of the back of the jeep, wondering what had happened. She knew that the majority of the people had left, but she was amazed at how many that was. It seemed like at least half of the assault had disappeared. The majority of the vehicles were now hidden, and the remaining rebels packed into which ones were left.

Evan, Emily, Mathinza, Caitlin. So many of her friends had departed, and she didn't know for sure if she would in fact ever see them again. Whether they perished in the battle, or if she herself did. It was an ominous feeling, and one that she hoped was just nerves and nothing more. She couldn't think of what would happen if she lost her friends. No matter how likely.

"Worried?", someone asked. Angel turned around to see Aleksi, bending down to her level.

"...Yeah...a little bit", Angel said.

"You shouldn't worry Angel, everyone will make it back no problem. They're all skilled", Aleksi said.

"She's right Angel, we'll all make it home nice and safe together", Lyla threw in, wanting to help the young girl and her new friend. There was suddenly a scoff. The girls all turned to Ryoto, who was sitting on the bench on the driver's side of the jeep with his arms crossed.

"I wouldn't count on it", Ryoto said.

"What do you mean?", Lyla said, somewhat annoyed that Ryoto would try to put doubt into Angel's head.

"Filling up your head with false hope will only delude you in battle. If you're too positive then you have no concept of defeat, which will cause frustration should you see yourself losing...a deadly thing", Ryoto explained. He then looked to Angel. "The truth is Angel, you should know how hard this is going to be. And you should be prepared for the idea that some of your friends are not going to survive this battle. For all you know, everyone in this jeep could get killed, and you'll have to mentally prepare yourself for that". Angel looked on in worry. While she knew that Ryoto did not say this purposely to instill fear, it was too harsh for her to come to terms with, especially right before the battle.

"Oh ignore him Angel, he's just full of it. You know that we'll all be fine", Milo said. He sat a few feet from Ryoto on the same bench. He then leaned forward on his seat. "All those guys, they know what it takes to survive, just like we do. Before you know it, me and you, we'll have our families back, and we'll all make it back to Pallet no prob'". Ryoto scoffed once again, which got on Milo's nerves.

"You seem full of confidence don't you Milo, especially for someone who's never really seen battle. And how do you know that the captives aren't already moved or worse?", Ryoto said. This comment seemed to put everyone on edge. Angel gasped lightly, the breath being taken out of her. It was as if she was just sucker punched in the gut.

"Wha...what do you mean?", Angel asked. Ryoto turned to Angel.

"It's clear that Team Rocket knows that we're coming, or at the very least is prepared for a possible attack. They may not know that it's our plan to save those captured, but it wouldn't matter, they're not going to take the chance of us releasing them. If given the time, they would have shipped them off to another base...or, depending on the case, they could have just killed everyone. And that's another thing that you'll have to prepare yourself for", Ryoto explained. Angel looked to be on the verge of tears at the comment. The thought had never crossed her mind, but he was right. For all she knew, her parents could in fact be dead.

Aleksi and Lyla immediately brought their attention to the scared girl, scowling at Ryoto for his blunt attitude. Milo made a smug look, which confused the girls at first. He nodded to himself, as if he was taking in what Ryoto said with agreement. He continued this as he bent over and picked up his weapon of choice, a Spas-12. He then stood up, flipped the gun in the air so that he was now holding the barrel instead of the handle, and swung it like a bat towards Ryoto. The butt of the shot-gun banged into the side of the jeep with a bang, causing the girls to jump in shock. Ryoto did not so much as flinch, but did glance towards the now angry Milo.

"...You watch your god damn mouth pretty boy...if you put doubt in my head or Angel's again...I'll blow your fuckin' head off myself...you got me?", Milo asked, glaring at the former Rocket. Ryoto showed no fear at the mechanic's words, though he did not doubt the threat. Milo was many things, but he could be serious if he needed to be. Ryoto stood up and turned to face Milo face-to-face. Milo pulled his shot-gun away from where he banged it and kept it in his hand as they stared each other down. Ryoto merely smirked.

"You have guts Milo...I respect that...", Ryoto said. He then turned to Angel, who was still on the verge of tears. "Angel, I'm not saying that this should mean that you assume that everyone will die and you'll lose everyone you love. I am telling you this so that you have a stronger feeling of what you're fighting for. Thinking purely happy thoughts may be inspiring, but you will fight and survive best if you realize that there's a good chance that your friends and family could die. It allows you to give it your all the entire fight and prevents any doubt". Angel looked at Ryoto for a moment or two, trying to soak in these words. Ryoto merely nodded, and then sat back down on his seat. Milo did the same, placing his Spas-12 on his side.

Angel took a moment or two to finally register anything, but soon enough, she nodded in agreement. She didn't like the method, nor Ryoto's coldness towards it, but he was right. All this time, she was too negative, doubting herself and thinking that she wouldn't be able to accomplish anything. Now, she was overly confident, thinking that every single thing would work out perfectly. However, she needed to find a balance. She had to know the boundary between confidence and doubt and stay there. This way, she would fight at her best, and still believe in herself and everyone else. She immediately walked over to the bench opposite Ryoto and Milo.

Everyone, (particularly the girls), watched as she rummaged through her back pack. Soon, she pulled out her Beretta, checked the ammo, and then placed it on her belt. She continued to look through her bag and prepared herself until she deemed that she had done enough. She then sat there on the bench, and looked up to the others.

"I'm ready...we should get going. The longer we wait, the harder it's going to be", Angel said. The girls looked at each other, uncertain at first of what to make of this, but soon nodded and smiled at Angel. They were glad that she was alright and feeling confident. Ryoto nodded knowing that she was strong enough to manage the truth. Milo sighed, glad to see that she did not have a breakdown. As if they had heard the young girl, the jeep suddenly roared to life and they were off once again.

In the front, Ash and Misty were just beginning to get to speed on the road. They had waited a few minutes to give the others time to separate and get moving, but now they were ready to move out. They would continue down the road until they made it to Veridian. They would then hide the vehicles and separate once more. Ash's squad would sneak off towards the base, while the frontal assault would go forward with their attack. Ash looked ahead of him, seeing if there were any other distractions to come.

Team Rocket may have had grunts that made mistakes, (such as the ones at the road block), but as a group they were not fools. They would be more than aware of a potential PTA attack. While they could not guarantee it, (as any group smart enough would do, expect the unexpected), they would at least prepare for one. Thus far they only had one minor skirmish, which meant that they could still have the element of surprise on them if they could plan this out perfectly. Timing was everything.

Ash looked to the clock on the dashboard of the jeep. Seven thirty. This battle could possibly be over before noon. They had till eight to engage. That was the time they had agreed on to attack if the EMP was not placed in the base by then. Misty looked at Ash, seeing his anxiety rise. She never knew Ash to be nervous like this. For the years she had known him since they formed the PTA, he had always remained poised. He had matured considerably from the young trainer who got nervous at the league tournaments. Now he could handle anything. But right now, he looked as nervous as ever.

"Ash?", Misty said. Ash glanced to Misty, before bringing his attention back to the clock and the road.

"Yeah?", Ash asked. He could tell what Misty was going to say, it was obvious that he was tense. He sighed. "Sorry...I know, I'm nervous. There's just...a lot riding on this". Misty nodded.

"I know...you're right", Misty said. She looked down at her hand, which was gripping her pistol. Ever since the road block, she had it held in her hand unconsciously. She gripped it tightly, as if ready to use it at any moment. "This battle has everyone tensed up. I don't think there's a single person here who is calm".

"This is going to be the last battle, everyone's on edge...I wouldn't be surprised if Team Rocket was too", Ash said.

"They have a lot at stake...especially since we took down the array. They won't be able to call for back up or spy on us as effectively", Misty said. Ash nodded.

"They're weak, and they know it. They may not see us as a major threat, but they will soon", Ash said. He revved the engine and the truck began moving faster down the road. Misty turned around to look out the back window and saw that the remaining vehicles did the same to catch up.

"Do you think they're ready?", Misty asked, referring to the other rebels. Ash sighed.

"Unfortunately, it doesn't matter if they're ready or not. They're going to have to fight. Physically a lot of them are still hurt and tired from New Island, but mentally...yeah, I think they're ready", Ash said.

"I hope you're right", Misty said. Ash smiled.

"I know I am. We're the PTA, we're the best rebel force in the world. We're ready", Ash said. Misty smiled.

"Yeah...you're right", Misty said. As the remaining rebels were making their way down the road towards Veridian, the other groups that had departed earlier were making progress. Due to the desire for discretion, the groups traveled quietly and in small groups so as to avoid detection. One group that did not have to worry about being seen was Brian, Riles, and Michael, who were underground following the trail of Tremor, Brian's Onix. Like Evan had said, Onix was able to move through the soil with ease and, more importantly, with discretion due to it eating the soil. The EMP was dragged along with it by Tremor's tail. The soft soil kept it stable as it was dragged, though Brian occasionally stopped here and there to quickly check on it.

The three moved cautiously through the tunnel, using only small flashlights they had in their back packs for light. Their entrance to the tunnel was filled in after they dug underground in case any Rockets should see the hole on the side of the road. The soil was soft in the Summer weather, (any farmer in Kanto would say that it had some of the best soil for farming). While this was good for planting, it made it dangerous for digging under. The three teens were fearful of a cave in, and so made sure to not have long breaks.

"This is a lot creepier than I thought it would be", Michael said looking around as they walked. They were completely protected from Team Rocket underground, but the darkness and silence didn't stop them from creating fearful thoughts.

"Well we won't be underground for long, so don't worry about it", Brian said, keeping his attention on Tremor and the EMP.

"I actually don't mind it down here. While I prefer the sunlight, I think it's nice and quiet down here, calming even", Riles said. Michael chuckled.

"You have a weird perception on what you like don't you?", Michael said. Riles couldn't help but chuckle a bit.

"I guess it did sound weird. I just think it's peaceful. A change of pace I guess", Riles said.

"Guess to be completely safe in Kanto, you need to go underground huh?", Brian said. The others laughed at the comment. "Ok Tremor, let's stop again here for a second". Tremor stopped digging, giving the guys a break. Walking the distance was tiring enough this early in the morning, but the soft soil made it hard on their feet, (they would lose balance every time they did not focus). Brian walked over and checked on the EMP while Michael and Riles relaxed.

"Hey, you guys know what time it is?", Brian asked as he overlooked the bomb. Riles pulled out his watch and placed his flashlight over it to see the time.

"Seven forty-five", Riles said.

"Ok, so we have about fifteen minutes. I guess we won't be having anymore breaks after this one", Brian said. Michael pulled out a piece of paper from his PTA uniform jacket and looked at it, using his flashlight to see.

"...Actually...we're pretty much there", Michael said. Riles stepped over to Michael and took a look at the map himself. It was a topographic map of the lower Kanto region, particularly Veridian. The map was one of many picked up from the databases on New Island. "If we started digging underground over here...and the base is here...then we should roughly be about here...shouldn't we?", Michael asked, pointing to different spots on the map. Riles looked it over and checked the time to make an estimate on the amount of distance traveled and the time it took them to do it.

"...Yeah, you're right", Riles said. He then looked up to Brian. "We should be there pretty much. We probably got here faster since we went in a straight line, and the others probably took round-about ways".

"Makes sense. Alright then, we'll move the EMP a little bit closer to be safe, and then we'll wait until we think the others are there", Brian said. Riles and Michael nodded. Brian then turned to Tremor. "Ok Tremor, we're going to go a little bit farther and then you can stop dragging the bomb". Tremor, knowing that discretion was key, merely continued on its way instead of roaring to acknowledge its trainer. Brian and the others moved along the path, getting ready to start the first official attack.

Other groups meanwhile were finally beginning to move in on the base. While larger groups like Gary's squad were not quite there yet, smaller groups had made some great progression and were getting into position. Evan, having gone on his own, was one of the first to arrive. Being alone, he was able to move at his own pace, (which was naturally fast), and was now getting into position. He was lucky enough to find one of the hills that Max was talking about at the first meeting and immediately got to work. He pulled out his Claymores from his pack and began carefully positioning them around the hill in key hidden spots. Having them out in the open would be meaningless as they would be spotted, and having them too hidden would make them useless since people would be less likely to walk along strenuous paths.

After placing them in good spots, Evan slowly and carefully began crawling up the hill towards the top. The hill had relatively tall grass since it was not mowed like the Rocket compound was. While Evan would still stick out somewhat, it would at least help with some cover. At the top of the hill was a relatively large tree that hung over the hill. That would also help give him some cover. When he reached the top of the hill he looked down. The "hill" he was on was actually more of a small cliff, leading immediately to a fall. The bottom of the hill was spotted with large rocks and grass. Evan sighed, it was a bit of a drop.

He looked over the compound, making sure that he was not being seen from atop the hill. He could see heavy security all around the Rocket base, all of them armed with Uzis, AK-47s, M-16s, Berettas, SCARs, and who knew what type of Pokémon. This would not be easy. He hoped that the element of surprise would help them, because they were definitely out-manned and out-gunned. The base itself however looked easy enough to penetrate. Like Emily described, the base consisted of merely three stories, and all three of them were easily visible from the outside due to the large number of windows. From where he was, he could make out plenty of Rocket office workers in little cubicles, walking here and there and working on computers. Evan didn't know if they were legitimate workers, or merely actors being paid to look like they were working.

The base was large from the outside, covering a lot of space. For the average person, they would see it as a massive office building. But most people did not know of the many layers underground. This base was going to be massive. Evan turned to his right and looked at the back of the building. As expected, he saw a relatively large shipping dock near train tracks. This was also crawling with Rocket security. It looked like they were preparing for a shipment, as many workers and grunts were running this way and that to clear the area. This was good to see, as it hinted that perhaps the captives were still inside the base.

Evan carefully pulled his Intervention to his side, checking it over quickly to make sure it was ready to be fired. As he was doing this, he suddenly heard a noise. It startled him until he realized it was coming from his earpiece. He had forgotten about it as he focused on the mission. He put his finger to his ear to allow it to sound better.

"Hey Evan, this is Dawn. Are you at the base?", Dawn said. It was whispered so it was hard to make out at first. Luckily they were of better quality than they're used to since they were stolen from Team Rocket.

"Yeah, I just got here, I'm on a hill across from where you should be. What's going on?", Evan asked, knowing that she would not be talking to him unless it was for something important.

"Grab your scope and check the roof of the building", Dawn said. Evan looked somewhat perplexed over it, but did as he was told. As he pulled the scope off, he looked to the roof of the Rocket base. At first glance he could not see very much. However, this was mostly because the sun gleamed off the metallic roof and caused a glare. He brought his scope to his eye and looked back to the roof. It was then that he saw what Dawn was referring to. "Do you see it?", Dawn asked. Evan sighed.

"Yeah. Psychic Pokémon. A number of them. Looks like they're using Protect around the base", Evan noted, spotting the Pokémon. At the center of the roof were several Psychic-type Pokémon. An Abra, Kadabra, Alakazam, Hypno, Meditite, and Claydol. All of them were in a circle and had their arms out around the base, creating a Barrier-like force field around the building.

"The data we got from Aleksi's dad and New Island didn't say anything about a Psychic Pokémon defense!", Dawn said in worry.

"They must have gotten the idea from Mrs. Ketchum's Mr. Mime. Protect works better than Barrier. The only reason Mr. Mime used Barrier is because it's harder to see. Team Rocket doesn't care about their little force field being seen", Evan explained. He sighed. This was going to make things much more difficult.

"Do you think it goes underground too?", Dawn asked.

"I wouldn't be surprised. The ground isn't going to stop a Psychic attack like that. That's why they have six of them there", Evan said. Suddenly, a thought crossed his mind and he panicked. "Dawn! We've got to warn Brian about this right now!", Evan said while still keeping quiet.

"Why!? What's wrong!?", Dawn asked.

"If Brian uses his Onix to dig through the base, and Protect is in fact protecting the entire building, then Protect will not only stop their attack, but the Psychic Pokémon will sense their presence! Our surprise will be blown!", Evan said. He then immediately ended his call with Dawn and began fumbling with his earpiece to get into the same signal as Brian's. "Brian! Brian, are you there!?", Evan asked. It took a few seconds, but soon enough, he got an answer.

"Yeah, I'm here, what's going on!?", Brian asked, sensing the worry in Evan's voice.

"Listen, stop moving! I don't know where you are, but do NOT move if you're close to the base!", Evan said.

"We're by the base right now. We've just reached our spot and were about to attack", Brian said.

"No, don't! Listen, Dawn spotted several Psychic Pokémon using Protect over the base. If you attack, you'll be stuck and Team Rocket will find out you're there", Evan explained.

"Shit! How did they come up with that!?", Brian responded in shock and anger.

"Natalie must have told them about Mrs. Ketchum and Mr. Mime's protection. Just stay put and wait for us to think of a plan, ok?", Evan said.

"Yeah, gotcha. But hurry it up, we can't stay down here forever", Brian said with a sigh.

"Roger that", Evan said. He then ended the call and got back to Dawn. "Dawn you there?", Evan said.

"Yeah, did you reach Brian?", Dawn asked.

"Yeah, he was just about to attack, we got lucky. He's going to wait, but we need to think of a plan soon", Evan said.

"Ok, while you were talking with Brian, I got on the line with everyone else. Ash and the others finally made it to their spot and are moving into position. Everyone's about ready to attack. We're still thinking of what to do. Switch to open mic so that we can all communicate together", Dawn said.

"Gotcha", Evan said. He then clicked a small switch on his earpiece. "You all listening?".

"Yeah, we hear you loud and clear. We just hid our vehicles and are now arriving to our spot. You said that they have Psychic Pokémon using Protect over the base?", Ash asked.

"That's right. If we so much as touch that force field they'll know we're here", Evan said.

"Anyone got any bright ideas then?", Darrel said, also listening into the conversation. There was a brief moment of silence before someone else spoke up.

"Wait, I think I got it", Gary said. Everyone listened in. "You know how Angel used Gengar to phase through the ground and protect us from that Rocket sneak attack?".

"I know where you're going with this", Ash said.

"Right. Think we can use Ghost-types to phase through the force field?", Gary asked.

"I don't know. I've never seen it done in battle before", Ash said. "Well Evan? You're our Pokémon biologist, what do you think?".

"Well, in theory it should work. An attack like Protect is used to protect it from physical beings, usually applying physics. But, Ghost Pokémon don't follow the rules of physics. I think it'll work. But even though they can get in, they'll definitely be sensed by the Psychic Pokémon. We'll need a large number of them, and we'll need to take out those Pokémon quickly", Evan explained.

"Who has Ghost-type Pokémon here?", Ash asked.

"I have a Gastly. And, wait...Caitlin here says she has a Misdreavus. That's two", Emily said.

"I have a Duskull", Darrel stated.

"And Angel has Jeremy's Gengar. That's four. That should work, Psychic Pokémon are weak against Ghost-types", Ash said. "Ok, so the four Ghost Pokémon will attack at the same time in one group, make it quick and efficient. As soon as Protect is down, Brian, you go ahead with your attack. As soon as the EMP goes off, we'll strike".

"Got it, release the Pokémon now", Gary said. Watching through his scope, Evan looked on as he tried to spot the Ghost-types in the air. Due to the sunlight, it was nearly impossible to see anything, especially since they would be phasing through the force field. However, soon enough, he got his answer. All of a sudden, he saw the four Ghosts appear out of thin air, passed the force field and attacking the Psychic Pokémon. Because it was unexpected, the Pokémon were quickly taken cared of. Evan whistled, being impressed and the speed and effectiveness of the attack.

"That was fast. The Pokémon are down, as is Protect. I can't tell if the Pokémon had time to send a telepathic alert or not, so make it fast Brian", Evan said.

"I hear ya. We're going now...good luck everyone", Brian said.

"...Same to you guys", Ash said. From underground, Brian turned to Riles and Michael.

"Well, you heard 'em guys. Let's get going. Be prepared to fight. When we get captured...well...you know what to do", Brian said. Riles and Michael nodded.

"Got it", the two said in unison. Brian quickly walked over and began clicking a few buttons on the EMP. Soon, it seemed to roar to life, lighting up and making a rumbling noise. "Ok, it's set to go off in a few minutes. If they spot it before it goes off, I'll detonate it remotely". Brian then approached Tremor and tapped it on the tail. "Alright buddy...let's go".

Below the "office building", secretly hidden from the outside world, was the base of operations for Team Rocket. Levels and levels of technology, projects, soldiers, weapons, and all sorts of things Team Rocket is ready to use on the world. At the lowest level of the base was a large room. Grunts and scientists walked around, working on different projects here and there. Large computers near the walls were making noises and lighting up as it processed data. The room was cold and dark, being lit barely by lights from the ceiling. Dark blue tiles covered the floors and walls, making it look sleek but uninviting. Along one of the sections of the wall was a caged-in section, with crates inside the cage. One of the grunts sat at a computer with headphones on, until he picked something up and immediately rushed to a higher level Rocket, (wearing a grey uniform). He stood with his arms behind his back, like a proper general overlooking his troops. He had an air of elegance to him, as if he was upper class, though he was anything but.

"Sir! We've just got word from upstairs. Apparently the Psychic Pokémon felt a disturbance in the force field!", the young grunt explained.

"Hmm, probably just another stray Pokémon, had three of them already. But check it out just in case", the Rocket commanded. The grunt gave a salute.

"Yes sir!", the grunt said. Suddenly, the ground beneath them began to shake. The Rockets and scientists panicked, thinking it was an earthquake. Some fell from the sudden tremor as others held onto solid objects to keep their balance. Without warning, a large snake-like Pokémon burst out of the hole, roaring as it appeared. It completely jumped out of the hole, causing several Rockets to jump back in freight. Due to its massive size, it managed to hit some of the lights on the ceiling, (they however did not fall off). It then immediately wrapped its body around the hole. As the Rockets tried to get a grasp of the situation, three heads popped out from the hole, looking around. Brian, Michael, and Riles.

Brian, who was in the center of the three, looked around the room with a smirk, as if lost.

"Oh, excuse me gentleman, I believe we took a wrong turn back there!", Brian said. The Rockets glared at the intruders.

"KILL 'EM!", the Rocket Sargent ordered. Immediately, the Rockets whipped out Uzis and opened fire. The trio ducked back into the hole as bullets zoomed passed them. Luckily, Onix's rock body protected it from the bullets as it covered the rebels. As the bullets continued to fly, a Pokémon suddenly darted out from the hole. Before many Rockets could even recognize what it was, they found themselves being pushed or slashed. With quick speed, a Weavile began taking out Rockets, tackling them and knocking the guns out of their hands. It moved so quickly that many Rockets did not even see it until they were attacked.

As Rockets began to focus on the quick dark-type Pokémon, they failed to notice the new threat that was thrown from the hole.

Pokéballs.

A few of them rolled along the floor towards different sections of the base seemingly harmless at first. The Rocket Sargent looked on the ground at one of the Pokéballs, which stopped several feet away from him. He looked at it curiously. Why send out a Pokéball that wouldn't open? Suddenly, he saw that Weavile jumped back into the hole, and the Onix was returned to it's Pokéball. The Sargent saw this and gasped. Suddenly, the Pokéballs exploded. One caused an entire computer to explode, shooting sparks and flames every which way. Another one blew at the feet of several grunts, killing them on impact and sending their bodies flying into the walls or cage. The Rocket Sargent was blasted backwards from the Pokéball near him. He flew in the air and landed on top of a wooden table, papers flying everywhere as he landed. He fell off the table in pain, his face burning and his body cut up. A few feet away was the body of the Rocket grunt who alerted him, motionless and torn up.

Brian, Riles, and Michael immediately jumped out of the hole and began to attack. Brian shot at the Rockets with an M-16, while Riles pulled knife after knife off of his belt and threw them with deadly accuracy. Rockets began falling everywhere, unprepared for such a sudden assault. The severely injured Sargent watched through his blurry vision as these three teens began attacking all of the Rockets. His ears were still ringing from the explosion, but he could just make out the sound of gunfire. He looked up to see Brian approaching him, his gun aimed at the Rocket. Scared, the Rocket immediately reached for his pistol.

But he would not need to fire it.

Out of no where, a canine-type Pokémon jumped in-between Brian and the Sargent. Both looked on in shock as the Pokémon growled and then opened its mouth. Without warning, it unleashed a Shadow Ball. Brian was struck by the attack and sent flying backwards. He crashed into both Michael and Riles and together, the three smacked into the wall behind them, (the hole they entered through was before them). The Sargent managed to begin getting his vision and hearing back and looked to see that the Pokémon who had saved him was a Mightyena.

_His _Mightyena.

The Sargent soon found himself being helped up by a couple of low-level grunts. He grumbled as he was lifted up onto his feet. He looked around the room. A few of the computers were destroyed from the explosions, they were still on fire and sparking. At least fifteen Rockets were on the ground dead, either from the explosions or the attack afterwards. Scientists ran back and forth to try to save papers and devices from the fire. The Mightyena growled menacingly and then turned around. The Sargent watched as it ran up a flight of stairs and entered a small room that overlooked the entire basement. Inside the room was a dark figure, but it was hidden from view due to the darkness.

"Ergh, I'm fine!", the Sargent snapped at the Rockets, pulling away from them in anger. They released him in freight. He then turned to look at the three rebels. Immediately, the surviving Rockets aimed their guns at the three, prepared to fire. "HOLD YOUR FIRE!", the Sargent yelled. The Rockets turned to him in confusion, but did as they were told. "I want them ALIVE, BRING THEM OVER HERE!". The Rockets nodded as a few of them swung their guns over their shoulders and dragged Brian, Riles, and Michael over towards the Sargent. Once there, they were thrown onto the ground at his feet, and the Rockets surrounded them, their weapons aimed and at the ready.

The Sargent looked down at the three attackers in anger. He would have had them killed on the spot without hesitation, but he knew better than to do that immediately. You couldn't get much information from a dead person. Besides, true to Rocket nature, there were so many things far worse they could do to them than simply kill them. He turned to Michael, (who was in the middle), and noticed the white uniform. While he did not recognize it as former Rocket attire, he noticed the large flag patch on the back of the jacket, along with the patches on the front.

"So...the PTA huh? We were waiting for you. Before we...begin...tell me...which one of you BASTARDS...did this to my face?", the Rocket asked, pointing to his face, which was now burned and red. While it was not a severe burn, it would definitely leave scaring. The three rebels looked up at the Rocket, and Brian chuckled slightly.

"Oh, that? Yeah, that would be me", Brian said. The Sargent stared down Brian with anger until he suddenly swung his foot into his gut. Brian bent down, immediately losing the breath in his lungs. Michael, in anger, turned to the Rocket.

"HEY!", Michael yelled. The Sargent then turned and punched Michael across the face. Then, for good measure, he punched Riles in the face as well.

"You three do not even know what you've gotten yourselves into. You killed several Rockets, a crime punishable by death alone. But you were dumb enough to do it within the confines of this base...where no one will hear you scream!", the Sargent said with an evil smirk. "We're not going to kill you, not yet anyway. Oh no, for _this _crime, we're going to give you every form of torture humanly possible, and THEN...we'll do it again". He then stood straight up and looked to his grunts. "SEARCH THEM!".

Immediately, the Rockets grabbed the three and began checking their attire and bodies. They pulled off their Pokéball belts and weapons, (which made Michael angry, as he didn't like anyone touching his knives). They also ripped off their earpieces and smashed them. After taking everything else they had, (including their back packs and Pokénavs), they stepped back and allowed the Sargent to look them over some more. He reached for his belt and pulled off a walkie talkie. He then turned towards the room on the second level as he spoke into it.

"As we expected, they're PTA rebels. They're bound to have allies", the Sargent said. Riles, Michael, and Brian looked up to the second level room and watched as they saw a dark figure looking down at them.

"More than likely these three are a distraction. Send an alert to the base, tell them to prepare", the figure from above said through the walkie. He had a heavy menacing voice to match his large figure.

"Understood", the Sargent replied. He then turned to a couple of Rockets and nodded. The two saluted back and immediately ran off, heading down to a pair of doors at the end of the room. The Sargent then motioned to four other Rockets positioned behind the rebels. "Check that hole! See if they have anyone hiding in there!". The Rockets nodded, pulled out their guns, and immediately rushed to the hole. Michael and Riles turned to Brian with worry. After a minute or two, one of the Rockets popped out.

"No rebels sir! But we found something big! We don't know what it is, but it's a large piece of tech sir!", the Rocket said.

"Is it a bomb!?", the Sargent asked, showing concern.

"We don't think so sir, we don't see the physical explosives", the Rocket replied. The Sargent looked at the rebels in anger.

"What the hell are you guys planning?", the Rocket asked. He then turned to the grunt. "Whatever it is, it's dangerous! Disarm it!". The grunt gave a salute and went back underground. Brian suddenly began to chuckle. "What's so funny!?".

"Oh, your guys aren't going to want to be down there", Brian said. The Sargent scoffed.

"Oh? And why not?", the Sargent asked. Brian smirked.

"We'll, you'll see...right...now", Brian said, looking at his watch. As quickly as he could, he pressed a small button on the side of his wrist watch. Suddenly, an explosion rocked the room. A shockwave seemed to push everyone back as suddenly all of the lights and technology in the room died down. Screams could be heard as flames shot out from the hole. After a minute or so, the lights slowly came back on, but were much less bright. The computers stirred to life, but sounded weak. Scientists began working on them.

"They're drained of power sir! That must have been an electric-magnetic pulse! They killed the power and now everything's on backup. We won't last long like this sir, they were never made to supply the entire base!", one of the scientists explained. The Sargent gasped and looked down to Brian in anger. Brian could do nothing more but smirk.

"Told ya".

**Well the battle has now OFFICIALLY begun! I was going to go a little bit longer into this chapter, but I was making it so long as it is. :P This chapter is dedicated to prettygirl17! THIS IS FOR YOU PRETTY! :D Not much else to say here, please F.A.R. and check out my Twitter account! See you all next time! Happy early Valentine's Day!**

**sincerely,  
evan, a fan of aaml -EVAN AAML**


	87. Chapter 87

**Alright everyone! A lot of people were psyched up over the last chapter and how the fighting actually started! We'll continue onto this in Chapter 87 here. I won't say what will happen here...but SOMETHING will happen here...get tissues ready. ;) Anyway, I am flattered and honored from all the praise I have been getting from the story as of late, and I have you, my fans/friends/family to thank for that. So, to all of you, from the bottom of my heart, thank you. :) **

**-EVAN AAML**

The room seemed much quieter since the EMP exploded. The room was once filled with perhaps twenty Rocket grunts and about half as many Rocket scientists. Now, that number dwindled to about ten Rockets...total. Brian, Riles, and Michael remained on the ground, weapons aimed at them from all directions. They had succeeded, they were happy. Now, it was just a matter of surviving this ordeal and helping their friends if they could. The Rocket Sergeant glared at the three rebels before him. He was held personally responsible for everything that happened in this section of the base. He would be the one blamed for the EMP going off and the Rockets dying. While he knew that these three would be executed for their part, he also knew that he would be getting into a lot of trouble himself.

He could very be put in the same execution squad as these three.

"So, not what you were expecting was it? I bet when _you _woke up this morning you didn't think you'd have this problem huh?", Brian asked in a joking manner. He received a smack in the back of his head from the butt of a gun for his comment. Michael growled at the Rockets.

"You guys don't intimidate us!", Michael yelled. Another Rocket, (one who was older than Michael), scoffed.

"Tough talk kid, I don't even think you realize who you're messing with", the Rocket said.

"Tough talk? Tell you what, give me five minutes with you and we'll see who's doing the talking", Michael said. The Rockets couldn't help but laugh at the comment. This only angered Michael more. Riles had kept quiet for the most part up till now. Unlike Brian and Michael, he did not show anger or hatred of any kind, even to people like Team Rocket. This of course, did not go by unnoticed.

"You seem quiet, you must be the smart one in the group", one Rocket said to Riles. Riles turned to look at him.

"No...I just have nothing to say about you and your group. You should all repent for your sins", Riles said. The Rockets chuckled.

"Oh, you're one of _those _types huh? You're pathetic", one of the Rockets said, smacking Riles with his gun. It was not a hard smack, but one that angered the rebels.

The few scientists remaining did what they could to save as much information as they could, though it was a futile effort. Team Rocket was clearly prepared for the PTA, but they had no idea about the EMP, which went to the rebels' favor. They may have had some power, but not enough to run their entire base. They would make sure to save energy in order to call for reinforcements or transfer data to a safer location, and since they had the PTA to contend with, they wouldn't be able to do it fast enough.

"Sir, what do you want us to do with the prisoners?", one of the Rockets asked. It was clear that he was hoping to get to kill them. But he showed control and listened to orders first. The Rocket Sergeant looked at the Rocket, and then to the three rebels before him. His original intent was to torture them until they begged to be killed. But at this rate, they were proving to be more trouble than they were worth.

"...Kill 'em", the Sergeant said. All three rebels looked fearful as the Rockets all raised their weapons at the ready.

"Wait", a voice called out. The Rockets held their fire as everyone turned back up to the upper level. The door to the room above them was open and a large figure stood outside of it. His Mightyena stood idly by at his feet, ready for any order. The large figure was still remaining in the shadows, so the rebels could not make out what he looked like.

"Sir?", the Sergeant asked, somewhat shocked that after what the rebels had done, he would still want to keep them alive.

"It's clear that this battle was planned out. The PTA wouldn't have brought something along like an EMP in a spur of the moment move. They have an exact plan. So...we're going to find out what exactly that plan is", the dark figure said. Suddenly, the sound of a loud explosion could be heard from the upper levels. It sounded large, but they were so far below the Earth that it was muffled considerably. The base however still shook from the impact. "So, you have several coordinated assaults huh? They're smart little buggers. I'm going to go up stairs and assess the situation, kill some rebels while I'm at it...see what you can get out of them...by any means necessary". The Rockets stood the rebels up on their feet and held onto them tightly.

"Yes sir, we'll begin extracting information immediately", the Rocket Sergeant said. The Rocket above them looked as if he was about to leave them, before he stopped mid stride. He turned back to the Rockets and rebels below him. There was a dark eery chuckle.

"Well...you won't need _all three_ of them for information...kill the kid", the Rocket said. He then walked back into the room and left from a door located inside, his Mightyena right behind him. The three rebels looked on in fear as the Rocket Sergeant gleamed wickedly. He turned to face Michael as a Rocket held onto him tightly.

"Well, you heard him. Nice knowing you kid", the Sergeant said. He then immediately pulled out a pistol and aimed it at Michael.

"NO!', Riles and Brian yelled.

A gun shot echoed throughout the basement.

Michael opened his eyes in shock, only to see someone in front of him, their arms wrapped around his body. His eyes were wide as he saw Riles look directly at his face with a smile. His back was to the Rocket Sergeant, and he was facing Michael. He took a step back, and then fell to the ground. Michael immediately dove to catch the religious rebel as Brian had to be pulled back by several Rockets. Michael turned Riles over onto his back and supported him as Riles smiled.

"Riles! Come on, stay with me! Stay with me!", Michael said, trying to not only save Riles, but to calm his own nerves. His adrenaline was pumping beyond control and he felt like he would get sick at any moment. Riles shook his head.

"It's ok Michael...I am going to a better place now. I will be in the good Lord's arms soon", Riles said. Michael shook his head.

"No! Riles...it was supposed to be me! Not you!", Michael said, fighting back tears. Riles smiled.

"Come now Michael...", Riles said. He chuckled lightly. "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends". He continued to smile all while his eyes closed, and he fell limb in Michael's arms. Michael fought back tears as best he could as he gently lowered Riles to the floor. All while this was happening, Brian was being held by a few Rockets, cussing at them for having killed Riles. Michael turned and looked at the Rocket Sergeant, who looked slightly shocked, but had no sympathy.

"Well...guess you got lucky kid. Now we can't kill you, otherwise there'd just be one to torture for information", the Sergeant said. The Rockets pulled Michael up onto his feet forcefully. He tried to free himself, but could not overpower the older, stronger grunts. "Ok, let's bring them...get rid of the extra weight".

Michael and Brian could only watch in anger and yell as they were dragged away from the basement to some unknown destination, while two other grunts dragged the body of Riles to the hole where they had entered from and dumped him in it. To them, they did not care for his remains, they merely wanted to clean up as best they could. Michael and Brian cussed at the Rockets, threatening to kill them all. However, the Rockets ignored their threats and continued to move them along against their will. They both promised mentally to come back for Riles' body later, when the fight was over.

It was the least they could do, for a hero.

Once the EMP had gone off, nearly all power to the Rocket base had died down. Many of the machines in fact exploded from the sheer force of the shock wave. From outside the base, the rebels could see the devastation of the EMP as lights began to shut off or even have their bulbs pop. Rockets all along the base noticed the lights turning off, and checked their walkies, only to see that they were in fact not working. Rockets at the shipping dock were scrambling around, trying to figure out what had happened. Ash saw this, and nodded to himself. They had succeeded.

"Ok, good. The EMP has gone off...good work Brian...", Ash said. He said this into his earpiece, hoping to hear a response. However, all he could hear was the sound of yelling. He listened in as best he could. All he could hear was yelling, though he wasn't able to decide who was saying what. He then heard "SEARCH THEM!", and after a few seconds, the earpieces lost connection. Ash sighed.

"They got captured", Misty said.

"Yeah, and the Rocket smashed their earpieces. They'll be without communication until we can get back to them", Ash said.

"I hope they're alright", Angel said. Ash turned to Angel and smiled.

"Don't worry, they'll be fine. Gary or Dawn's group will see to that", Ash said. Pikachu, who sat on his shoulder, nodded in agreement and smiled at Angel.

"Pikachu!", Pikachu said. Angel nodded. Ash then brought his attention back to his earpiece.

"Alright everyone, the EMP has gone off, they're blind and powerless...it's time", Ash said.

"Roger that, moving in", Gary said.

"Us as well", Dawn added.

"I got you covered", Evan noted.

"Let's do this!", Darrel said. From the front, they could hear the sound of yelling and charging. An explosion rocked the entire field. Ash smiled. The frontal assault knew what they were doing. From their hidden spot on the hill, they could see Rocket grunts rushing to the front of the base to fight the assault. Ash turned to the lower side of the hill and made eye contact with Dawn. While Ash and his squad would get on the roof and go in from there, Dawn and her squad would go in through the side and make their way down to eliminate the higher level Rockets. Ash nodded, which was the signal to Dawn to get going. She nodded back, and she turned to her squad, issuing the command. They then sneaked off as quickly as they could through a side door of the base. Ash meanwhile turned to face the others.

"Alright, we're next. We're going to get onto the roof, make a hole through it, and enter in through the third level. We'll probably enter at around the center of the level, so we'll head our way to the back...and take care of Giovanni in his office. Then, when that's done, we make our way to the lower levels and free the captives", Ash explained. The group nodded.

"Did the EMP take down the roof defense systems? The ones we talked about?", Aleksi asked. Ash nodded.

"It should have. But, just in case, I had a few of the rebels in the frontal assault take some extra precautions", Ash said. No sooner did he say this than a few explosions occur on the roof of the building. The rebels turned to see a few Pokémon attacks coming from the front of the base attack and destroy the turrets placed on top of the roof. Ash smirked. "There, now we're double sure". Misty couldn't help but giggle. "Ok, let's get onto the roof".

It took a matter of seconds for them to reach the roof. Aleksi had used Gardevoir's Teleport to bring herself, Angel, Lyla, Ash, Misty, and Pikachu onto the roof. As they accessed what the roof looked like, they turned to see Ryoto and Milo floating in the air, a long with a large bell-shaped Pokémon Bronzong. Ryoto used his Bronzong's Psychic to carry them onto the roof. They landed safely on top, their weapons at the ready. Aleksi turned to Gardevoir and smiled.

"Thank you for the help Gardevoir, return!", Aleksi said. Gardevoir was then returned to its Pokéball. Ash turned towards the hill where Evan was hiding, (on the opposite side of the building from where they were hiding before), and talked in his earpiece.

"Hey Evan, you see us?", Ash asked. From his position, he could not see Evan, but he knew the general location.

"Yeah, I see you all. I've picked off Rockets left and right over here who were running towards the front", Evan said.

"Have any of them spotted you yet?", Ash asked.

"No. Any that did I took down", Evan said.

"Maybe you should move your position, get to some place safer", Ash said.

"No, I'm good. It'll take me too long to remove the Claymores safely and you guys need me to spot for you. I'll be fine here for now with the front assault taking all the attention", Evan explained. Ash nodded.

"Ok then, how's it look?", Ash asked. Evan lowered his scope from seeing his friends on the roof towards the third story.

"Well, looks like most of the office workers fled the scene already. They probably don't get paid enough to stand and fight when they're under attack. I see a few people hanging around still, they might be UCs. Other than them, it looks to be clear from my side. Want me to take them out?", Evan asked.

"No, we'll do it. The less people who know your location the better. Keep us informed", Ash said.

"Roger that. Stay safe everyone", Evan said. The line then ended. Ryoto turned to his Bronzong with a smirk.

"Well Bronzong...you know what to do", Ryoto said. Bronzong roared and then jumped in the air. The rebels moved to the side as the heavy Pokémon crashed down onto the roof of the building, breaking through it with ease. The rebels immediately jumped down the seven or so feet into the building. Immediately, they drew their weapons and prepared to fight.

"Got two on your end Ryoto. I don't have a clear shot on that side", Evan said through the earpiece. Ryoto nodded. He rushed over to the side of a cubicle and waited for the two to appear. Soon enough, two people dressed in business attire ran towards them, Uzis in hand. Ryoto immediately rushed out and stabbed one of the Rocket under covers in the chest. Seeing his ally get stabbed, the other Rocket aimed his gun at Ryoto. Aleksi however quickly pulled her bow back and fired an arrow. It pierced straight through the Rocket's chest. He stood still for a second or two before falling backwards onto the ground. Ryoto looked at the Rocket, pulled his sword out of the one he attacked, and turned to Aleksi.

"Thanks", Ryoto stated. Aleksi smirked.

"No problem", Aleksi responded.

"Got another one coming in on my side here, heading towards you Milo", Evan said.

"I got this", Milo said. He hid on the side of a cubicle much like Ryoto did. When the Rocket appeared, he aimed his Uzi at Ash and Misty. But Milo immediately popped up from his hiding spot, his shot-gun aimed at the Rocket's head. "I wouldn't do that if I were you man". The Rocket cussed at himself for getting so close and dropped his gun, putting his hands up. Milo smirked.

"That looks to be it. I don't see anyone else running towards you. No one's left Giovanni's office, so unless he has a secret passage way in his office, he's still there", Evan said.

"Good to hear, we'll head there now", Ash said.

"Woah, woah, wait. Something's moving. I see a door opening from Ryoto's side. I can't see it well though", Evan suddenly said. Ryoto turned towards his side to see if he could see anyone coming. He had just enough time to see to spot a large beam heading towards them.

"EVERYONE DUCK!", Ryoto yelled. The group immediately ducked, (Bronzong side-stepped in the air), as the beam crashed through countless cubicles behind them and went through the front of the building. Everyone immediately got up to see what had happened. The sound of laughter echoed in the now much more empty third level. Everyone turned towards the source of the attack and the laughter. Approaching them slowly was a man with a massive figure. He had short grey hair and a grey bushy mustache and beard. He must have stood at six-foot, possibly more, and could have weighed two hundred pounds in muscle. He wore a grey Rocket jacket, though the sleeves were ripped off to show his arms and chest muscle. He also wore black cargo pants and dark brown boots that banged against the ground with every step he took. On his back was a large dark red "R". This Rocket was a Commander, the same rank as Calamity Jane, Butch, and Cassidy. By his side was a Mightyena, which was the source of the attack, (likely a Hyper Beam).

"Look what we have here...some..._pests_...in my base", the Rocket said in a rough, heavy voice. Ryoto looked at the figure in a mix of shock, anger, and disgust.

"...Wolfe...", Ryoto said. Upon seeing the former Rocket Assassin Commander, the Rocket named Wolfe smiled, like being surprised to see an old family member. Though everyone knew that this was no smile for happiness.

"Ryoto! Long time no see! How have you been? Well, that's kind of a stupid question isn't it, I can see you've joined legion with the PTA", Wolfe said.

"Ryoto, who's that?", Angel asked.

"Commander Wolfe. He's in charge of the Mercenary squadron of Team Rocket, much like I was for the Assassin one", Ryoto said.

"Oh Ryoto, you need to catch up on the times. I'm not just the Mercenary Commander anymore, I'm also now one of the highest ranking Rockets. After your little...stint at New Island, Commanders Butch, Cassidy, and Jane came and informed us about your little group and everything. Thinking that they would need help, Giovanni had me come in to...make things easier", Wolfe explained.

"Evan, can you get a shot of him?", Ash asked quietly through his earpiece.

"Negative. He's hidden by the cubicles. Get him in the open", Evan responded in concern. Wolfe, who was unaware of the communication between Ash and Evan, continued on.

"You know, I just came from the basement here, where we had a little run in with a few of your friends", Wolfe said. This took the others by surprise. He saw this, and smiled wickedly. "Yeah, they decided to break into the base from the ground, pretty smart actually. They caused quite a mess, even managed to detonate that EMP. I'm impressed...should have had back up for them though...a shame really".

"What did you do!?", Misty yelled in anger. Wolfe looked at Misty, faking shock that she accused him of doing anything.

"Me? Why, I did nothing. No, it was my cohorts that solved our problem", Wolfe said.

"WHAT DID YOU DO!?", Misty asked again, angrier.

"Well...last time I saw them, one was about to be shot in the face, and the other two tortured for information...", Wolfe said. The group gasped in horror. Had one of their friends been killed? They didn't know. Wolfe could have been lying, but he had no reason to. He didn't see anyone physically get killed, so there was still a chance that they were alive. But they had to get the others down there to see. Wolfe reached down towards his belt and pulled out a large silver revolver with a relatively long barrel for the type. He held it lightly in his hand, smiling all the while.

"So, there are seven of you here. And unfortunately, my Anaconda here only holds six bullets. So I guess one of you will be unlucky enough to have to be killed a slower, more painful death by Mightyena here...which one will it be hmm?...How about the little girl there?", Wolfe said with a gleam, pointing to Angel. This was the final straw.

"That's enough! Bronzong! Hyper Beam!", Ryoto yelled. Bronzong flew in the air and aimed its open bottom half towards Wolfe and Mightyena. It formed a Hyper Beam and launched it. Wolfe and Mightyena immediately dove out-of-the-way as the beam crashed into the wall, causing a minor explosion. Wolfe was now hiding behind cover, but continued to talk.

"Woah! That was a close one there! I gotta hand it to you all, you're a lot tougher than I was led to believe! But you don't think I would have been dumb enough to fight you all by myself now do you? You're all gonna die! One...two...three!", Wolfe said. Ash and the others prepared for the worst. Suddenly, the floor seemed to shake. Everyone looked around to see what was the source of this shaking. They soon got their answer.

The same set of doors that Wolfe had come out of were blown from their hinges and flew several feet into the room. Something big was entering the room, and the rebels became cautious. Suddenly, a large metallic monstrosity entered the room. It looked like a human, but it was entirely encased in metal. It stomped its way into the room and turned towards the rebels. It was large and bulky, clearly not something meant for fast paced movement. But it was covered in a brown thick metal and looked to have every weapon known to man on it. On the chest of this robot was a large letter "R". The face of this robot covered had a thin slit for eye holes and a painted mouth with teeth and fangs.

"Hahaha! I'm gonna crush me some PTA!", the robot yelled. There was a person inside the metal suit, controlling it. It suddenly aimed one of its arms at the rebels and a jet of flames shot out towards them. Lyla and Angel dove towards the left side of the room while everyone else dove towards the right. In the commotion, the Rocket who Milo had at gun point, (whom kept quiet the entire time so as to be forgotten), saw his opportunity. He grabbed Milo and threw him across the room, making sure his shot-gun was away from him. Ryoto quickly recovered from the fire attack and turned to see Milo in a fight.

"I GOT THIS! HELP THE OTHERS!", Milo said, seeing that Ryoto was going to help him. He was then grabbed by the Rocket, but he punched himself free and grabbed him. Seeing that Milo appeared to have it under control, Ryoto brought his attention towards the metallic Rocket.

"Alright Bronzong, let's kill that son of a", before Ryoto could finish, someone interrupted him.

"NO YOU DON'T!", someone yelled. Ryoto turned just in time to see a black sphere fly and crash into Bronzong, causing it to fly backwards and crashing into several cubicles. Ryoto looked at Bronzong, then turned towards Wolfe and an angry Mightyena. Wolfe smirked. "You're mine". Wolfe then charged towards Ryoto, pulling a large metal bat from his back, (which, compared to his size, looked small in his hands). Ryoto pulled out his Katana and prepared for a fight. Wolfe charged Ryoto and swung his bat down, which Ryoto was able to hold back with his blade. The bat was solid metal, not hollow like typical bats. Ryoto was barely able to hold back the strength of Wolfe. Ash saw Ryoto struggling.

"Ryoto!", Ash yelled. Pikachu's cheeks began to spark, ready to aid.

"NO! GET RID OF THAT METAL-SUITED ROCKET!", Ryoto yelled. He was then kicked in the gut by Wolfe. Wolfe swung his bat at Ryoto again, but he managed to recover, side-step out-of-the-way, and kick Wolfe in the head. He fell back and grew angry. The two continued their fight towards the front side of the building, leaving Ash and the others to contend with the metallic Rocket. The Rocket stepped towards the rebels and chuckled.

"You guys are gonna get squished like bugs!", the Rocket yelled. Ash, Misty, Angel, and Lyla aimed their guns at the Rocket and opened fire. The bullets all struck the Rocket, most of which ricocheted throughout the office. The Rocket merely laughed when the shooting stopped. He then aimed his other arm towards the rebels. "My turn!". His arm had a machine gun mounted on it. He fired large bullets towards the rebels. Lyla grabbed Angel and threw her through an open door along the wall while Ash, Misty, and Aleksi dove out-of-the-way towards the windows. Seeing this, Evan tried to act. He aimed his rifle at the Rocket's arm and fired.

The higher caliber shot and velocity caused the Rocket's arm to fly away from Aleksi, Ash, and Misty and aim towards the ceiling. The bullets caused the ceiling to cave in, falling down and covering the doorway Lyla and Angel had hidden in. Lyla pulled Angel back as debris fell and covered their only way to the others. When the dust settled, they approached the doorway. Pieces of metal and rock covered the entrance way, they weren't able to pull them loose.

"Guys! We're stuck back here!", Lyla yelled. The metallic Rocket, hearing Lyla, turned towards the girls who were now trapped and laughed.

"Ha! Easy pickings!", the Rocket yelled, aiming his flamethrower at the girls. Lyla screamed as flames were shot out towards them. She dove and covered Angel as the fire shot through the small opening and over their heads. Soon enough, the Rocket found himself being covered in water, extinguishing his flamethrower. He turned to see a Staryu in front of him. Misty stood behind Staryu, pointing to the Rocket.

"Staryu, Water Gun again!", Misty yelled. Staryu aimed it's stop arm towards the Rocket and sprayed a water jet at the Rocket. The water did not harm the Rocket, but forced him to take a few steps back from the sheer force of it. Misty turned to Lyla and Angel. "You need to get away! Take Angel and look for her parents Lyla!", Misty said. Lyla, who had gotten up and looked through the small hole, nodded.

"Ok!", Lyla yelled back. She turned around and helped Angel up. "Come on Angel, we have to go! We're stuck here and can't help them. We're going to go and look for your parents". Angel shook her head in distress.

"No! We have to help them first!", Angel said. Lyla understood the young girl's concerns, but had to help Angel first.

"Angel, they'll be fine. You know as well as I do that they're all more than capable of handling themselves. Right now, we can't help them. But they'll be alright. We have to save your parents before Team Rocket begins organizing itself", Lyla explained. Angel sighed. She didn't like the idea of leaving Aleksi and the others behind, especially after she promised to help them all. But Lyla had a point. If Team Rocket managed to get things organized again, it would be that much harder for them to save her parents. Their surprise attack was what was making everything easier thus far, but it wouldn't last for long.

"...Alright...let's go", Angel said. Lyla looked around and saw a small flight of stairs heading downstairs.

"Ok, we'll take the stairs...be prepared for anything", Lyla said, pulling a pistol out for protection. Angel nodded, doing the same. Lyla made her way down the stairs slowly, making sure that no one was in their way, Angel right behind her. As Lyla and Angel fled, and Ash and the others worked on distracting the metal-suited Rocket, Milo was left to contend with the lone Rocket UC. The Rocket was surprisingly adept at fighting, and kept Milo on the ropes. He punched Milo several times in the gut and then kicked him away. Milo landed on the ground and groaned.

He wasn't used to getting his ass kicked.

Milo turned just in time to avoid being stomped on by the Rocket. He grabbed the leg of the Rocket and then stood up, forcing the Rocket to be in an awkward angle. Still holding onto his leg, Milo kicked the Rocket in his gut, and then pulled the Rocket towards him. As he did, he flipped him over, making him land hard on his face. Milo turned around, only to see the Rocket quickly crawling away from him. Milo scoffed and walked towards the Rocket, but soon found himself in trouble. The Rocket had crawled towards Milo's shot-gun, grabbed it, and aimed it at Milo. Milo slowly raised his hands as he cursed himself for allowing this to happen as the Rocket stood up, his nose bleeding from falling on it. With Ash and the others to Milo's back and Ryoto and Wolfe to the Rocket's, he was all alone in this. Suddenly, an idea popped in his head.

Milo slowly lowered his hand to his side. The Rocket appeared apprehensive at first, ready to shoot, but saw that there was no weapon to Milo's right side, where he was putting his hand. Milo made a motion with his hand, and slowly raised it towards the Rocket. He had made a gun with his hand, pointing it directly at the Rocket. The UC looked at him in disbelief, was he really trying this when he had a shot-gun aimed at him? Milo smirked as he held his imaginary gun up and aimed it directly at the Rocket's face. The Rocket smirked as Milo pulled the trigger.

And a bullet blasted through the Rocket's head.

Milo, seeing the shot come from the window, laughed out loud as he "blew the smoke" off of his imaginary gun and then made a salute towards the hill. Evan watched with a smirk.

"Nice shooting Ace", Evan said with a smirk. Milo laughed.

"Yeah, I thought so too, Rocket didn't see it coming!", Milo said, talking with his earpiece. Milo rushed over and grabbed his shot-gun.

"Ok, now go help Aleksi and the others. Ryoto can handle himself for now, but I don't think the others can against that behemoth", Evan said.

"Gotcha man, I'm on it", Milo said. He then rushed towards the metallic Rocket. Misty had continued to use Staryu's Water Gun attack to at least keep the Rocket distracted. While it did not hurt him or his armor, the rushing water did prevent him from focusing his gun or using his flamethrower. Milo took this as his chance to help. "Hey, mental man!", Milo yelled. He pumped his shot-gun and fired a round at the Rocket. As expected, the pellets bounced off the armor. However, the force of the impact seemed to hurt the Rocket. Like taking a punch to his gut. He fired a couple of shots into the Rocket, distracting him. As Milo and Misty continued to distract the Rocket, Ash went to his earpiece.

"I hope you can take care of this Evan!", Ash said.

"I doubt it, that armor's too thick! My best bet is to shoot through his eye holes, but that's not going to be easy, I need him to stop moving!", Evan said.

"How am I supposed to get him to do that?", Ash asked, though this was mostly to himself. Aleksi, who stood by him, thought of an idea.

"Maybe _you _don't need to", Aleksi said. Ash looked to her in confusion, and Aleksi motioned to his shoulder. He turned to Pikachu, and immediately realized what she meant. Pikachu smirked, as did Ash.

"Evan...get ready", Ash said. "Pikachu, Thunderbolt!". Pikachu jumped from Ash's shoulder and immediately fired his electric attack at the metal Rocket. The Rocket yelled in pain as the electricity flowed through the conducting metal. Misty and Milo backed up as the Rocket yelled in pain. When the attack stopped, the Rocket remained still, electricity bouncing off the metal body. The Rocket growled in anger.

"That...all...you...got?", the Rocket asked. Suddenly, a shot was fired through one of the windows, and struck the Rocket in the head, right through the small eye hole. The head of the metal armor leaned back in response to the Rocket inside, causing the entire body to lose balance. Everyone watched as the body fell backwards and crashed onto the floor with a loud clang. From a top the hill, Evan pulled his bolt back and then forward again, removing the empty shell and putting a new bullet in the chamber.

"Bona Nox...you bastard", Evan said. Ash, Misty, Aleksi, and Milo remained quiet, waiting for any sign of the Rocket possibly still being alive. There was none. The group sighed in relief.

"Good shot Evan", Aleksi said with a smile.

"Of course, were you expecting anything less?", Evan asked. Aleksi smirked.

"That just leaves Wolfe", Ash said. The group then turned around, bringing their attention to the clashing Commanders towards the front of the building. By this time, the two had returned their Pokémon, (for what reasons the others did not know, they were too distracted by their battle to see what happened), and were fighting purely by their hand-held weapons. Ryoto was holding his chest tightly, having taken a couple hard blows and suffered possibly broken ribs. Wolfe was faring better, though he had several cuts on his arms, a couple on his legs, and his chest. He smirked as he looked at Ryoto, who was panting from keeping up with the more muscled Wolfe.

"You're out of shape there Ryoto. If you had remained a Rocket, you wouldn't be struggling like this! Joining the PTA has made you soft!", Wolfe said with a smile. Ryoto continued to pant.

"I'm still...more than enough...to kill you", Ryoto said. Wolfe smirked.

"We'll see about that!", Wolfe yelled. He then swung his bat at Ryoto, but he ducked, avoiding the blow. Seeing his opportunity, Ryoto swung his blade towards Wolfe. However, the Commander grabbed his arm before the blade could cut him. Wolfe then held Ryoto up and tossed him into the wall behind him. Ryoto landed on the ground in a heap and looked up to see Wolfe standing a few feet before him. He smirked as he put his bat away and pulled his Anaconda out, aiming it at Ryoto's head.

"One...two...three", Wolfe said as he cocked his gun. However, the shot never came. A blast of electricity struck Wolfe, blasting him out the front window as he screamed in pain. Ryoto turned towards where Wolfe was blasted out, then towards where the blast came from. He saw Pikachu sitting on the ground, and Ash standing behind him with the others.

"Cutting it a bit close aren't we?", Ash asked. Ryoto sighed.

"I had him", Ryoto said. He then stood up. "I wouldn't count Wolfe out yet though. The man survived being shot three times, being burned by a Magmar, and yes, being electrocuted by a Raichu. He's damn near impossible to kill. He's out of our hair for now, but he'll be back...and pissed".

"And we'll be ready when that happens", Ash said. He then turned towards Aleksi. "Radio Angel, tell her we're alright, and we're going to move in on Giovanni. We'll meet up with her and Lyla as soon as we can. Warn her about Wolfe just in case. There's a chance that he could go after them". Aleksi nodded and immediately began speaking through her earpiece. Ryoto placed his katana into its sheath as Milo loaded his Spas-12 with more shells. Misty returned Staryu and then looked to Ash.

"So, you ready?", Misty said. Ash nodded.

"Yeah...I've been ready for this for years now...we're finally going to stop Giovanni...once and for all", Ash said.

"Bout damn time, let's go and do this then!", Milo said, pumping his shot-gun.

"I agree. The longer we wait, the more likely he'll escape...if he hasn't already", Ryoto said. Ash nodded. Aleksi joined them after having contacted Angel and pulled her bow out with an arrow at the ready. Ash and the others then made their way to the back of the office, towards a pair of doors. The nicely decorated wooden doors were closed and probably locked, though it made little difference. To the side of the door was a metal name plate.

"Giovanni: CEO Rocket Industries".

Ash and the others crowded around the door and prepared their weapons. This was it, they were about to end this war, once and for all. They all looked to each other with a smile, held their breath,

and broke the door down.

**So much in one little chapter! I hope it didn't seem too rushed, I had a lot going on all while I was working on this update, particularly with homework. Anyone shocked by the sudden death? That was just one people! Expect (possibly) another one in the next chapter! I will also be cutting to the others at the Pallet Town base shortly, so keep an eye on that if you have favorites there. Not much else to say here, so please be sure to F.A.R., and to check out my Twitter account for updates and news! "With the loss of their ally Riles, and the appearance of a new foe in Wolfe, can the PTA succeed in their mission for world peace? Will they capture Giovanni? Find out next time on EVAN AAML's "R"!". **

**sincerely,  
evan, a fan of aaml -EVAN AAML**


	88. Chapter 88

**Before I begin this, there is a special little thank you I would like to send out here. Author prettygirl17, whom I have mentioned and plugged before in my stories, went out of her way to work on a video for 5 WHOLE MONTHS, just for my 21st birthday. The video is called "Soulmate: Ash and Misty", and you can see it on YouTube! Her account is "prettygirlstory", and there you can see her many different AMVs. The video she made for me made me tear up, and I hope it does the same for you. It's BRILLIANTLY done. So thank you again prettygirl17, it truly is a wonderful gift. :') **

**Also, to clarify in the last chapter, (as many people appeared confused over it), the unknown figure in the basement with the EMP squad WAS in fact Wolfe, NOT Giovanni. I apologize for any confusion. Another note I'd like to point out: I understand that I have incorrectly explained how an EMP actually works. For those who do not know, an EMP is NOTHING like the way I explained it in here. I did this merely so that it would fit better into the story. Props to those that caught that though! Just to clarify. :) Onto the story!**

**-EVAN AAML**

The doors swung open with a mighty force. They smacked against the walls behind them, slowly creeping their way back as the rebels rushed into the room, their weapons at the ready. They immediately say their target, and took aim.

The office was, to be expected, decorated and fashioned nicely, such as the personality of the CEO of any company, let alone Team Rocket. The walls had a nicely older style wall paper, not tacky, but rather making the room pop more in false elegance. Along the wall to the left of the room were wooden cabinets and shelves, littered with trophies, plaques, photos, and many other awards. Glass covered these awards and photos, protecting them from dust, from filthy hands and perhaps even unworthy eyes.

The right of the room had less stuff. A wooden table with a fancy desk lamp, and covered with fancy liquors and whiskey, wine and champagne; drinks that those with class would consume. Next to this table was a basic lounge chair, which was situated in the corner of the room. The ground had a dark red carpet, fitting for Team Rocket. It was clean, not the slightest trace of dirt, damage, or stain. The room looked as if it could have been built just yesterday, but it had been there for years. Team Rocket took their "clean image" to heart. The back-end of the room was nothing but windows, tall ones that overlooked the Kanto region. The sun shined brightly through the windows, lighting the entire room to an almost blinding aura.

There was a desk that faced the rebels. Wooden like the design of the room. The table did not have much on it, just a file with a few papers in it, (which was open, as if they were just being looked through), a small glass of what appeared to be scotch or whiskey, a pen, and a lone metal name plate. "Boss Giovanni". Standing near the leather wheeled chair behind the desk, his attention not towards the intruders, but rather the window, was a man in a bright orange suit. It looked pressed cleaned, tacky but fancy. He stood tall, wide shoulders pulled back, showing his relatively large size. His hands were behind his back, as if he was gazing at the land with appreciation. The rebels kept their weapons aimed at the man. He did not turn to face the rebels, but acknowledged their presence.

"...We've been expecting you...PTA", the man said. His voice spoke with age, but authority. Ash kept his pistol at the ready, but seemed more relaxed. It was obvious that the man would not put up a massive fight, if any.

"...Giovanni...head of Team Rocket", Ash said. The tension in the room seemed to suddenly grow with intensity. Just the name alone carried so much weight, such as the effect of Team Rocket.

"...You and your little _alliance _have caused quite a stir in our organization", Giovanni said with the same authority. After all the years of running Team Rocket, he had not lost any of his power, even in his body and voice. Ash was not surprised really, the same could be said even of him. When you had to run an organization, being assertive and memorable helped in inspiring. While Ash however did it with compassion and leadership, Giovanni did it with fear and power. His mere presence made the group nervous, even if they themselves wouldn't admit it. To have so much fear, so much power, in merely your presence. Team Rocket had outdone themselves in that aspect.

"Giovanni, you stand accused of mass murder to human and Pokémon alike, attempted murder of human and Pokémon alike, torture of human and Pokémon alike, selling of arms, bribery, corruption, and countless other terrible acts. How do you respond?", Ash asked. There was a pause, in which the tension in the room only seemed to build. Ash didn't know if Giovanni did this on purpose to make them more afraid, or simply because he could. Soon enough however, he spoke.

"My response...you're not worthy of such an answer. I need not speak for my actions", Giovanni replied.

"Are you saying you have no remorse for what you've done?", Misty asked, using the same tone as Ash, keeping her gun at the ready as well.

"Remorse? Team Rocket does not follow the term. Remorse, Mercy, Forgiveness...these are words for the weak, those who cannot stand up for themselves and so are controlled. I, on the other hand, am the controller. I rule. The strong survive, the strong enforce, the strong...control. So, to answer your question...no, I show no remorse. Not even the slightest shred of it. For showing remorse shows weakness...and I am not weak", Giovanni said. The rebels grew angry at the responses from the head of Team Rocket. He showed no sympathy what so ever towards the horrible acts against nature he and his organization committed. He would not even look the rebels in the eye when he said such things, not giving them his time. Ash gripped his pistol tighter in anger. The only thing preventing him from shooting the man down now was answers. Pikachu sensed the anger and tried to calm his friend down.

"Giovanni, you're going to pay for all of the things you've done to the people of the world. Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh, Unova and beyond. Your cruelty ends here and now", Ryoto said. Giovanni turned his head ever so slightly towards Ryoto, the most he had moved since the rebels entered the room.

"Ryoto...it's been a while. I shouldn't be surprised that the bounty I put on your head hasn't been called in yet...I think that will change after today", Giovanni said, turning his head back towards the window. He said this out of the slightest form of shock imaginable. Ryoto looked on in annoyance, it was like Giovanni to show such little emotion. As a Rocket, he had been trained into thinking that emotion was weakness. He nearly had every emotion beaten out of him, much like people like Wolfe. However, unlike most Rockets, Ryoto managed to keep some of his humanity hidden away, in a place where even Team Rocket couldn't reach. Milo turned in skepticism towards the others.

"Is this guy for real?", Milo asked, looking to Ash. He found it hard to believe that any guy would speak, or even look, like this. The majority of the PTA had never seen Giovanni first hand. In fact, photos of the man were hard to come by. Giovanni rarely traveled, and any form of news press was controlled by Team Rocket, making sure that no images of him were ever published. This was not done so much for secrecy, but rather to instill more fear. Fearing a man who everyone recognized was one thing, fearing someone who could be _anyone_, was a whole new story. However, Ash and the other region leaders had seen him before, they knew what he was like.

"Something's not right Ash", Misty whispered. Ash nodded, keeping his gun aimed at the Rocket head.

"I agree. There was barely any security here. That metal suited Rocket was tough, and beyond normal security, but surely the head of Team Rocket would have more than that", Ash said.

"Good observation", Giovanni said. The room was large, but not so much where he could not overhear their conversation. "You're right. I am defenseless. You have taken out all of the security I had on this level, and probably the entire three levels at this point. And, by the sounds of it, you are making quick work of the Rockets I had stationed outside for protection".

"...If you were prepared for us...then why have such little resistance?", Ash asked. Giovanni turned his head slightly once again, this time towards Ash.

"Why?...because...you're still not a threat. Despite your surprise, despite your..._soldiers_, despite your so-called advantage...you still have no idea what you're getting yourselves into", Giovanni replied. Milo huffed in annoyance.

"Ok, he's starting to piss me off!", Milo said. He then stormed over towards Giovanni. The rebels kept their weapons at the ready should Giovanni resist. They grew concerned for Milo for simply approaching him with little guard. Milo grabbed Giovanni's shoulder, spun him around, and pushed him against the window. The window gave no form of leeway, showing it's strength. Like expected, it was probably bullet resistant. The rebels finally got to see Giovanni's face.

And some grew worried.

"...You're not Giovanni", Ash said, lowering his pistol.

"Are you sure? How can you tell?", Aleksi asked, keeping her arrow pulled back and aimed. She was not as willing to accept the sudden turn of events. Like most of the rebels, she also had never exactly seen what Giovanni looked like.

"We've seen Giovanni before. Before he took over the world. It's been years since, which means he could have only gotten older. This guy is clearly too young to fit the profile", Misty explained. Aleksi looked to Giovanni and got a closer look. To her shock, they were right. Seeing his face, it was clear that he was surprisingly young. As young perhaps as them. She lowered her bow in confusion.

"That son of a bitch. I should have known he would try something like this. He did something similar years ago when we got word of a possible assassination attempt. He had a body double in place", Ryoto said, recalling the time.

"Is it possible that he just had a lot of work done? I mean, all the money he has, he could have gotten the best job in the world", Milo said, still holding the man against the window.

"No. All the money in the world couldn't make a job that good. And he had no reason to change his image. Up until now he was safe, no one against him knew what he looked like. And he couldn't have possibly gotten work that good done within a couple of days", Ash explained. "No, he's definitely hiding, and left an impostor as a distraction".

"I guess we shouldn't be surprised, if they knew we were coming, they wouldn't risk leaving Giovanni up here where he's an easy target", Ryoto explained. Ash approached the pinned impostor. He looked at Ash without the slightest hint of fear or worry. In fact, he smirked at Ash, giving an arrogant and cocky smile.

"Ok, where's Giovanni?", Ash asked. The impostor chuckled lightly, although it was hard for him with Milo's arm against his throat.

"I _am _Giovanni, couldn't you tell...Ash Ketchum?", the impostor said with the same exact tone and power as he did before, though through a smirk. Ash was not intimidated by his knowledge of his name, something he knew that Team Rocket would have anyway.

"Listen, I'm not playing games here! Where is he!?", Ash asked again, showing more anger in his voice as he got in the Rocket's face. The impostor laughed some more.

"We're not playing games either Ash. We _knew _you'd be coming, didn't I tell you that? Of COURSE Boss Giovanni wouldn't stay in his office. Do you think we'd be that stupid?...However...we knew that _you _would be this stupid. In fact, thus far we predicted nearly everything you guys did, and especially everything we thought you knew about us", the impostor said. The group looked at each other in confusion and worry.

"...What do you mean?", Misty asked. The impostor laughed out loud, scaring them more.

"You really ARE that stupid!", the impostor said. Milo pinned the Rocket even harder against the glass, causing him to choke a little. As Ash looked at the Rocket intently, he noticed that his eye was motioning towards Giovanni's desk. Ash turned around and caught eye of the file on the table, the one left open. He looked at the impostor for a moment, and then approached the table, looking over the file. Ash ignored the drink at the table, though about now he wished he had one himself to calm his nerves. He read it to himself, his eyes revealing emotions that concerned the rebels in the room.

"Ash...what is it? What does it say?", Misty asked worried. There was a moment of silence before Ash spoke.

"It's an article...written about today. It's meant to be put in papers tomorrow..."Group of outlaws attack Rocket Headquarters in Veridian. A group of criminals, known locally as the "PTA", led an assault against Rocket headquarters in Veridian yesterday, staging the biggest riot seen against Team Rocket in several years. Although the criminals fought with violence and cruelty, Team Rocket managed to protect the headquarters, and the world, by defeating the outlaws. The heads of the criminal PTA organization, including head Ash Ketchum...were all killed in the attack. Once again, Team Rocket has prevailed in protecting the citizens of Kanto from "vigilante groups", and have proven once again, that they are the guardians of the people of the world"", Ash read aloud. He slid the file and papers off of the desk and onto the floor in annoyance.

"It then goes on and on, nothing but Rocket propaganda. They knew we would attack today, they even went so far as to predict a victory", Ash said. The Rocket impostor chuckled some more.

"And can you _blame_ us? We _clearly _have the advantage over you PTA scum!", the impostor stated.

"...Where's Giovanni?", Ash asked. Pikachu, who was sitting on his shoulder the entire time, sparked his cheeks, trying to intimidate the Rocket. However, it was to no avail. This Rocket clearly did not fear for his life, he was dedicated to the cause, probably why he was selected for this suicide job.

"He's gone by now you fools! At this point, he could be anywheres on the planet! You'll _never _find him...and you won't live to even try", the Rocket said. No sooner did he say this than the sound of a voice reach their earpieces.

"GUYS, WE GOT TROUBLE!", someone yelled. It was Darrel.

"Darrel, what is it!? What's going on!?", Misty asked.

"We've been surrounded! We were beginning to enter the base when Rockets came up from what looks like everywhere! (GET YOUR ASS DOWN!), it was a set up! We got bullets and Pokémon attacks flying everywhere dog! We're in deep shit!", Darrel yelled.

"He's right! There are Rockets coming out from the woodwork out here!", Evan said, overhearing the conversation through the earpieces. "They were hiding away from the base and attacked when we least expected it!".

"It's a trap, they knew we'd attack and prepared for a battle on two fronts. They intend to surround us and choke us out, it's their main strategy", Ash said.

"What do we do then Ash?", Aleksi asked, beginning to grow concerned for the rebels. Ash paused for a moment. The pause concerned Milo, Aleksi, and Ryoto. Given the situation they were in, stopping to think about something was not a good sign. Misty however remained calm. She knew Ash, she knew that he would only pause like this if he were onto something big...and he was.

"...We look for Giovanni", Ash said. Everyone, even the Rocket, looked at him confused.

"What do you mean? He's not here Ash, we'd be leaving our team to fend for themselves if we went to look for him!", Milo said. Ash turned and looked to the impostor, looking into his eyes.

"...He's _here_, isn't he? The last place we'd suspect", Ash said. The Rocket looked at him confused, but Ash could see something the others couldn't. "Giovanni's ego is too big. He would never leave his main base, especially if they thought they were so heavily favored. And they wouldn't risk sending him off somewheres if they suspected we'd be watching for that. No, Giovanni would hide here, so that he could see our destruction first hand. He's probably hiding in the lower levels of the base somewheres".

"That makes sense. Even when I was a Rocket he only left this base for propaganda and business, which he rarely does now. Something this big, with his biggest enemies dying, he wouldn't miss it for the world", Ryoto added.

"So then...we're going to find him", Ash said with a smirk. He then got onto his com and began talking to the other groups. "Alright everyone, listen up. Giovanni was not on the third level. He's hiding somewheres in the lower section of the base. Gary, Dawn, there's a chance that you may find him, if you do, stop him. We're going down to the lower levels to look as well. Evan, watch us until we get down there, then go and help the frontal assault. Darrel, watch over everyone, I can't tell you how important it is that we hold on", Ash explained.

"Are you sure that Giovanni is still here?", Gary asked with skepticism through the com.

"Positive", Ash replied.

"Alright, if you think he is, I believe you. We'll keep an eye out", Dawn stated.

"And you know we'll keep fighting till our dying breath", Darrel threw in.

"I got your back. Just get moving!", Evan said. Ash nodded and turned to the others.

"Alright everyone, it's high time we got moving. Staying here for too long will be dangerous if more Rockets are moving in. We need to find Giovanni, save the captives, and help the others as soon as possible", Ash said.

"What about him?", Milo asked, referring to the impostor Rocket. Ash looked at the now angry Rocket. Though he is a Rocket, and was quite frankly a pain, he did not do anything to harm any of them.

"He stays, don't kill him", Ash said. Milo was uncertain of the idea, but shrugged and released the Rocket. He fell to his knees, gasping for breath as the others began to exit the room. As Ash began to walk out, Ryoto approached him.

"I think you should have killed him", Ryoto said.

"Ryoto, we don't kill people for a reason other than a precaution. He did not attack us, and he isn't our target. Remember, we're NOT Team Rocket", Ash said. Ryoto was clearly annoyed over Ash's perception on letting Rockets live, but did not argue with him. Now was not the time, nor the place. "If you don't mind, I have a request for you", Ash added. Ryoto turned to him in curiosity. "Go and look for Angel and Lyla. They may need your help. We have a map of the base, so we should be good, they don't, and could get lost. I know they went to look for Angel's parents, but it'll be safer if we do that as a group".

"Good point. Ok, I'll go and look for them, then we'll meet back up...but I'm letting you know now...should I run into any Rockets...I may not be as forgiving to them as you are", Ryoto said. Ash sighed, not out of annoyance for Ryoto's stubborn attitude, or his lust for blood, but more in disappointment. He thought Ryoto would have learned by now.

"I can't stop you, nor will I try. Angel and Lyla's safety is more important...however, keep in mind Ryoto, you keep going down this road to retribution, and you may not like what you see", Ash said. Ryoto scoffed. He knew Ash was a brilliant leader and inspired the rebels, but he didn't need a fortune right now.

"I'll keep that in mind...see you in a bit", Ryoto said. With that, he rushed off. Ash watched him leave and sighed. Ryoto had not changed as much as he said he had. But Ash couldn't argue over it now, he had a job to do, and little time to do it. He was about to walk off when he found himself being stopped once again.

"You don't know what you're getting yourselves into", someone said. Ash turned towards the desk where he spotted the Giovanni impostor, clenching his throat and leaning over Giovanni's desk. He looked at Ash in anger, but also with a smirk. He felt that he knew something they didn't. Misty and the others looked at the Rocket as well as he continued. "None of you. I can't wait...to see you all die. Every last one of you...I wouldn't be surprised if your friends were getting killed right now!".

Ash and the others did not look at the Rocket in anger, they did not threaten to kill him; they didn't even so much as respond. They merely stared at the Rocket. No words were needed. They had heard it all before, the threats, the cocky attitudes, the promise to witness their deaths first-hand. It was nothing new to them.

And yet they were still alive, so much for Rockets keeping their word.

Without so much as a noise, the group left the room, Ash being the last one. He took one final look at the Rocket, seeing the confused, angry face glare at them, before closing the doors behind him.

Ash turned to face the remaining squad members. Although no one had died, he felt uneasy with only four of them left. He hoped that Ryoto would find Lyla and Angel quickly and bring them back. With Giovanni hiding in the lower levels of the base, they could look for him and the captives at the same time. He just hoped that they had enough time.

"Alright, are you all ready?", Ash asked. They all nodded in response. Ash nodded back. "Good. Let's get going. Well head down the stairs to the first level on the right side, so that Evan can cover us. After that, we're on our own. Let's go". The four then made their way over to a door on the right side of the office and opened it. As Milo walked in front, his shot-gun at the ready, Ash followed. Misty was behind Ash, and Aleksi pulled up the rear, watching their backs with her bow pulled back and ready to fire.

"Evan, we're heading down the stairs, keep your eyes open for us", Ash said.

"Roger that. There's been a lot of Rockets running around to get to either the front or back of the base. I'm picking off as many as I can, but their numbers are just way to high", Evan commented.

"You're doing fine. Just be careful", Ash said.

"Gotcha", Evan replied. He then looked through his scope to spot his friends. He was not able to see them going down the stairs since this section did not have a window, so instead, he looked to where they were heading. The hall that was approaching them on the first story extended to nearly the end of the building. The entire way was covered with windows, so Evan had a clear shot of everything. Although the power was off due to the EMP, the hall, (and for that matter, the entire three stories), were still bright due to the many windows and bright sun-shine. As he looked, Evan spotted a door with a sign next to it. He zoomed in on the sign, which read "Basement".

"Ok, when you reach the bottom of the stairs, there's going to be a door on the left, about half-way down the hall. Head in through there. it says basement, so that's a good guess as to how to get to the lower levels from the upper stories", Evan said.

"Sounds good, we'll give it a shot", Misty replied. Suddenly, Evan spotted something else. From the end of the hall, a small group of Rockets appeared, carrying with them large machine guns. One of the Rockets appeared to be directing the others, and soon, the group stopped in the hall and aimed towards the door where Ash and the others would appear.

"Woah, hold on. I have a group of Rockets waiting for you in the hall. They're packed and ready to shoot the next thing to get out that door".

"The impostor must have alerted the Rockets", Ash said.

"How the hell did he do that!? The power's out ain't it!?", Milo asked.

"It might have been Wolfe, Ryoto said he was probably still alive", Aleksi noted.

"Now's not the time. Can you take them out?", Ash asked. Evan moved his gun over to the Rockets, putting one in particular in his sights.

"...With pleasure. Get ready to move", Evan said. The four rebels waited on the stairs, a few steps from the door. Their nerves were high and they were beginning to sweat. The assault had barely started and they were already on edge. Suddenly, the sound of a bullet shooting through a window could be heard from where they were waiting. There was some yelling and more gun fire. The rebels listened in, gripping their weapons tighter as they heard the Rockets panic and scream. Eventually though, all was quiet. There was a short pause, (which felt eery to the rebels after hearing the screaming) before Ash got a response.

"Alright, you're all clear. Just to warn you...it's a bit messy", Evan said. Milo couldn't help but chuckle.

"Evan, didn't I tell you to clean up after yourself?", Milo joked. He then turned up to the stairs to look at Aleksi, who still had her bow out towards the top of the stairs, but looked to the mechanic. "Sorry Aleksi, you should teach your boyfriend better manners". Aleksi sighed in annoyance. Only Milo would make a stupid joke in the middle of a battle.

"Let's move", Ash said, getting back to the task at hand. Milo stepped down the remainder of the stairs and then kicked open the door. With his weapon out, he looked around. As Evan had said, it was a bit messy. Several feet away from them, a group of bodies (or what remained of them), littered the hall. Two of the windows near them were broken, glass scattered on the ground. The floor was covered in broken glass and blood. Along the wall were a few bullet holes. Ignoring the carnage, the group made their way down the hall, stepping over the bodies gingerly.

"Ok, the door's coming up on your left. After you go down there, I can't cover you, so stay safe, alright? Especially you Aleksi. Find Angel and watch over her", Evan said. Aleksi stopped in the hall and turned towards the hill. From her view, he was laying down on the tallest of the two hills in front of her, (a smaller hill was located below the cliff Evan was on). She was just able to make out Evan from her view, though this was because she knew where to look. She put a hand on the window and smiled towards Evan.

"I will...You stay safe too, alright?", Aleksi said. Evan, who watched her through his scope, smiled.

"You bet 'cha. Now go! I'll go off and", before Evan could finish, the sound of a small explosion got his attention. He turned away from his scope and over towards the back side of the hill. From below, everyone could tell that something was happening. They could hear the explosion from Evan's mic and turned towards him.

"Evan!? What's happening!?", Aleksi asked growing concerned. Evan remained calm and began packing his things.

"That was one of my claymores. Someone is trying to come up here. I think the Rockets know where I am. That one exploded so that means they're probably dead, but I don't know how many are with them. I have to get moving", Evan said. However, before he could even finish packing up his stuff, he heard a noise.

"DON'T MOVE!", someone yelled. Evan's heart rate skyrocketed upon hearing the voice. They caught him. He cursed at himself for getting caught and stood up. From the base, Aleksi and the others watched in horror as he raised his hands up in the air and turned around. They were too far away to be able to help Evan, and by the time they would reach him, it would already be too late.

Evan turned to see a lone Rocket, his Uzi aimed directly at Evan. He looked like he had dirt and blood all over him, though by the looks of it, the later was not his own. Evan sighed, it was a low-level grunt. If he were to have gotten captured, it should have at _least_ been by a Corporal. He knew he was better than this.

"Your damn claymores killed my two squad mates!", the Rocket said angrily. It was clear though that he was saying this more out of annoyance than pure hatred for losing his "friends". Apparently friends were expendable in Team Rocket.

"Well, to be fair, I was hoping to kill _all _of you", Evan said with a smirk. This was not the first time Evan had a gun pointed at him from a Rocket, nor was it the first time he found himself in a bad situation. Evan remained fairly confident, knowing that showing any fear or uncertainty would be more dangerous than anything. The Rocket, oddly enough, began to chuckle to himself, which caused Evan to laugh with him. Perhaps it was because they found the situation funny or ironic, perhaps it was because the two of them were beginning to lose it in the fighting. But they continued to chuckle until the Rocket decided to end it.

"So...any last words before I send you to Hell where you belong?", the Rocket asked. As he asked this, he reached for something in his jacket; making sure to keep his Uzi out and at the ready. Evan watched with curiosity as the Rocket pulled out a cigarette and placed it in his mouth. He then proceeded to pull out a lighter and light the cigarette, sucking in the smoke and then blowing it out of his nose and mouth. Evan could not help but laugh at himself.

The irony.

"Yeah...don't you know...smoking kills", Evan said. As soon as he said this, he immediately reached for his belt. The Rocket, seeing him pull out his Desert Eagle, panicked. Evan aimed his gun with lightning speed, and held his breath.

From below, everyone watched as they heard the sound of bullets being shot. It only lasted a second or two, no longer. They remained quiet, not moving, not thinking, not even breathing. Aleksi's heart felt like it froze entirely in anticipation. What happened? She could only see Evan's back from her current position. He was still standing there, not moving at all.

Evan finally exhaled. He looked at the ground before him. The Rocket lied on the ground, his face to the grass, and his gun to his side. A massive hole was in his head, the bullet having gone clear through. Blood began to pool all around the head. Evan smirked to himself, bringing the gun up to his lips and blowing the smoke out from the barrel. He then turned back towards the Rocket building, where he spotted Aleksi and the others. He waved and smiled to the group. Aleksi, seeing him, smiled back.

The smile however, was soon replaced by a look or pure horror.

Evan, seeing the look on her face, looked down at his chest. His yellow t-shirt and white unbuttoned shirt were slowly being covered with blood.

Huh, so that's what it felt like.

Evan dropped his Desert Eagle by his side. It landed on the grass right beside his Intervention, almost fitting really. He knew he did not have much time left. Feeling the life drain from him, Evan worked at pulling his belt off of him. His eyes felt droopy and his knees shook at holding up his own weight. He could feel blood beginning to come up his throat, nearly choking on it. Finally, he managed to pull the belt off. He held it in his hands, and then looked down to Aleksi. Her eyes were wide and filled with worry. He could do nothing, but smile. He then looked up to the sky, feeling the sun's rays on his face and body. He smiled to the sky and the sun as a trail of blood made its way passed his lips. It was a comforting feeling when he felt the rays at his home the day his father died months ago, and it was no less comforting now.

"A...lek...si", Evan said to himself. Still holding onto his belt, he leaned forward, finally losing control, and fell over the cliff. The last thing he thought of, was the image of Aleksi, the day they were having breakfast together in the medical wing. Seeing her in her black t-shirt and green short shorts, turning and giving him a thumb's up.

Aleksi saw him fall, and immediately began to scream. From her view, she could not see him fall to the ground entirely, as the smaller hill obstructed her view. She banged on the glass, tears coming down as Evan fell out of sight. Everyone else watched in horror, not being able to believe what had just happened. Suddenly, the sound of a door being kicked open echoed down the hall. Everyone but Aleksi turned in shock to see several Rockets coming down the stairs. They immediately saw the bodies of their allies, and the rebels before them.

"THERE THEY ARE! KILL THEM!", a Rocket yelled. Ash and Milo dove to the wall, using what little cover they had by the doors. Misty rushed over towards Aleksi and grabbed her, pulling her away from the window as the Rockets began firing bullets their way. Aleksi struggled to get free, fighting tooth and nail as she screamed Evan's name in pain. She pulled her bow out and fired an arrow at the Rockets in anger. It pierced a Rocket in the head, killing him on the spot. Milo pulled his gun out and yelled in anger.

"YOU DAMN ROCKETS! I'LL KILL EVERY LAST ONE OF YOU!", Milo yelled. He fired the Spas 12 at the Rockets. Two of them immediately fell down, their bodies being hit with the metal. Ash saw Misty trying to pull Aleksi away and then turned to Milo.

"MILO, RUN ON AHEAD AND COVER US! I GOTTA GET THE GIRLS OUT OF DANGER!", Ash yelled. Milo snapped out of his rage and nodded. He knew that they had to save the girls. He rushed ahead, firing shots at the Rockets and making them cover.

"COME ON! WE NEED TO GET MOVING!", Milo said, shooting his Spas 12 at the Rockets. Ash grabbed Misty and the distraught Aleksi and pulled them along. Pikachu jumped off of Ash's shoulder and fired an electric shock down the hall, striking the Rockets. It was not enough to kill them, but it stunned them long enough to give the others time to move. Milo reached the door Evan had spotted and opened it, aiming the barrel into the room. No one was there, it was just a flight of stairs leading down into the lower levels of the base. Milo held the door open and ushered the others.

"LET'S GO!", Milo yelled. Ash pulled Misty and Aleksi to the door, Aleksi still screaming and crying, firing another arrow down the hall. When they were out of the line of fire, Milo aimed his gun down the hall and fired more shots, shooting the Rockets. "I'LL KILL YOU FOR WHAT YOU DID TO HIM YOU MOTHER FUCKERS!", Milo yelled. One by one the Rockets fell to the scatter shot. Pikachu was the last to reach the door. Milo, knowing that they had to move, fired one last shot at the remaining Rocket, dropping him right then and there, and then ran down the stairs.

Leaving Evan behind.

**...I think I'll just let the drama of the chapter speak for myself. No need for words here. **

**sincerely,  
evan, a fan of aaml -EVAN AAML**


	89. Chapter 89

**Well, crying from the last chapter aside, how is everyone!? Ok, maybe not the BEST question to ask. I received MANY sad reviews over the passing of such a big character. Some people were shocked that I killed my own OC, even MORE were shocked that I killed him when he was in a relationship with Aleksi. Well, this only serves to remind everyone that ANYTHING can happen in war. There will be more deaths to come certainly enough, and hopefully now you'll be more prepared for it. Hehe, and hopefully I'll be prepared to write it! I won't lie, killing myself off the way I did was difficult, I needed to stop writing for a moment because I was feeling the emotion of the moment. Deep. Anyway, enough babbling! This chapter will switch to those at the PTA base in Pallet Town, so as to give the other characters some focus. :)**

**-EVAN AAML**

"It's quiet...too quiet", Hunter said, looking around the room nervously, his hands gripping an M-16 tightly with his finger near the trigger. Hunter was sitting on the ground, his legs crossed, and his eyes darting every which way. Several other rebels, including Catie, Trent, and the twins Luke and Logan, looked at him with concern and annoyance.

"Hunter...that was quite possibly, the cheesiest, most cliché thing you have ever said", Catie said, sitting on a crate with her arms crossed. Hunter, annoyed, turned to Catie.

"Well I'm right aren't I!?", Hunter asked. Catie sighed. Though she wouldn't admit it, he _was _right. It was too quiet. Ever since the Veridian liberation squad had moved out, the base had been nothing but silent. Expecting the worst, the PTA prepared themselves for battle. Outside, many rebels, (including Brock and Tracy), were staying on watch and ready to fight any Rockets they saw. Inside, nerves were a little higher. Because they didn't know for sure if Team Rocket was in fact coming, all they could do was wait, which was not the strong suit of many of the rebels there.

"I HATE waiting", Hunter said after a few minutes. "Waiting to me means you're an open target. We need to get things done!".

"Hunter, there's not much more to do. We've hidden all the documents in the library, we handed out nearly all the weapons we could, heck, we even handed out the uniforms to everyone. There's nothing else to do but wait", Catie explained.

"Yeah, it's not like we can really do much more until Team Rocket shows up. We're the defense, we're not supposed to act out, we're supposed to protect", Logan added. Luke, sitting with his brother on some larger crates, tapped him jokingly.

"Not that I'm complaining. If me sitting here bored means Team Rocket doesn't show up, I'd gladly do it", Luke said. Logan laughed in agreement. As the guys debated over what to do, Catie turned and looked over to Trent. Ever since they had finished their jobs, he had been leaning against the wall in deep thought. He had gladly helped the gang, and was listening to their conversations, (laughing at comments here and there), but for the most part, he was quiet.

"Hey Trent, you alright?", Catie asked. Hunter and the twins stopped their chatter and turned to Trent. He turned to the gang, as if he had just been snapped out of a trance, and shook his head.

"Hmm? Oh, yeah...I'm fine", Trent said. Everyone else looked at him skeptically, he was not good at bluffing. Trent sighed. "I'm just...worried about the others. They've been gone for an hour or so, they haven't radioed us, haven't communicated in any way. And all that time, we've just been sitting here, doing nothing particularly important", Trent said.

"You see!? That's what I mean! We haven't!", Hunter said, happy that someone saw his point. Catie glared at Hunter, then turned back to Trent.

"Trent, what we did _was _important. We can't let Team Rocket get anything on us, we're protecting ourselves the best that we can. We may not be fighting off Team Rocket like they are, and for all we know, we won't at all. But we're doing everything we can at the moment. Ash and the others, they'll be alright. I'm sure that before we know it, they'll be coming back down the road, waiving the PTA flag in victory", Catie said with a smile.

"It's not us winning I'm worried about", Trent said. Everyone remained silent, wondering what he meant. He then turned towards them. "It's who won't be coming back to celebrate the victory". Tension grew in the room at the statement. The twins shuddered at the thought, and even Hunter seemed to be worried over it. However, he soon snapped out of it, shaking his head at the thought.

"No! They'll be fine! You kidding me? This is the PTA we're talking about! We're the baddest guys around! There's no way they won't be returning, just you wait and see!", Hunter said. Trent looked like he wanted to believe him, but something tugging at him made him feel like this was just wishful thinking.

He hoped he was wrong.

"Hey guys!", someone said. The group turned to see Brenna approaching them. Like Catie, she opted to wear simply the new white PTA jacket over the entire uniform like Hunter, (the twins and Trent opted to wear their normal attire). The group seemed somewhat shocked that she was there.

"Brenna? Shouldn't you be watching over the library? You know that it's one of the biggest things here that needs to be guarded", Catie said.

"I have some of my Pokémon watching over it while I'm gone. Besides, it's not like anything's going on now. Plus...I don't know. I just...needed a good laugh", Brenna said. The group looked at her confused. "All of this stress, worrying over the others in Veridian and when or even if Team Rocket will attack us, it's putting me on edge, so I was hoping to calm my nerves by talking to you guys".

"Well, if you were looking for support, you might have been better off going up to the lab with May and her group, they seem more like that type. Now if you're looking for a good laugh, just make fun of Catie, that always makes me happy!", Hunter said. Catie turned to Hunter in a glare.

"NOT EVERYONE'S AN ASSHOLE LIKE YOU HUNTER!", Catie yelled. Hunter and the group, (Brenna included), all broke into laughter at Catie's anger.

"See!? What'd I tell ya!?", Hunter said. After the laughing subsided, Trent approached Brenna.

"Hey Brenna, I'm curious, did you managed to make contact with anyone from Veridian?", Trent asked. Brenna looked to Trent for a moment, and then remembered something.

"Oh! Actually, now that I think of it, I did!", Brenna said. The others looked at Brenna in shock. "It's kind of the reason why I needed some cheering up. Angel contacted me about fifteen, twenty minutes ago. She said that they had infiltrated the Rocket base, but that some weird Rocket weapon separated her and Lyla from the others. I tried to get more information out of her, but she said she had to go".

"That doesn't bode well", Trent said in worry.

"Well, did she say anything about the others?", Catie asked somewhat sheepishly. She was nervous to ask the obvious. Brenna however, being as smart as she was, caught on.

"She said that no one died that she knew of if that's what you mean", Brenna said. The others sighed in relief.

"Well that's good news at least", Hunter said.

"Did she say anything about that bomb thing?", Logan asked.

"Or if the assault was going as planned?", Luke asked.

"She did say that the EMP went off, so that worked, but they don't know how Brian or the others are doing since they lost communications with them. And she didn't say much about the assault, but except from her getting separated, it sounded like it was going along as planned", Brenna said. "Still, she seemed calm, but I could tell that she was just hiding being nervous, and it made me nervous as well. Not just for her, but for everyone". She looked at the ground in sadness. She may have been a rebel, but she was still only 15. She was not used to this kind of situation. The others looked at each other in concern. They weren't the best people for cheering up young teens. They felt awkward over the situation. Oddly enough, it was Hunter who finally managed to say something.

"Oh, don't worry about it. It's just nerves is all. They'll be fine. When have you know Angel to not get the job done in one piece? She'll be home before you know it, then you two can...I don't know, do each other's hair, or whatever it is that girls do", Hunter said. Brenna sweatdropped. He was clueless, but at least he was trying. She smiled.

"Well...thanks Hunter", Brenna said cheerfully. She then turned to look up towards the ceiling. She thought of her friends who were stationed upstairs or outside, and hoped that they would be alright out there.

As Brenna thought about the others, from outside, the rebels began to show mixed emotions. The town was under lockdown, for fear of the towns people being hurt in a possible fight. Many of the locals, (like the Mart owner and the flower shop girl), were evacuated by the rebels to the woods, others who were located further away from the lab, just boarded themselves into their homes and hoped for the best. The people of Pallet Town had known all along about the rebels hiding at the lab, and they were prepared for a day like this to happen at some point in time, so they took the sudden evacuation with stride.

The rebels meanwhile situated themselves around the town in designated locations. While the majority of them were located around the lab, other groups were placed in spots entering the town to create a wall, while others were placed at businesses and homes to protect property and people who couldn't or wouldn't leave. To some, tension was high. They looked around nervously, their heart rates skyrocketing with every noise or movement they caught. Others looked bored, nearly falling asleep in the quiet. They had psyched themselves up for a battle so much that anything less was a bore.

On top of the lab itself were Brock, Tracy, Ashley, Noah, and Jake. The group, (along with several other rebels), were positioned here to get a better view of the town and the entrances, while also giving them a tactical fighting position. Brock laid on the roof, his rifle, (an M1 Garand, an older style rifle that he liked), positioned for a shot. Despite the quiet, he kept at the ready. Brock was seasoned, even for the oldest of the PTA. He knew better than to get relaxed at a time like this. Tracy sat not to far away, his gun, (a typical PTA M-16), aimed at the opposite direction of the town. Like Brock, he was more than experienced enough to know better than to let the boredom get to him.

Ashley sat away from the edge of the roof, just passing the time. She was ready for a fight, but could not shake off the boredom as well. Her assault rifle laid beside her motionless, though she hoped to rely more on her Pokémon anyway, and so did not worry about it. She rubbed the newly placed PTA badge on her shirt, feeling like it was a part of her now, or perhaps that she was a part of it. Noah, the least experienced of the group, sat between the PTA leaders and Ashley. While the group showed more trust to him, they still were not going to take any chances. He had thus far done nothing to show that he was a Rocket UC, and even to this point was prepared to fight them should they arrive, (he was also given the PTA uniform to wear, though unlike some rebels, his had no rankings or name). However, he looked as if he would fall asleep at any second. He yawned, which prompted a slight giggle from Ashley.

"You tired?", Ashley asked. Somewhat startled, Noah nodded.

"Huh? Oh, yeah. I didn't get a lot of sleep...you know, being stuck in that room. And now...well, nothing's happening", Noah said.

"Don't let that get to you Noah. You never know when, or even if, Team Rocket will strike", Tracy said. Noah turned towards him.

"Are you sure they will? I mean, it seemed obvious that they would, but by now they should have arrived don't you think?", Noah said.

"He does bring up a point. I mean, Ash and the others left sometime ago, unless they decided that it was more important to protect their base than fight us, there shouldn't be any reason that they're not here by now", Ashley said.

"They'll come", Jake said. Ashley and Noah turned towards Jake, who had kept quiet for the most part since they got on the roof. He sat against a metal ventilation shaft that stuck out of the roof from the inside of the base. In his hands he held an AK-47 that Brock had loaned to him. Since he was not a member of the PTA, he did not wear any part of the PTA uniform. Like Noah, he was on watch for security reasons. However, as he was considerably more experienced than Noah, he was given a gun to help fight off the Rockets.

"What makes you so sure?", Noah asked, somewhat annoyed. Partially it was jealousy due to them trusting this scary looking man over him, but it was also merely out of curiosity.

"Team Rocket would be fools to pass up an opportunity like this. I know them, and they're not ones to pass up something this rich. No, they'll come. With half the PTA forces gone, they'll see this as right for the picking. It may be later than we expected, but the end result will be the same..and I suggest that, when that time comes, you get to hiding kid. You're not going to be of much use here", Jake explained. Noah looked to him angrily.

"Big talk coming from the guy who didn't even have a gun to use! For someone so prepared, you didn't even come with a gun?", Noah said, thinking he made a valid point. Jake however merely smirked.

"I _do _have a gun kid, it's just a pistol...I prefer close quarters...", Jake said with a gleam in his eyes that scared Noah. He then made a trust forward, causing Noah to jump back in freight. Jake chuckled to himself at the jumpy teen. "Besides, even _bigger _talk coming from the kid who was _offered _a gun and yet turned it down". Noah, feeling defeated, sighed.

"I just...don't like using guns", Noah said quietly. Ashley, feeling pity towards the young teen, smiled.

"It's alright Noah, you're not the only one who doesn't like guns. Most of us here don't. I don't either", Ashley said. Noah turned to her. "I only have one just in case I need to protect my friends. Otherwise, I'd stick to using my Pokémon battling skills".

"That's what I prefer too", Noah said. Jake chuckled.

"Oh I'm sure. And I bet you're one of the toughest trainers here", Jake said sarcastically. Noah got even more annoyed with the comments. Jake clearly didn't think that he could handle his own due to his age, but Jake didn't know him, and he had no right to judge him base solely on his young appearance.

"Cool it Jake", Brock said. He could tell that Jake was getting on Noah's nerves. Jake technically didn't have to follow his commands since he was not a PTA rebel. However, he offered his services, and did what he was told. Noah, grateful that Jake would leave him be for now, turned to Brock.

"So Brock, do _you _think Team Rocket will show?", Noah asked. Brock kept his eyes towards where his rifle was aimed.

"I don't think it...I know it", Brock said. Noah and Ashley appeared worried over the comment. "They're psyching us out. It's psychological warfare with them. Team Rocket is a lot smarter than most rebellion groups give them credit for. They aren't just a powerful group physically, but mentally as well. They can break you without having to touch you, and they love to do it. They know that we're expecting them, they know that we have this barricade set up. So they're biding their time, waiting for us to grow bored and weary. And then, when they deem it, they'll strike".

As Brock finished his statement, he looked over towards the horizon, (while keeping his gun positioned where it was). As it had been for the past hour, it was sunny and quiet, nothing out of the ordinary. However, Brock knew better. He knew that, somewhere, Team Rocket was waiting. Waiting for their chance to strike. Often times Brock found himself to be overly paranoid when it came to Team Rocket. Growing up with Ash and their friends, Brock was often laid back. He kept to his cooking and his care taking and never bothered with a fight, despite his skills as a trainer and his size. However, the war, like it did to many others, changed him.

His family, (the few times he got to see them), saw it as well. He had grown wiser and bolder as second in command of the PTA, but he was also more weary, always looking over his shoulder wherever he went. Even at times in his own base he would catch himself unintentionally looking around for anything out of the ordinary. It nearly controlled him. But, after today, it would all end...one way or another.

As he looked over the horizon, he spotted something small in the air. It was a distance away, so Brock didn't think much of it immediately. It looked to be a mere flying type Pokémon, (of which he had seen several since his time standing guard). He continued to look at the flying figure, trying to keep himself occupied with determining what Pokémon it was. It was a game he found himself doing from time to time, he would spot a distant Pokémon, and try to not only figure out what it was, but the age, sex, size, and other characteristics of the Pokémon. It was a way to test his own knowledge so to speak.

He looked at the Pokémon, having difficulty trying to figure out what exactly it was due to the sun light coming from roughly the same direction. He squinted at the sky as he continued to look, but he didn't have to for long.

The Pokémon was coming to him.

It took a split second for Brock to realize what was going on. Immediately, the figure grew in size, it moved with near super-sonic speed. Brock immediately turned to the others.

"EVERYONE GET DOWN!", Brock yelled. In a panic, Tracy, Ashley, Noah, Jake, and the other rebels dove to the ground as Brock did the same. Just as he did, he turned towards the figure. Within the second it took Brock to turn to the others and fall to the ground, the Pokémon had flown miles and was now already in front of them. It was a Garchomp, and a powerful one at that. Its eyes met Brock's as it opened its mouth and released a Flamethrower attack. The flames shot just above everyone's heads as the Pokémon flew past. Jake immediately turned around and felt the fire on his jacket. He smothered the fire as quickly as he could while he reached for his gun.

"TEAM ROCKET'S HERE!", Jake yelled. From below, the rebels immediately looked around in fear. Some were so shocked at the sudden attack that they were caught unaware, and unprepared. Team Rocket's plan had worked.

Suddenly, the sound of engines began to roar all around them. From the woods and roads, Rocket jeeps, ATVs, and other vehicles began to charge the town. Rebels immediately began firing their weapons and releasing their Pokémon to fight the invaders. The Garchomp made a second pass at the rebels on the roof, knowing that it had missed the first time. This time, it flew directly at them. Ashley saw this, and immediately dove to Noah.

"DUCK!", Ashley yelled as she grabbed Noah and pulled him down. Noah was brought to the ground in just enough time, as Garchomp flew directly over him, its bladed arms out where he was standing. Noah felt the breeze from the flying Pokémon as it whizzed by. Another rebel on the roof, who failed to see Garchomp in time, was struck in the chest by the blades. He was cut in half, and both sections of his body were propelled off of the roof of the building due to the sheer force of the attack. Noah watched the whole event with his eyes wide and in shock. The horror he had just witnessed only took a split second, but it was already more than he was prepared for. Ashley, not one to let things like this get the better of her after New Island, immediately shook Noah.

"COME ON! YOU NEED TO SNAP OUT OF IT OR YOU'LL BE NEXT!", Ashley said. Noah could hear Ashley, and understood what she was getting at, but physically could not respond. How could he? Literally a moment ago he was debating if Team Rocket would even show up. Now, he had just witnessed the gruesome murder of someone by their hands. Ashley sighed heavily and looked in the sky for the Garchomp. She knew that Noah was out of it, and it would take some time for him to recover.

Time they didn't have.

As she saw the fierce Pokémon flying around for another attack, she prepared herself, grabbing a Pokéball from her belt.

"GO EMPOLEON! ICE BEAM!", Ashley yelled as she threw her Pokéball. The ball burst open and the large bird Pokémon immediately fired a beam of ice at the quickly approaching creature. Unable to stop in time due to its immense speed, Garchomp was blasted by the Ice Beam and thrown backwards, frozen solid. It flew away from the roof and to the ground below. Ashley then turned towards the others, who were trying to gather their senses after being attacked. "COME ON! WE NEED TO DEFEND THIS TOWN!". Brock looked to Ashley, and then nodded.

"She's right! We have prepared for this moment everyone! While the others fight to defeat Team Rocket, so must _we _fight to protect our home! And we WILL...PROTECT...OUR...HOME! NOW WHO'S WITH ME!?", Brock yelled. Everyone on the roof, (with the exception of Noah), raised their hands in the air, like the flag on their PTA uniforms. Brock immediately turned towards the edge of the roof, a Pokéball in his hands. He opened it without throwing it and his Steelix appeared, roaring and ready to fight. Brock immediately jumped onto his Steelix's tail and the snake-like Pokémon slithered off of the building. Down below, a small group of Rockets made their way up the stairs to reach Prof. Oak's front door, guns in hand. However, before they could reach it, they looked up in horror to see Steelix crash on top of them. Steelix slithered to the front of the building, where Rockets began to fire upon it. Its steel hide however protected it from the bullets. Brock jumped off of the Pokémon, firing shots at the Rockets.

"STEELIX! IRON TAIL!", Brock yelled. Steelix roared and raised its tail, which began to glow white. It swung its tail at the many Rockets around them, throwing them this way and that. From the roof, the others looked on in amazement.

"AHA! NOW THAT'S A FIGHTER!", Jake yelled. He then grabbed a Pokéball of his own and turned to the others. "WELL!? WHAT ARE WE WAITING FOR!?". He opened the Pokéball and a Skarmory appeared. It screeched out loud as Jake rushed over and jumped on its back. "TAKE US TO THE FIGHT SKARMORY!". Skarmory spread its wings and then took off, flying above the fight. When it reached lower to the ground, Jake jumped off, (landing not to far from Brock), while Skarmory fired Swift at a group of Rockets before them. Jake and Brock continued to fire shots at the Rockets while their steel Pokémon defended them. Tracy turned to the others on the roof.

"Alright everyone, our turn! Grab a Pokémon and go!", Tracy said. The others nodded. As Tracy made his way down with his Scyther, Ashley turned towards Noah, who was still out of it from the murder he saw.

"Noah, listen, I know this is hard for you, but you need to snap out of it...you wanted to join the PTA and fight this war...well now you are", Ashley said. Noah turned and looked to Ashley. He just stared at her for a moment or two, before finally nodding to himself. He grabbed a Pokéball and released it, revealing a Swellow. However, for some reason, this Swellow was a different color, it was a rare Shiny one. Ashley, impressed by the Pokémon, would have talked about it had it not been a bad time. Noah jumped onto Swellow's back and then took off. Ashley grabbed onto Empoleon, who waddled over to the edge and jumped off.

As the intense fighting was beginning outside, from inside the lab, people looked on in horror and prepared for the worst. May, Drew, Sawyer, and Nick had been stationed upstairs to protect Prof. Oak, Delia Ketchum, and the other lab assistants who were in the lab. Them and the other rebels who were with them, hearing the sounds of the bullets and the Pokémon prepared themselves.

"Team Rocket's here, it'll only be a matter of time before they manage to get into the lab!", Nick said looking out one of the windows. He then ducked when he saw a Rocket aim a weapon towards him, ducking just in time to avoid the bullet that broke through the glass and into the lab. Sawyer, who saw that Nick was safe, sighed in relief, but only slightly, for they were not out of trouble.

"We need to make sure that everyone is protected!", Sawyer said. She then began, (with the help of some rebels and lab assistants), to barricade the front door. It would not stop them, but it might just slow them down. As they did this, May and Drew turned to Prof. Oak and Delia. Mr. Mime stood beside her, ready to fight in order to protect its trainer.

"Professor, Delia, we need to find a safer spot for you", May said.

"I think not. These vandals are attacking my lab and endangering the people in the town I live in, I intend to stay and fight!", Prof. Oak said with an assertive tone. Delia nodded.

"Me too! I won't let them hurt the kids I care about so much!", Mrs. Ketchum said. May sighed.

"I know you guys want to help, but I was charged with keeping you safe, and I intend to do just that. We can't afford to lose you two. Now please, at least let Drew take you someplace safer in the lab", May said. Prof. Oak and Delia looked at May, and then at each other. Normally they wold continue to argue over the ordeal until they got their way, however, May had a way with coaxing people out of fighting. This was one of the many reasons why she was selected to be a region leader. The two of them sighed and nodded.

"Alright May, do what you must", Prof. Oak said.

"But just promise to stay safe! I don't want anything happening to you, or anyone else here!", Mrs. Ketchum said. May nodded.

"Ok, I promise. But please, go, now!", May said. The two nodded. Drew then quickly approached May.

"...Stay safe", Drew said quietly. May nodded. Drew gave her a quick kiss on the lips and then immediately turned towards Prof. Oak and Delia. "Ok, come with me, we'll take you upstairs. It's safer than the base". The three then ran off, being followed by a couple of rebels and the lab assistants. May watched as they left, hoping that this wouldn't be the last time she saw them again. She almost lost her life before, she didn't know if she'd be lucky enough to survive twice.

Snapping out of her trance, she turned to her fellow rebels. She was a leader, and had to act as such. She approached the doors that the rebels were barricading.

"Wait...stand back", May said. The rebels turned to her and, though confused, did as they were told. May reached for her Pokéball and released her trusty Pokémon Blaziken. It roared upon being released. "Blaziken, Flamethrower the door!", May said. Blaziken, understanding what its trainer was getting at, nodded and began to shoot a thin trail of flames at the slits between the doors. She was welding the doors shut. As Blaziken continued to do this, May turned to the other rebels. "Go and weld the other doors shut, and quickly! Keep away from any and all windows in case they can see you!". A few rebels nodded and rushed off to do as she ordered.

"What about us?", Nick asked, his back to the wall and still hiding below the window, (which continued to have an occasional bullet go through).

"You, Sawyer, and who ever's left are going to defend the lab, at all costs! If the people outside or down below need our help, then we'll do what we can", May commanded. The rebels nodded in response. By this time, Blaziken had finished welding the door and stood back. The heat from the flames was now finally beginning to cool, and the weld could be seen clearly. "That won't hold them off forever. Grab your weapons and ready your Pokémon. This is where we make our final stand", May said.

"Do you think Ash and the others are doing alright in Veridian?", Sawyer asked.

"...I can only hope so...why?", May asked. While she had confidence in her friends at Veridian, she thought it was an odd time to ask the question here.

"...Because I think we're going to need their help soon", Sawyer said.

"You're not kidding", Nick added. The girls turned to Nick, who was glancing carefully out the window, a M4A1 in his hands. "It looks like the entire Rocket army is on our doorstep. Honestly they outnumber the entire population of Pallet Town, even with us rebels here". A bullet then went through the now open window. Nick ducked in enough time to avoid it, then turned to the girls. "If we're gonna win here, it's going to take a lot more than our skills. Some praying and luck wouldn't hurt".

Suddenly, a bang could be heard at the front door. The rebels turned in shock. They didn't see anyone coming up the stairs. There was another bang, then another. May, Blaziken, and a few rebels near the door backed up as the banging increased, only to stop for a moment. The rebels looked at the door, and then at each other. Whoever was banging against the door could tell that they would never be able to do it with their own body force. This was only proven true when suddenly, bullets began being shot through the doors.

Blaziken grabbed May and jumped backwards behind some bookshelves while the other rebels dove out of the way of the oncoming barrage. The bookshelf was being riddled with bullets, and paper bits and wood flew everywhere. Luckily, it was just thick enough to protect May and Blaziken. The bullet soon stopped, only to have something worse occur.

The doors were broken open, the welding snapping and the objects used for the barricade flying about as a Rhydon charged through the lab. It stopped several feet from where May and Blaziken were hiding, (whether it knew they were there or not remained to be seen). Nick immediately grabbed Sawyer and pulled her back from the door as Rockets began rushing in.

"LONG LIVE TEAM ROCKET!", the Rockets yelled as they opened fire at random people. May once again hid behind the bookshelves while other rebels ducked and dove away from the onslaught. Nick grabbed Sawyer and pulled her away from the area, firing back at the Rockets with his free hand. A few Rockets followed them as the rest remained to try to kill May and the others. Blaziken, knowing it had to protect its trainer, turned and opened its mouth. It released a Fire Blast attack at Rhydon, which pushed it back into several Rockets and out the door. May, seeing that the majority of the Rockets were gone, came out of hiding and turned to Blaziken.

"Thank you Blaziken", May said. Blaziken nodded. "Now then, we need to protect the others!". May turned to her side, where a few Rockets were firing upon rebels trying to hide. May immediately pulled out her pistol.

And fired.

Meanwhile, Nick was making sure that Sawyer was safe from the Rockets who were fast approaching them. While she knew that she was in safe hands with Nick, she couldn't help but feel useless like this.

"Nick, wait! We can fight them together!", Sawyer said. Nick pulled Sawyer into another room and stopped, turning to his love with worry in his eyes.

"Sawyer, you haven't fully recovered from your injury, I can't let you get hurt!", Nick said. Suddenly, the sounds of gunfire erupted all around them. The two ducked as bullets flew through the walls, trying, (and failing) to hit their target. Nick, angry at the Rockets for attacking his home and endangering his girlfriend growled as he reached for a Pokéball.

"I WON'T LET YOU ROCKETS TAKE AWAY ANOTHER ONE OF MY FRIENDS! NOT AGAIN! SALAMENCE, HYPER BEAM ATTACK!", Nick yelled as he threw his Pokéball. Salamence popped out and immediately opened its mouth, forming a white beam. Soon, it fired the beam through the wall just above Nick and Sawyer. Nick covered Sawyer as the beam crashed through the wall, striking the Rockets who were shooting at them from the other side of it. When the dust settled, Nick slowly raised his head and looked through the now massive hole in the wall. He helped Sawyer to her feet and dusted off the debris from the wall as he stepped over towards the carnage. The Rockets, (or rather, what was left of them), were buried under debris from both the wall Salamence blasted and the floor that went up with it.

"Well, they won't be hurting anyone anymore...good job Salamence. Now I guess we can hurry and go help", before Nick could finish, the sound of a gun clicking caused him to turn to his right. Standing not far from him was a Rocket, a pistol aimed at Nick's head. Nick froze in shock, but before the Rocket could get a shot off, he was blasted backwards by a beam of flames. The Rocket yelled in pain from the fire before falling to the ground. Nick, seeing that the threat was now gone, turned to the source of the flames. At first he thought it was his Salamence, but soon threw that idea out when he saw a Growlithe standing at Sawyer's feet. Growlithe growled as Sawyer turned to Nick with a smirk.

"Told you I could fight", Sawyer said. Nick couldn't help but let out a breath in relief.

As Nick and Sawyer rushed with their Pokémon to go and help May, at another section of the lab, two rebels were running around, making sure that all of the doors were welded shut. Most of the doors they found, (the few that were there), they had managed to weld with ease, and had now just located another door. Immediately, one of the rebels, (with a Magby by his side), pointed to the door.

"Ok Magby, here's another one!", the rebel said. Magby nodded and immediately began welding the door. The other rebel approached him with a machine gun in his hands, looking around nervously.

"The Rockets have already breached the lab, we need to hurry up and help the others!", the rebel said. The Magby trainer nodded.

"I know, we'll finish this last door and then go to help", the rebel said. As Magby continued to weld the door, the sound of something from the other side startled them. The rebels looked to the door in worry, (the one with the machine gun aiming his weapon at the door), as they listened. It didn't sound like much, but it was enough for them to hear, even with Magby welding the door.

"What's that?", the Magby trainer asked. Suddenly, the door, (and most of the wall surrounding it), exploded. Debris blew Magby and the two trainers backwards as flames shot out from where the explosion occurred. After a few seconds of silence, a figure began walking through the hole in the wall. The figure stepped on the debris with heavy black boots, making a crunching noise under their feet. From a few feet away, the rebel who had the machine gun slowly opened his eyes. His ears were ringing from the explosion, and he could not feel most of his body. His legs were caught under debris, and his arm had a piece of metal sticking through it. He turned to the other rebel, only to see that he was clearly dead, a major gash going across his head. His Magby lied on the ground, unconscious, but possibly alive. He then turned towards the figure approaching.

The person was actually a female, to the rebel's shock. She wore black boots with a grey Rocket uniform that revealed her stomach. She had long black hair in a pony tail and green eyes. But it was her smile, her vicious smile, that sent shivers down the rebel's spine. In her hands, she held two MP5s, both of which were currently aimed up in the air. Behind this Rocket were several other Rockets, all of them looking on with a gleam or a smirk. The female Rocket looked to the surviving rebel with a wicked smile.

"...MY NAME IS NATALIE! AND TODAY IS THE DAY, WHERE ALL OF THE PTA...WILL REMEMBER MY NAME!", Natalie yelled as she aimed her MP5s at the rebel...and fired.

**So much build up and fighting in one chapter! Well I put a lot of hours into this chapter, so I hope you all enjoy! :) It's worth it to me, to be able to make you all happy, I thank you all so much. I had some severe writer's block at the beginning of this chapter, but hopefully the beginning of the fighting will ease me out of it. Expect another chapter or two (give or take) here before returning once again to Veridian and the other rebels. I'm not sure exactly what to cover in the next chapter, so I'll need to think it through. Hope I didn't keep you all waiting too long now! ;) "Uh oh! It looks like Team Rocket has finally reached Pallet Town, being led by the heartless Natalie! Will Brock, May, and the others be able to defend Pallet? Or will it fall before the might of Team Rocket? Stay tuned to EVAN AAML's "R"!". As always, please be sure to F.A.R., (Favorite, Alert, Review), and to check out EVAN AAML's Twitter account for news and updates! Until next time!**

**sincerely,  
evan, a fan of aaml -EVAN AAML**


	90. Chapter 90

**Ok, so Spring Break had begun for me St. Patrick's Day weekend, (March 17th), so starting then on, I should have more time to be able to write things out. Depending on what I am doing that week, (I should be free but I'm not sure yet), I hope to try and finish up "The Alphabet Game" and get some work done on "R". When I feel that I have a grip on that, I may or may not explain what my next projects will be. Rest assured, I have plenty, but they all need to be thought out heavily. But, until then, you all still have my current stories to read, like this one! :)**

**-EVAN AAML**

The room was eerily silent after the assassination. The Rockets stood idly by, waiting for orders from their acting leader. Natalie stood over the body of the rebel she had just shot, smiling wickedly as she placed her guns in special holsters on her side. She marveled at her work, like a twisted artist who felt that their work was misunderstood and under-appreciated. Her eyes had a sparkle about them when she looked at the bodies. She truly loved what she did. Natalie was twisted defined.

A true Rocket.

A Rocket from behind Natalie approached from her right, also looking at the bodies. This Rocket had black leather pants and boots with an open sleeveless leather jacket that exposed his chest. He was not a large build in the least, an odd fit for a Rocket. The back of the leather jacket had the Rocket "R" on it, and he wore leather bracelets with metal attachments on them. He also had a black pointed mohawk, tattoos scattered here and there, and an AK-47 in his hand. Like Natalie, he appeared twisted, even deranged, as if a rabid human. His mentality, (if he had one), was unstable to say the least. While Natalie was deranged, she appeared to at least have control, this Rocket however, seemed to lack such an ability. He bent down, aiming his AK-47 at the unconscious but still very much alive Magby.

"Should we kill the Magby? It's too weak to be of use to us...oh PLEASE let me kill it Natalie!", the punk Rocket said. Natalie smirked.

"Oh Ryker, your blood thirst always puts a smile on my face", Natalie said. The punk Rocket named Ryker turned to Natalie with a gleam.

"So I can kill it!?", Ryker asked.

"Hmm...you know, leave it...I get excited just THINKING about its reaction when it wakes up and sees its trainer dead!", Natalie said with excitement, like a little girl seeing her presents on Christmas. Ryker laughed hysterically as he stood up.

"Ohhh that's WICKED! I LOVE MY JOB!", Ryker yelled with a smile. Natalie then turned around and faced the Rockets.

"ROCKETS! ARE YOU READY TO SPILL THE BLOOD OF PTA REBELS!?", Natalie asked. The Rockets raised their weapons on the air in response, cheering and psyching themselves up. Natalie smiled. "GLAD TO HEAR IT! THIS IS OUR MISSION...FIND A REBEL, MAKE 'EM BLEED! KILL EVERYONE! THERE ARE NO PRISONERS!". The Rockets cheered once again and Natalie turned around to the base. Other than the two dead rebels, the area was empty. If the rebels or innocents were still in the base, they weren't around here. "Alright, some of you, separate, look for any traces of the rebels. Odds are they're underground in their little base, find an entrance! Everyone else, follow me...we're going to play". Ryker smirked with Natalie as the Rockets moved out.

As this was going on, from downstairs, the rebels began to realize what was going on. They could not hear the gun shots from down below, but they could feel the Earth shake from the explosions. The lights flickered and the rebels stood up, looking around. Hunter and their group, (who had been staying put since Brenna joined them), grabbed their weapons in a panic.

"Is that what I think it is?", Catie asked worried. Hunter nodded, getting his M-16 ready.

"Team Rocket. ALRIGHT EVERYONE! TEAM ROCKET IS ATTACKING! WE'RE GOING TO FIGHT UNTIL WE CAN'T FIGHT ANYMORE! I WANT THIS BASE PROTECTED AT ALL COSTS! GO PTA!", Hunter yelled.

"GO PTA!", the rebels yelled in response. Brenna turned and made her way towards a hall, but was stopped by Trent.

"Woah, wait, where are you going?", Trent asked.

"The library! If Team Rocket is attacking, I need to get there and protect the databases and information!", Brenna said. She then turned to the others, who looked at her worried. "Don't worry, I'll be alright! Protect the base!". With that, Brenna darted down the hall. The others looked on in concern, but knew that she had a job to do, as did they.

"Don't worry, she can handle herself! We need to focus on the Rockets that will attack! We have to assume that they know where the entrance is, I want cover here, here, and here! I need defenses set up up here and in the basement! All the wounded need to be protected at all costs! If the base is overrun, we have to retreat using the escape tunnel in the basement, got it!?", Hunter explained. Everyone who was listening nodded, while everyone else set up defenses. Tables, furniture, computers, and anything that could be used for a barricade or wall were used. Weapons were placed around for easy reach, and the rebels prepared themselves.

Hunter had a tough time moving around due to his limp, which did not go by unnoticed. Although he had recovered somewhat since he was shot during their escape from New Island, the nerve damage that was done was extensive. At first he was worried that the limp would cost him dearly in the fight, but now that it was beginning, he barely noticed it. Catie however did.

"Hunter, you need to take it easy, you can't move around too well with that injury", Catie said. Hunter turned to Catie.

"Well what do you suggest I do!? Sit in a wheel chair while everyone else is fighting? Screw that, I'm going to fit whether you approve of it or not!", Hunter said annoyed. Catie sighed heavily. Normally she would argue with him and force him to relax, but given the circumstances, she knew that it wasn't the best time for it. She merely nodded as Hunter turned back to his duties. The twins helped push things around for a barricade while Trent helped the wounded get out of the room. After several minutes, the rebels stopped. Everything was done, and all they had to do now was wait.

Like before, the room became eerily calm. The rebels kept their weapons aimed at the obvious places where the Rockets could appear, not moving an inch. Many held their breath, not wanting the slightest thing to throw off their aim. Beads of sweat slowly made their way down their heads as they gripped the guns tighter. The quiet of the room reminded them of a cemetery.

A morbid comparison.

Suddenly, an explosion rocked the base. From one of the door, (the door which was normally hidden behind the bookcase in the library), debris flew down the spiral stairs and flames shot out. The rebels protected themselves from the flames as best they could without taking their hands off their guns. Hunter turned to the stairs, knowing that they had arrived. He kept his eyes on the opening, waiting for the slightest sign of Rockets. He got it when a figure in a black outfit and red "R" appeared.

"FIRE!", Hunter yelled.

Meanwhile, Brenna continued to run through the halls. She sprinted as fast as she could, knowing that any second now, all of the data could be taken. All of her work, no, all of the PTA's work, would be lost in an instant. She couldn't let it happen.

"Got to keep moving! Can't stop!", Brenna thought to herself. Suddenly, the vibrations from an explosion caused her to lose balance. She tripped and fell onto the ground, her speed causing her to land harder. She turned and looked around, wondering what had happened. "Team Rocket! They made it into the base!", Brenna said. She then turned back down to the direction she was heading. Without hesitation, she got up and immediately started running again. "I have to hurry!".

Brenna could hear the sound of bullets firing now from where she had been moments before. Hunter and the others were fighting Team Rocket. She felt a pain in her heart, like she should go back, help fight them off. But she knew that she had a job to do. She couldn't let them down.

"I can't stop! I want to help, but I need to protect the library! I have a mission I must uphold! Just like Angel does! She wouldn't let this stop her, and neither will I!", Brenna thought to herself. Suddenly, another explosion hit the base, only this one was directly in front of her. She flew backwards from the shockwave of the explosion and landed on the ground. The flames from the explosion were small, (as the explosion was not considerably big), but she still felt burns on her body. She looked up and immediately crawled back, seeing the hole in the ceiling. Suddenly, a few ropes fell from the hole, and Rocket grunts began sliding down them and into the base. Brenna gasped. They were going through the floors of the lab above to get into the base! The Rockets landed on the ground and rubble and immediately noticed Brenna.

"Hey, there's one now!", one grunt yelled. A younger grunt with an attitude.

"Kill her!", another, older and chubbier, grunt stated. Brenna gasped and dove out of the way as bullets were fired towards her. She barely managed to avoid the barrage. Her heart racing, she immediately grabbed a Pokéball from her belt.

"I WON'T DIE HERE! JOLTEON, THUNDERSHOCK!", Brenna yelled, throwing her Pokéball. Immediately, the ball burst open and a yellow spiked Pokémon appeared. It faced the Rockets and yelled, firing electrical shocks at the enemies. The Rockets were instantly shocked and yelled in pain. Soon, they fell to the ground in a heap. Brenna looked over to see if they were dead. They twitched on the ground, not dead. But knowing that they were at least incapacitated, Brenna turned to Jolteon. "Good job Jolteon! Now let's go! We need to protect the library!", Brenna said. Jolteon nodded.

Brenna got back on her feet and immediately ran down the hall. As she hopped over the debris and Rockets, she felt something grab her ankle. The tug caused her to fall to the ground hard. She panicked and immediately stood up, trying to run again. But she felt the same tug on her ankle. She turned and saw that one of the Rocket grunts, (the chubby one), had grabbed her. His face was covered in dirt and he looked hurt, but was still moving.

"YOU LITTLE BRAT!", the Rocket yelled. Jolteon, seeing its trainer in danger, immediately rushed to her aid. The Rocket, seeing the Pokémon fast approaching, immediately grabbed his gun at his side. "NO YOU DON'T!", the Rocket yelled. The Jolteon panicked.

And a shot was fired.

The room was filled with silence, not a peep was heard. On the ground, the unconscious Rockets remained still, not knowing what had just transpired. Brenna remained standing, her ankle still being grasped by the Rocket grunt. However, she merely pulled her leg lightly and the fingers slipped past her ankle. In her hand, she gripped a PPK S, the same small pistol Evan had given her to help her with her lack of gun experience. The gun was aimed down at an angle, directly at the head of the Rocket below her. Knowing that he was dead, she sighed heavily, looking at the pistol in her hand. She could barely believe that she had killed a Rocket. It had all happened so fast, she didn't even realize it. As soon as she saw Jolteon in trouble, it felt like she had been possessed. But, it was done. She turned and looked to Jolteon.

"Are you ok?", Brenna asked. The Pokémon nodded. "Good...I'm glad...we have to get moving. The longer we wait, the more likely Team Rocket will find the library!". Brenna, keeping the pistol in hand, rushed down the hall, Jolteon right behind her.

By this time, the Rocket attack was obvious throughout the entire base. While most of the Rockets remained outside, trying to fight off the rebels and make their way into the base, some did manage to sneak their way into the base by different means. Those that did, met with heavy resistance. Upstairs in Prof. Oak's lab however remained to be the "safest" place from Team Rocket. Drew, knowing this, continued to lead Prof. Oak, Mrs. Ketchum, and the lab assistants upstairs. While no place in Pallet was safe from Team Rocket at the moment, the upstairs of the lab would be last on their check list since they would be focusing on getting into the underground base.

Drew led the group up the stairs, preparing to fight any Rockets that may appear before them. Behind him was Prof. Oak, then Delia, the lab assistants, and a couple rebels taking up the rear.

"Professor, is there any place up here you may consider a safe place to hide?", Drew asked. Because most of the rebels stayed in the basement base, many did not know the layout of the lab. Drew did, but it had been a long time since he was able to walk around here without catching suspicion on the cameras.

"Not really. We were never able to build a panic room because we knew that Team Rocket would find out and stop us. Even if we did though, I doubt it would hold them off", Prof. Oak explained.

"Then that means we'll just have to watch over and protect you the best we can", Drew said. Eventually, they reached the top of the stairs. Drew turned towards the stairs and ushered everyone behind him to get to the landing as they hurried on. Prof. Oak turned and looked out the windows that surrounded them. This upper level, while away from most of the fighting, did have the drawback of having a lot of windows, (this level was meant more for distant observational study of the Pokémon on the preserve, and so needed them).

"My god...", Prof. Oak said to himself, his horrified face saying everything. From the windows, he could see the entire town of Pallet under siege. Bullets flew by everywhere, the sound of them being fired echoing throughout the land. Pokémon fought all over the place, some in the air, but most on scattered spots on the hills or in the roads. Bodies of both Rockets and rebels were strewn about, puddles of blood filled the streets. This was no longer a war, this was a massacre. Mrs. Ketchum, who had just reached his side, looked on and covered her mouth in a gasp. Prof. Oak tried to turn her away, not wanting a lady to have to see such violence.

"I don't think you should be near the windows, we can't risk any of Team Rocket seeing you", Drew stated as he ushered more of the lab assistants up the stairs. As if the Rockets had heard him, suddenly, shots were fired at the windows. Prof. Oak grabbed Delia and ducked as the glass shattered and bullets flew by. Drew quickly covered Prof. Oak and Delia as the other rebels turned to fire out the windows at those firing at them. While the rebels firing back did stop the shooting, it did not change the fact that Team Rocket now knew that they were up there. From below, a Rocket threw a Pokéball into the air, releasing a relatively large bird Pokémon, a Honchkrow. It flew up in the air, towards the windows. Drew saw this and stood up.

"Everyone step back, I have this!", Drew said, releasing his own Pokémon, Roserade. Prof. Oak looked at Drew with some skepticism.

"Drew, you should know as well as I that a grass type is weak to flying types", Prof. Oak said. Drew smirked as the Honchkrow appeared. It cawed as it began to glow in a dark aura. It soon fired its attack, Dark Pulse.

"Roserade, Hidden Power!", Drew commanded. Roserade aimed its two rose hands at the oncoming attack and fired two white balls. The attacks collided in mid-air, and exploded. The Honchkrow backed up, trying to avoid the force of the explosion. "Now Roserade, Magical Leaf!". Roserade fired a volley of leaves at the dark Pokémon. Despite the type advantage, the Honchkrow took a beating, cawing and being blasted back down towards the ground. Drew smirked and turned to Prof. Oak. "I ignore type advantages", Drew responded. Prof. Oak could not help but chuckle. He should have known that a friend of Ash's would be a tough trainer.

"It sounds like we're going to have company!", one of the rebels stated as he aimed his gun down the stairs. The sound of Rockets yelling and running could be heard from their location. Though it sounded distant, Drew grew worried.

"That means that they got passed May and the others...", Drew said. Thinking that something might have happened to May, Drew turned to Prof. Oak and Delia. "They're going to need my help, do you think you'll be able to watch over yourselves for now?". Prof. Oak smiled.

"My boy, I've been battling since before your parents were born, I think I can handle my own against these brutes", Prof. Oak said. Delia nodded in response.

"And me and Mimey can help as well. Don't worry about us. We have your rebel friends here to protect us...go help May", Delia said. She knew how important May was to Drew, and knew that he should be there for her. Drew nodded in response.

"Alright", Drew said. He then turned to the rebels. "Watch over them! If you need help, contact us".

"You got it!", one of the rebels, a female, stated. Drew then began to run down the stairs.

"Stay safe!", Drew yelled as he left, his Roserade following. The rebels who remained turned to the Professor, Mrs. Ketchum, and the assistants.

"Come on, let's get moving", the female rebel said. Drew meanwhile kept his fast pace down the stairs. A few times he almost tripped, only barely catching himself before going for a tumble. He had confidence that May could handle her own and was safe, but after what happened to her on New Island, he couldn't take the chance. A part of him died when he saw that horror, he couldn't bare to think of seeing it again, not to his love. Not to May. Soon, thoughts began to go through him. What if Calamity Jane wanted revenge? What if she was here, in Pallet Town? What if she was leading the attack on the lab, and was fighting May?

He quickened his pace.

Soon enough, he reached a landing that would lead to another flight of stairs. Before he could go any further however, the sound of approaching people stopped him. The Rockets were here. Drew turned to Roserade.

"Looks like we're going to have to fight to May. You ready?", Drew asked. Roserade nodded, which prompted a nod back from Drew. He pulled out a pistol from his side to be safe. Just then, several Rockets reached the top of the landing. They noticed Drew and smirked.

"There's one of them now!", one of the Rockets said with a gleam.

"He's one of the region leaders!", another said excited.

"Let's kill him!", another said. Drew smirked and pointed to the Rockets.

Roserade, Energy Ball!", Drew ordered. Roserade aimed its arms out at the Rockets and began to form green spheres. Soon enough, the flower Pokémon fired them. The balls blasted the Rockets, sending them flying down the stairs. Drew smirked. "Ok, let's go!", Drew said. The two of them then began to run down the stairs, passing hurt or unconscious Rockets along the way.

As this was going on, outside, the fighting was only beginning. Despite the surprise attack, the PTA were holding out relatively well. Their skills as trainers helped them greatly, but would it be enough? Team Rocket clearly had the advantage in numbers, and their weapons were much more powerful and plentiful as well. Hiding behind a barricade of sandbags and rocks were Brock, Ashley, and Jake. Since getting off the roof, they fought off the Rocket invasion with their Pokémon and their weapons. Despite the heavy numbers, they managed to hold them off this long. Due to the sheer size of his Pokémon Steelix, Brock was forced to return him after it became an obvious target for Rockets. Ashley had also returned Empoleon, for the same fears. Jake however allowed Skarmory to continue to fight, having it fly overhead and attack any Rockets that got to close to them. The three continued to shoot at the Rockets, making sure that they did not get into the base.

"Do you think we'll be able to stop them?", Ashley asked in concern. While they were doing a good job at protecting the lab, it was massive in size. The Rockets could easily enough head to a section of the lab that was not protected as well and enter from there.

"I doubt it, not entirely anyway. Some Rockets have already broken through, others will soon enough I'm sure. We just have to make sure that the majority don't, and that everyone inside can fight off whoever gets passed us", Brock admitted. While Ashley did not like hearing those words, she knew that he was right. She hoped that everyone inside was prepared.

"At least we'll be able to stop the majority of them right!?", Jake said, firing his weapon towards a group of Rockets using a house for cover. Ashley watched as Jake fired at the house. She felt awful at the thought, thinking of the family that had to run in hide to save themselves, and imagining them returning to their home in shambles. But she couldn't very well tell Jake to stop, the Rockets were firing at them, and their priority was to defeat them by any means. She hoped that the towns people wouldn't be upset when they returned.

Jake ducked down to reload his weapon while Brock aimed his rifle down the street. He fired a shot, ending the life of one of the attacking enemies. Jake looked up to Brock from below as he removed the empty cartridge and began putting in a full one.

"Don't you think you would be more useful fighting with your Pokémon? A former gym leader ought to be using their skills on the battlefield", Jake said.

"Despite their advantage to bullets, I don't want to risk their lives unless absolutely necessary", Brock replied. Brock then ducked down as bullets shot overhead. Jake smirked.

"Seems like now is when it's 'absolutely necessary'", Jake said. Brock glared at the freelancer, but ignored it for the most part. Ashley aimed her machine gun out and fired at Rockets in bursts.

"Where's Tracy? And Noah?", Ashley asked, realizing that they were absent.

"They're battling Rockets along-side the lab", Brock said. Ashley bent down below the sandbags and turned towards the side of the lab, (not to far from the forest). There, she could see Tracy and Scyther fighting a Rocket and his Feraligatr. A few feet away, Noah continued to use his Swellow to defend the lab from an attacking Crobat. She watched as they fought, glad to see that they were still alive. Suddenly, a shadow covered her spot. She looked up from the ground to see a Rocket standing right above her. He was young, her age or even younger. He smirked as he aimed an Uzi at Ashley.

"Goodnight!", the Rocket exclaimed. Ashley immediately reacted. She threw her machine gun at the Rocket from the ground. The sudden toss caused the Rocket to flinch, moving his gun away from Ashley's direction. She then quickly stood up, catching her gun in the air and using it to smack the gun out of the Rocket's hand. She now stood straight up, her M-16 aimed at the now unarmed Rocket. He looked at her in fear, his eyes wide in shock and worry. Ashley continued to stare down the Rocket...but did not fire.

Ashley looked at the Rocket, and saw...herself. She recalled back on New Island, when she was in the com room with Brock and Misty. She remembered how scared she was when she was attacked by the large Rocket, and how she felt when she killed him. That man was a monster...but this Rocket wasn't. He was just a kid, just like she was. He may have been a Rocket, but he didn't seem it. He seemed human. Ashley didn't know what to do. He made no motion to another weapon on him, (if he even had one), he just stood there, his eyes filled with fear.

Filled with emotion.

Emotion. Feelings. Things that Team Rocket apparently didn't have. But yet, here she was, witnessing it first hand. This Rocket, was scared. Scared to lose his own life. While any human would be, there was something more to it, something that Ashley could see in him. She couldn't push herself to end his life. Slowly, she lowered her machine gun. The Rocket looked stunned himself, expecting this to be the end. He made no motion for his weapon, (which was on the ground a few feet away). Instead, he took a few steps back, never removing his eyes from Ashley's. Ashley made a slight nod to the Rocket, but then turned when something caught her eye. She saw Jake, aiming his gun at the defenseless Rocket. She panicked.

"NO!", Ashley yelled. She pushed the gun away, but seconds too late. She turned to the direction of the Rocket, and saw as he fell to the ground. He landed with a thud, and remained motionless. Ashley looked on in horror, and then turned to Jake in anger. "WHY THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU!?". Jake looked at Ashley in confusion, and even anger.

"What the hell's wrong with _me!? _WHAT THE HELL'S WRONG WITH _YOU!? _Were you honestly going to let that Rocket live!?", Jake asked.

"He was defenseless, I wasn't going to shoot an unarmed man!", Ashley said.

"What!? I don't believe this! This is TEAM ROCKET! They would not give a moment's glance in shooting you down, armed or not! Why should you give them a chance to let them do that!?", Jake asked.

"We are not monsters Jake! We are the PTA! We don't kill people for fun, Team Rocket or not!", Ashley said.

"THIS ISN'T ABOUT FUN! THIS IS ABOUT WAR!", Jake yelled. "If you're going to be apprehensive about killing a Rocket, then you might as well not be here! You're emotions are going to get me or even yourself killed! What good are you if you won't go for the kill!?".

"THAT'S ENOUGH!", someone yelled. Jake and Ashley turned to see Brock, looking at Jake in anger. Jake was shocked that Brock, who remained calm the entire time he had known him, was suddenly yelling at him for something like this. Ashley watched as her leader grabbed Jake by his vest and pulled him closer. "You listen to me Jake, you're not in the PTA, so I don't have a right to give you orders, but if you continue to yell and insult my friends like this, I will not hesitate to kick your ass! Ashley is right, we are NOT monsters. Killing someone when they're unarmed makes us no better than the enemy we're fighting, you got that!?", Brock yelled.

Ashley looked on in shock. She knew that Brock would protect her and defend her, but she did not realize that he was capable of such anger. Brock was probably the most laid back of all the leaders in the PTA, and here he was, yelling at Jake. She wondered if this was a trait he always had, or if the war brought out the worst in him.

Jake glared at Brock. Normally, anyone yelling at him, let alone grabbing him the way Brock was, would end up with a broken body, or worse. However, he knew that this was not the time to get in a fight with someone on his side. Team Rocket was the bigger threat here. And he knew that if he _did _get in a fight with Brock, the entire PTA would be on his back. He was angry, but he at least respected Brock for defending his soldiers, even if they _were_ useless. So he merely nodded and snatched himself free of Brock's grasp. Brock nodded back and returned his attention to the Rockets. No sooner did he do this, than did he gasp in shock.

"GET DOWN!", Brock yelled. He dove, grabbing Jake and Ashley in the process, to the ground as an explosive from an RPG was fired at the ground several feet ahead of them. The explosion shook the ground and sent dirt over on top of them. Ashley screamed in shock as they were soon lightly buried. When the dust settled, Brock released Jake and Ashley. "Everyone alright!?", Brock asked.

"Yeah", Jake replied.

"I'm fine", Ashley answered. Brock looked out over their deteriorating cover towards the Rockets. Though the dirt was no longer flying over them, dust was still in the air, covering them from view. Brock sighed in relief. If it wasn't for bad aim on the Rocket's part, they would not be standing there anymore. Seeing their opportunity, Brock turned to Jake.

"So, I don't suppose you have some idea up your sleeves?", Brock said. While he didn't agree with Jake's premise on allowing his Pokémon to fight in such dangerous situations freely, he couldn't pass up on an opportunity if it arrived. Jake looked up to Brock for a moment, as if lost in thought. He began to think of what they could do. Suddenly, something came to mind, and he smirked.

"Yeah...I got something we could try. Haven't done this one in a while", Jake said. He then put his fingers to his mouth and whistled. The action got the attention of his Skarmory, who landed on the ground before them. Jake reached to his belt and pulled off a Pokéball, handing it to Skarmory. "You know what to do, over there where that explosion came from, and hurry!". Skarmory screeched in response and immediately flew up in the air. Brock and Ashley watched as Skarmory went higher and higher, going well above the battlefield. Jake couldn't contain his smile as his Pokémon flew overhead, now above the large group of Rockets who were preparing for another RPG.

When it felt like it was in the perfect spot, it dropped the Pokéball. It didn't take long for the ball to burst open, and a massive Pokémon to appear. Brock couldn't help but smirk, it was a Steelix like his. As the Pokéball flew back into the talons of Skarmory, Steelix fell from the sky, its head aimed directly down towards the unsuspecting Rockets. It roared as its massive weight and size caused it to plummet to the ground with tremendous speed. The Rockets, hearing the roar, looked up and gasped in horror. They yelled and tried to run away as Steelix hit the ground with tremendous force. The entire town shook as the steel snake used Dig, landing on top of a massive group of Rockets. Skarmory flew back towards Jake, dropping Steelix's Pokéball when it was overhead. Jake, in turn, caught the Pokéball, and then returned Skarmory into its own Pokéball.

Soon enough, Steelix popped out of the massive crater it formed, roaring. This was the signal. Jake aimed his Pokéball at the Pokémon, returning it. Jake then turned to Brock with a smirk.

"Well...did that work?", Jake asked.

"Sounds like something I would have done, but we need to keep the town in one piece", Brock said. That being said, he was impressed at the strategy, and was glad that it worked.

"Fine, I'll keep my other strategies smaller and less destructive", Jake agreed.

"What the heck happened!?", someone asked. Brock, Jake, and Ashley turned around to see Tracy and Noah running towards them, their opponents no where to be seen.

"The entire Earth seemed to shake!", Noah exclaimed.

"Jake decided to have his Steelix do a free fall from several hundred feet in the air on top of some Rockets", Brock said.

"Woah! Well I bet that got their attention!", Tracy said. Suddenly, a barrage of bullets began flying towards them. Tracy and Noah ducked to the ground as the group soon found themselves the next biggest threat. "YEAH, IT DEFINITELY GOT THEIR ATTENTION!", Tracy yelled.

"WE'RE NOT GOING TO LAST MUCH LONGER LIKE THIS!", Ashley yelled. Brock continued to cover himself as the bullets zoomed by. As he did, all he could do what hope and pray that Ash and the others were close to succeeding.

Inside the lab, thoughts were elsewhere.

A lone rebel laid on the ground, his body in agony, unable to move well enough to escape. He looked around him, the carnage enough to make anyone mad. He was bathing in the blood of his allies, but could not move well enough to escape. Feeling the blood on his body sent shivers down his spine. He growled at the people before him, those who forced him into this horror.

A group of Rockets sat around, looking over the bodies of the dead PTA rebels. Most did so casually, knowing that they were dead from the onslaught they just performed. Others did so as a precaution, making sure that they were in fact dead. Before him stood two Rockets, whose actions were so monstrous, that the rebel would not be surprised if they were in fact demons in human form.

Ryker stood in front of another surviving rebel, smiling wickedly as he bounced around in a fighting stance. Several Rockets stood by, forming a circle around the two combatants as they watched. The rebel, (a younger male), formed fists and panted heavily. He was covered in blood, though it was nearly impossible to tell if this was his own blood, or the blood of his dead friends. Ryker meanwhile continued to laugh filled with boundless energy. He was clearly not a boxer, but his stance was similar to one. In his hands, he held a strange weapon, twisted like its owner. Each hand had a pair of what looked like brass knuckles, however, instead of merely a metal band, each spot that covered his fingers were metal spikes, roughly an inch long. At each end of this weapon, (opposite the side with his thumbs), was a blade, roughly three to four inches in length. Both blades and all of the spikes were dripping in blood. Ryker made jabs with the weapon, trying to scare the rebel.

"Well, come on, you're just standing there! Come on, your friends were a _lot _more fun. At least they tried to fight! Come on, _please_?", Ryker pleaded with the rebel, smiling all the while. The rebel who was on the ground looked on in horror. What monsters. The tired rebel, still trying to put up a fight, charged forward with a punch ready. Ryker smirked. He threw his right fist into the rebel's stomach, the spikes going through his skin. The rebel immediately stopped, the force of the impact crushing his ribs. Ryker then brought his left hand over and swung the blade into the rebel's neck, ending the fight. He and the Rockets around him laughed as he pulled the blade out and threw the body to the ground. He looked at his hands with a smile as the blood of the rebel dripped through his fingers.

"You're all MONSTERS!", the injured rebel on the ground yelled. Ryker and the other Rockets turned to see the rebel and began to laugh.

"Please, don't flatter us", another Rocket said. Everyone turned to the second Rocket that was in front of the rebel, whom had kept quiet since the fight started. The rebel watched as Natalie turned and approached him, holding in her hands her guns. However, she soon placed her weapons back into their holsters, and instead pulled out a knife from a sheath on her belt. The tip of the knife was divided, giving it two tips instead of one. The separated tips joined back to one roughly two inches down the blade. The rest of the knife had an indent in them, which went all the way down to the black hilt. The rebel watched in fear and panic as she approached him slowly, smiling at him wickedly. Eventually, she stopped in front of him.

"Hmm, you're kind of a cutie aren't you?", Natalie said. The Rockets laughed. She bent down to get closer to the rebel, giving him a seductive wink and smile. "So, do you think a cutie like you could tell me where your little leaders are?".

"I'm not telling you SHIT!", the rebel yelled. The Rockets, (Ryker in particular), laughed out loud.

"This guy's too much!", Ryker exclaimed. Natalie removed her seductive look, though continued to smile. She kneeled down and got closer to the rebel, now being only inches away. She put her left hand to the rebel's right cheek, touching it ever so softly. The rebel shook in fear, uncertain of what she was doing. Natalie, using her right hand, then placed the knife into her mouth. With lightning speed, she swung her head, plunging the knife into the rebel's throat. He gasped for breath, but soon found himself choking on his own blood. His eyes were wide as the blood from his throat slid down the indents of the knife, reaching Natalie's mouth. She licked the blood, releasing the knife from her mouth in the process. She then leaned to the rebel's ear.

"...Tell your God...that Natalie sent you...remember that name", Natalie whispered. The rebel could not help but think of the name as the life slipped from his. Natalie, having a sudden personality change, then spat out the blood onto the ground in anger and pulled the knife out with force from the rebel's neck. He fell over, dead. Ryker and the Rockets watched on.

"Ohh, Natalie, you're one cold-hearted Bitch...I LOVE it!", Ryker said. Natalie turned to Ryker and smiled once again, the blade dripping blood onto the ground.

"You're a doll Ryker...now then...let's keep looking for those pesky PTA leaders...shall we?", Natalie said. The Rockets all laughed and cheered in response.

**Goodness! Vicious, vicious indeed! It seems like the rebels don't quite know what fight is coming their way! "With Natalie and her Rocket army banging down the doors of the rebel base, will Brock, May, and the others be able to defend Pallet Town!? Or will Team Rocket soon wipe them all out!? Stay tuned next time, on EVAN AAML's "R"!". I put a lot of effort into this chapter, sitting down for roughly 3 hours straight to finish up this chapter from where I left off last. I do apologize for the lateness though, I was hoping to get a lot more updates done this week since I'm on break, but I've been busier than expected. I hope you all like this update though! Please be sure to F.A.R., and to check out my Twitter account for updates and news! See you all next time!**

**sincerely,  
evan, a fan of aaml -EVAN AAML**


	91. Chapter 91

**Easter is right around the corner, so I wonder, what is it that you all do for this holiday? I understand that not all of you celebrate it, but I'm just curious. Send it out in a review! ;) Personally, I need to prepare for family coming over with the same basic traditions we've done since I was a child. Ahh, nostalgia. Anywho, a lot of people have been excited over the recent action that has taken place in the story, and I'm glad to see that. I appreciate all of the support! :) This chapter will see a return to Veridian and the other rebels, I'll do my best to flip back and forth between them all. Please enjoy! **

**-EVAN AAML**

The building continued to shake and rattle from the fighting going on upstairs. Light fixtures swayed back and forth to the force, and occasionally something from the ceiling would fall and hit the ground. The halls were dark due to the EMP's effects, thus forcing Rockets to use flashlights wherever they went. A group of Rockets continued on their way into a lone room, bringing with them Michael and Brian. The two of them had been dragged through the confines of the base to a location they'd sooner not know. Many thoughts ran through their heads during their walk, such as the loss of their ally Riles, and the well-being of their other friends up on the surface.

Little thought went into their own safety.

They eventually found themselves at their destination. A Rocket stood outside of a closed room, waiting for them. As soon as they arrived, he nodded and turned to the door, unlocking it with a keycard he had on his person. After waving it in front of the door, it clicked, and the Rocket opened the door, allowing everyone inside.

The room was nothing more than a large holding area. There was a large table immediately to their left, and a cabinet with weapons to their right near the door. The rest of the right side, (and half of the left), were nothing but jail cells, barred off with heavy metal gates. A Rocket stepped out of an enclosed room on the left near the table, this was where the jail cell security stayed. The room looked to be sound proof from the inside, so as to not hear the screams. He immediately approached a closed jail cell and opened it with a keycard. It slid open and Michael and Brian were shoved inside of the room. Michael immediately turned on a heel, trying to go for the Rockets, but found himself shoved back in just as quickly before the cell locked on him. He wrapped his hands around the bars and looked at the Rocket.

"YOU GUYS ARE GOING TO PAY FOR WHAT YOU DID! YOU HEAR ME!?", Michael yelled. The death of Riles still angered him to no end. To see someone sacrifice himself to save him, only to be disregarded like garbage infuriated him. The Rockets merely laughed. The Sergeant whom had executed Riles stepped forward. The Rocket security officer who had come out of the room handed him some medical supplies for his still burned face. He put an ice pack to his cheek and looked at Michael and Brian.

"You two have no room to talk about revenge! We're going to go and deal with your little friends upstairs, but rest assured, after we kill all of them, we'll be back here for you. And I'll personally see to it that we get started immediately on information extraction!", the Sergeant stated. He then kicked the jail cell door, causing it to clang loudly. The Rocket grunts around him laughed out loud as they exited the room. Michael turned to them.

"Our friends, the PTA, will NOT get stopped by you Rockets! And let me tell you something! I...will not...give in...to any GOD DAMN ROCKETS! YOU HEAR ME!? I WON'T!", Michael yelled. By this time, only the Sergeant and the security Rocket remained in the room. The last remaining grunts had tossed onto the table the items they had taken from the trio when they were captured. The Sergeant, ignoring the yells from Michael, slowly approached the table. He looked over the items as he continued to hold the ice pack in place. His cheeks burned fiercely, but he refused to show weakness in front of the rebels. He looked through the guns and held the back packs, until he reached one of the Pokémon belts. He knew this one belonged to the boy he executed. He turned to Michael, holding the belt up with his free hand.

"...I guess your friend no longer has use for this now does he?", the Sergeant said. He knew that this was enough to shut Michael up. He merely tossed the belt back onto the table, not even giving Michael so much as a glance back as he exited the room. The door shut behind them, and an electronic lock echoed throughout the room. The security Rocket walked back into his sound proof room and closed the door, leaving Michael and Brian to themselves. The room became dead silent, eerily so, where Michael could hear his heart race in his chest. He sunk to the ground, still holding onto the bars as he bent down, tears beginning to form in his eyes.

"Riles...", Michael said. Brian, who had surprisingly kept quiet this entire time, merely sat against the wall, looking at Michael in pity. While Brian felt the heavy loss of Riles as well, he was used to this feeling. Brian had been in the field much more than Michael; while he did not like it, he had seen people on his team die in front of him before. Michael on the other hand only first experienced this on New Island, it was still new to him, and it still hurt more than he could bare.

"Don't worry...we'll pay those Rockets back for what they did to Riles", Brian said. He knew Michael was angry, but from their position, there was nothing more he could really do than reassure him.

"...You say that with such confidence", Michael responded.

"Because I know that Ash and the others won't let Team Rocket stop them. Don't worry, we'll be out of this jail cell in no time, just you wait and see", Brian said. He had confidence in his friends, confidence that they would see the light of day once again. Michael however was no longer so sure. He knew the risks when he was given this assignment, he prepared himself mentally for the possibility of him dying. But despite all of that, he still was not prepared for what had happened to Riles. Seeing him die in his arms...it would haunt him forever.

"I...I don't even want revenge...", Michael said. Brian looked over to Michael, uncertain of what he meant. Michael turned to him. "...I just want Riles back...". Brian sighed. He wanted Riles back too, but wishing for it wasn't going to make it so. Brian knew that Michael was in a vulnerable state from what happened. He wanted to snap him out of it, but he knew that he couldn't do so lightly. If they did manage to survive the day, Michael would need severe mental evaluation. Brian was no psychiatrist, but wanted to help him. He worked with Michael on New Island, and got used to him.

"Michael...I know how you are feeling right now...I've lost more than my fair share of friends in this war too...but Riles wouldn't want you like this. He did what he did to save you, not make you miserable. He would want you to just remember him for who he was, and continue fighting the good fight...you know that", Brian explained. Michael finally released the bars and leaned against them, facing Brian fully. He sniffed as he tried to stop himself from crying. Despite his tough exterior, Michael was still only sixteen. He nodded.

"...Right...you're right", Michael said.

"I know I am...so then...we need to figure out how to get out of here", Brian said. Michael could not help but scoff lightly.

"...I thought you said not to worry...that everyone else would come and get us", Michael said. It would be quite some time before the trauma that plagued him would end. Brian smirked.

"Well, I don't have the patience to wait for them all that time. I'd rather keep myself occupied", Brian said, standing up and looking around. The cell was nothing special. The ground was made out of concrete and stone mixed, making it rough, hard, and strong. The metal bars went through the walls, floor, and ceiling. It would definitely not be possibly to pry them or make them loose. Their best bet was to get their Pokémon, which were placed on the table. The Rockets placed them there almost in a way to taunt them, their only means of salvation being so close, and yet so far. The security Rocket remained in his room, sitting at a table and reading. It was clear that he did not expect much from Brian and Michael.

"Pft, figures, his allies are up stairs dying and he's down here reading the god damn 'Kanto Daily'", Brian said. He approached the bars and shook them as hard as he could. They did not even budge. He then kicked them in light frustration, making an echoing noise throughout the room. "Man, I could easily get out of here if I just had my Pokémon. Even one of my smaller bombs could get us out". As Brian continued to talk to himself, Michael, (who kept to his own thoughts), suddenly realized something.

"Hey...wait", Michael said. Brian turned to look at him.

"Huh?", Brian asked.

"...It's quiet", Michael said. Brian, failing to catch the point, continued to look at Michael in confusion.

"...And?", Brian asked. Michael turned around, standing up and looking as far over to the other cells around them as he could.

"...We're the only ones in this room", Michael pointed out. Brian sighed and looked around as well. Like Michael said, they were alone. All of the other jail cells were empty, (the ones they could see at least).

"Yeah, we're alone...what's your point?", Brian asked.

"If we're locked in here...where are the prisoners?", Michael asked. Brian thought over the statement, and turned back to the other cells. They did not look like they had housed anyone for quite some time.

"Good question...maybe they keep them in another room? These cells don't look like they're used often. It wouldn't surprise me if they had more jail cells like this", Brian said.

"Do you think they moved them somewheres?", Michael asked.

"It's a possibility, I mean, they obviously suspected that we might attack. But we have the outside on lock down. They may be able to move them somewheres inside the base, but there's no way they'd be able to get them outside and on that train without us stepping in", Brian explained. Michael sighed.

"...I hope they're alright", Michael said.

As Michael and Brian debated over their escape and the location of the prisoners, in another section of the base, something else was going on. The halls were silent, the Rockets having either fled to emergency posts, or gone upstairs to fight off the rebels. With the exception of the occasional Earth shake from the explosions above, everything remained still, silent.

That was, until the wall to one of the halls completely exploded.

Dust and debris blew down the hall as a massive hole in the wall appeared. When the dust began to settle, the image of a Rocket laying on the wreckage of the once standing wall could be see. He looked to be alive, but unconscious and in pain. He moaned as a figure walked over his body and entered the hall.

Gary walked into the room, making sure to avoid stepping on any rocks that were scattered on the ground before him. He walked with his hands in his pockets, not looking back once at the damage he had caused. Walking beside him was his Umbreon, which kept pace with its trainer with ease. As Gary walked down the hall, behind him, his squad followed. Unlike Gary, they moved in with apprehension, and even some shock towards Gary's power. Emily, who was in the front of this squad, looked around briefly. On her shoulder was Shinx, who looked around curiously.

"Jeez, I knew that Gary was a strong trainer, but this seems excessive", Emily said to herself. From behind her, Emily heard the sound of someone shrieking. She turned in shock, only to sigh heavily in annoyance. Caitlin followed behind, being towards the end of the small squad. She peeked through the hole, shrieking when she spotted the unconscious Rocket on the ground. When she turned to see Emily looking at her, she chuckled with a sweatdrop.

"Uhm...sorry?", Caitlin said. Emily had little patience for younger rebels, especially ones that acted this way. Why couldn't she had been with Angel, or Ash? People she got along with?

"Just...ignore him. Come on, Gary's going on ahead, and we need to keep moving. If any Rockets are down here, they're bound to know that we're here now", Emily said. Caitlin looked at her nervously.

"R-really!? Oh jeez", Caitlin said. While Caitlin was trying her best to get over her nerves and to focus on the mission, she found it difficult. She only had experience going under cover, and only a little at that. Fighting like this was something she never saw herself doing, especially this soon, and especially at this scale. She knew that Emily didn't like her, and had little patience for her antics, but she couldn't help herself. She felt guilty over causing the trouble, not even realizing the similarities she had with Emily in terms of disappointment. She stepped over the rubble and made her way to Emily. She looked at her in annoyance, but ignored it. Caitlin could feel the tension just from standing near her, and it made her uncomfortable.

"Alright, we're located a few stories down and to the back of the base. We're supposed to make an attack around here, here, and here. And then hopefully find either Brian and his group, or the prisoners", Emily said, looking at a map she pulled out from her pocket.

"Do you think we'll be enough? I mean...we're a small group", Caitlin said.

"Don't begin to show doubt Caitlin", someone declared. Both Caitlin and Emily turned to see Gary looking back at them. He still had his hands in his coat pockets, and was still even facing the opposite direction. "That goes for both of you. You have to believe that we'll get the job done, and that we'll get it done right". The girls were uncertain of what to make of the comments. Since they had started the fight, Gary had been, for the most part, quiet. He kept to himself unless he was giving orders or warning someone of potential incoming danger. Caitlin looked to Emily, and then back to Gary.

"Well, it's just...we're just...blasting our way through the base", Caitlin said, looking back to the massive hole in the wall. Gary turned around and faced the girls.

"What else would you expect then?", Emily asked, beginning to question if Caitlin had any idea what to do here. While Emily was not a fan of their current method either, she knew better than to change the plans they had now. Gary, on the other hand, looked curious. As the scientist he was, he always appeared interested in the opinions of others, especially when it came to plans and strategies.

"Well then, what would you suggest?", Gary asked. Caitlin looked at Gary in skepticism. She felt the pressure now, and was uncertain of what to do. She looked to Emily, but it was clear that she would not help her. Caitlin began to think of something, and found herself looking at the unconscious Rocket behind her. Gary could see that she was thinking of something, and he quickly caught on. He smirked. "Well...?". Caitlin turned to Gary, who smiled at her. "He looks small, could be your size". Caitlin looked back to the Rocket, and then smiled. She rushed over and began to drag the Rocket back through the hole they had just come out of. As the two were now hidden, Emily turned to look at Gary.

"Gary, not judging your opinions, but do you honestly think that she has a plan? Of any kind?", Emily asked.

"Do you think that she's incapable? Emily...you, of all people, should know better than to judge people based on their apparent inexperience", Gary said. Emily stammered, she was at a loss for words. How? How did Gary know? She immediately felt her heart drop in her chest. Shinx must have sensed this, as it looked concerned at its trainer and nuzzled into her cheek to make her feel better. "You forget Emily, I'm a scientist, it's my _job_ to look for things people miss. I saw the way you acted at the meeting before we left, how Dawn had to support you on your decision to join me. You have problems with self-confidence, you hide yourself away because you're afraid that you'll let people down...Caitlin is the same as you you know. She's just looking for her chance to make up for it...you should be too", Gary said.

"I...I...", Emily said. She grew concerned. If Gary knew about her self-confidence issues, what _else _did he know? Maybe he was hiding more than he was willing to admit.

"Emily, I don't know why you act the way you do, but I know that you're not a cold person. Something happened to you on New Island where you were able to trust Angel, and now suddenly Dawn is a friend of yours as well. I'm not going to pry into your personal life, I have no right to, but you shouldn't berate yourself over something of your past. Focus on the here, and now. And right now...we're trying to stop Team Rocket. We need to be at our best...and you are, one of our best...", Gary said. Emily did not know what to make of the comments. She had never had someone tell her this before, especially someone who seemed to discover all of this on their own. He reminded her of Angel, inspiring her without even knowing her very well. She couldn't help but slap herself for thinking otherwise of someone in the PTA. They were all family. She nodded.

"Alright...thanks", Emily said. Gary nodded back.

"Ok...what do you think?", someone asked. Gary and Emily turned to the source of the voice, back to the hole. Standing before them was Caitlin, wearing the Rocket uniform that the unconscious Rocket was wearing moments before. Her blonde hair was no longer in a fish tail, but simply left hanging, (though tidy). She was just now placing the Rocket cap on her head, making sure it went on without messing up her hair. "It's slightly bigger than expected, but a little work here and there should fix that", Caitlin said. Emily, feeling bad for having spoken to her the way she had, felt that she needed to make it up to her.

"Uhm...here, let me help you with that", Emily said. Caitlin, uncertain of how to react to her sudden change in personality, merely nodded.

"Uh...ok", Caitlin said. She was at least glad that a woman would be helping her with her clothes. As Emily approached her, she caught eye of something.

"Your ears", Emily said, pointing out the Pichu earrings that Caitlin was wearing. Caitlin felt her earrings and gasped. She had forgotten to take them off. Had she been spotted in them, they would have suspected her right off the bat. Women Rockets were not allowed to wear such flashy jewelry. As Caitlin began to remove her earrings, Emily worked on tucking in the outfit to make it fit better. Gary looked at her approvingly.

"It looks good. You definitely pull off the rookie Rocket easily. Now it's just a matter of...acting the part", Gary said.

"Don't worry about that. I may not have a lot of confidence, but one thing I _am _confident in is my acting", Caitlin said. Gary smirked.

"Good to hear. Alright then. We'll have you go ahead of us, act like a Rocket on patrol. Give us the signal if the coast is clear. If it isn't...we'll take care of it for you", Gary said. Caitlin nodded. "Now then...I shouldn't have to tell you how dangerous this is...if any Rockets suspect that you're not one of them...you'll be an easy target. And they could even use you as a human shield against us".

"I...I know...I understand", Caitlin said, having finally removed her earrings. She looked down at them in her right hand. She held them lightly, seeing the yellow, red, and black reflect back to her. She felt that she needed to have them in her ears for good luck. Emily saw this, and put a hand to her shoulder.

"Don't worry...if they're lucky charms...you won't need them", Emily said. Caitlin turned to look at Emily, and then smiled. She appreciated it. Emily smiled back and then made the last final touches to the uniform. When she finished, she stepped back. "There, perfect. You look straight out of the academy. Just be sure to not run into any of our guys. They may not recognize you in this disguise".

"I'll be sure to remember that", Caitlin joked.

"Good, now then...let's get going", Gary said, turning back to the hall.

As Gary and his group made their way through the Rocket base, elsewhere, another much smaller group was trying to do the same. Since being separated from Ash, Aleksi, and the others, Angel and Lyla had been traversing through the upper levels of the Rocket base. They were unable to find any way to get into the lower levels of the base, for every door they checked led no wheres. Luckily, due to the attacks going on outside, their area was not heavily fortified. Lyla had kept Angel close, making sure to watch over her around every corner. She did not know Angel well, but knew that she had to protect her. Not just for the obvious reasons of her young age and determination to save her parents. But Lyla saw something in Angel, something that reminded her as her as a child.

Lyla grew up in Johto all her life, having lived in Violet City since she was born. When the war hit, she had decided to join the rebellion, to save her war-torn land. Johto was devastated much more than the other countries, many of its cities were shells of their former selves, some weren't even standing anymore. Many people were still recovering from the initial violent Rocket takeover. Lyla was one of the people there who wished to return things to the way they were. And was willing to do anything to do so.

However, since she arrived to Kanto with Misty, she began to learn more and more. While she had friends in the PTA, for the most part, she kept to herself, focusing primarily on her work to save Johto. But then she met Angel, and things began to change. She saw what kind of heart and spirit Angel had, and saw a lot of how she was as a child in her. She admired it, and it made her want to help her more and more. Now, she was not just fighting to save Johto, she was fighting to save Angel's parents, and everyone.

Lyla looked over a corner, her pistol at her side. The coast was clear. She sighed and looked back over to Angel, who stood right behind her.

"Alright, no one's there. We've been lucky, no Rockets since we got separated", Lyla said. Angel was glad that they had not run into trouble, but was growing impatient.

"Lyla, we're wasting time, we need to hurry up and find a way to the lower levels. Aleksi and the others need me, my parents need me", Angel said.

"I know sweetie, and I'm looking for our way down. But every place we've checked was a dead-end. We have to keep looking", Lyla said. The two then made their way down the hall.

"Why don't we just blast our way through the floor? It would be a lot faster than just looking through every door", Angel said.

"That wouldn't be a good idea. Team Rocket would be all over that, there'd be no way we could do it quietly. And who's to say how thick this floor is, I'd imagine Team Rocket made it fortified for just that reason", Lyla said. Angel grew more impatient.

"Lyla, we've been walking around up here for what feels like ages, we need to get to work helping the others. I feel like we've done nothing. And while we're doing this, our friends could be...", Angel said. She stopped herself right there, unable to even finish the words. Lyla sighed heavily, she knew what Angel was going through. Truth be told, she was growing impatient and worried as well. She kept up a strong front to give Angel confidence and to help find the others, but she was just as concerned as she was. Finally, she lamented.

"Alright...how about I contact the others? Maybe they'll be able to give us directions on where to go", Lyla said. Angel sighed in relief, glad to hear of an idea that might actually work. Lyla clicked her earpiece and began to talk. "Hello, Ash? Are you there?". There was silence. "Ash? It's Lyla, me and Angel are lost in the office building, we don't know how to get down to the basement, please respond". Still no response. "Ash?".

Angel and Lyla looked at each other. While they knew it wasn't a guarantee to get a response from them, they couldn't help but grow worried over the silence. What if something had happened to them? The tension was growing thicker, and there was nothing they could do about it from there. Lyla tried another contact. "Evan? Hello? It's Lyla. Me and Angel got lost after we got separated from Ash, are they alright?". Just like with Ash, there was no response. "Evan, hello? It's Lyla, we need help, can you tell us where we are?". Lyla sighed heavily, her heart rate increasing. For every lack of response she got, she grew more worried for her friend's safety. Angel was even more nervous, now beginning to pace back and forth.

"Who else could help?", Lyla asked herself. "Aleksi, this is Lyla, come in...Misty, come in...Ryoto?", Lyla said, trying different frequencies. Suddenly, she got a response.

"This is Ryoto", Ryoto said through the earpiece. Lyla sighed in relief, catching Angel's attention.

"Ryoto! It's Lyla, where are you, what happened to the others?", Lyla asked, now beginning to worry more about them than themselves.

"Lyla! Are you and Angel alright?", Ryoto asked.

"Yes, me and Angel are fine. We got lost after we got separated from you guys. We tried to find our way to the lower levels, but every door leads to a dead-end. What happened to you guys?", Lyla asked. Angel leaned in closer so as to hear from the earpiece.

"After you guys got separated, we managed to kill the guy in the robot and get away from Wolfe. We went into Giovanni's room, but it was a body double, Giovanni wasn't there", Ryoto responded. Lyla and Angel looked at each other in disappointment.

"Then...this mission was almost a waste?", Lyla asked.

"No, not entirely", Ryoto said. Lyla and Angel listened in. "Ash seems to think that Giovanni is still hiding inside the base somewheres. He said that he and the others were going to go look for him, but he asked me to go look for you two. I haven't seen them since, and neither he, nor anyone in their group, or Evan for that matter, are responding". The comment made Angel and Lyla even more concerned.

"...You can't get a hold of them either?", Lyla said. There was a moment of silence.

"...You tried too? They must have gotten in a fight. We'll need to find them as soon as possible. You said you were in the office building still?", Ryoto said.

"Yes, we never found our way down. We couldn't get back up to the third level with you guys, and every other way we checked was just another room", Lyla said.

"I'm not surprised, Team Rocket wouldn't want too many ways to get into the base from up here, just in case people did break in. Don't worry, I'll come and get you, I have a rough idea of where you are", Ryoto said.

"Alright, we'll wait here then. Hurry", Lyla said.

"Roger that", Ryoto said. The communication then ended. Lyla sighed in relief and turned to Angel.

"Well, Ryoto's on his way to get us. We'll have to wait here until he finds us, then we're going to go look for Ash", Lyla said.

"...What about my parents?", Angel asked. While she was nervous and concerned over Ash, Aleksi, and the others, she knew that she had to make her parents her priority. Lyla smiled.

"Don't worry Angel, of course we won't forget your parents. Ash said that he thinks Giovanni is still in the base, which means that we're not going anywheres anytime soon. We'll look for him, and your parents", Lyla said. Angel remained quite for a moment, but then nodded.

"Alright. We'll wait here", Angel said. Lyla smiled. The two merely waited around for a while, having nothing else to do. They kept on edge, making sure that they would not be taken by surprise should Rocket grunts appear. But with the exception of the fighting they could hear outside, all was quiet.

And they hated it.

"So, you got in contact with your friend at the base, how are things there?", Lyla asked. Angel turned to look at her.

"Hmm? Oh, you mean Brenna. Yeah, she's my friend who runs the library and databases. She said that nothing was going on in Pallet Town. She said that Team Rocket hadn't shown up yet, and everyone was really just waiting around. But that was half an hour or so ago, anything could have happened by now", Angel said. Lyla shook her head.

"No, you can't think like that. I'm sure that Brenna, and everyone else there at the base, are all safe and sound. Team Rocket attacking wasn't a guarantee, they'll prioritize the safety of this base over attacking ours. We had everyone there be on guard as a precaution. You don't need to worry. When all of this is done, we'll go back, and you'll see everyone again, all happy and safe", Lyla explained. Angel smiled.

"Yeah...you're right...thanks Lyla", Angel said. Lyla smiled. She loved helping others, especially those younger than her. It made her feel like a true mother. She was shocked though when Angel walked over and wrapped her arms around her, giving her a hug. She looked at Angel in some shock, but soon smiled, hugging the girl back.

"You're welcome sweetie. Don't worry...I'll make sure you stay safe. I won't let anything happen to you. I'll make sure you get to see your parents, and then return home to see your friends", Lyla stated. Angel looked up to her and smiled.

"Thanks!", Angel said. Lyla smiled back.

"No problem!", Lyla responded.

"I just hope that Ryoto hurries up. I want to see everyone, and", before Angel could finish, the sound of a door opening behind them caught Lyla's attention. She turned around to see a door creak open slowly, revealing eyes.

Eyes she wished she never saw.

"In a panic, she turned to Angel and pushed her away from her.

"ANGEL, LOOK OUT!", Lyla yelled. Angel was shoved backwards and landed on the ground, and saw as a very large figure stepped out from the door, holding in his hands a large metal bat. It was Wolfe from upstairs. He gleamed as he raised it high and swung it down.

"ONE! TWO! THREE!", Wolfe yelled, beating Lyla over the head with the bat. The first strike caused her to fall to the floor immediately, her head bleeding profusely and her body no longer trying to fight off the attacker. The last two swings stuck her full force in the head while she laid on the ground. By the end of it, the bat, and Wolfe's face, were covered in splatters of blood. Lyla laid on the ground, her skull smashed in. Blood and what appeared to be brain matter oozed around her body. Angel, her face also covered in some specks of blood, only looked on in horror. Just a second ago they were hugging and safe, now, she was dead; a horrible disfigurement on the ground. Wolfe smiled as he looked to Angel, his eyes wide and his smile penetrating.

"...Next", Wolfe growled. Angel, on an adrenaline rush from what had just happened, and horrified by the brutal murder in front of her, could think of nothing else to do.

But run.

She immediately got up and bolted down the hall, not looking back, not _daring _to look back at her fallen friend. Wolfe did nothing more but smile as she ran. Did she really think that a little girl could outrun him?

"Oh come now, you're making this ALL TOO FUN!", Wolfe yelled. He then began to follow her, walking fast, but by no means running. "COME ON AND PLAY LITTLE GIRL! I PROMISE TO END IT REEAAL QUICK LIKE YOUR FRIEND BACK THERE! I BET SHE DIDN'T FEEL A THING WHEN I BASHED THIS BAT INTO HER SKULL! SHE WAS LUCKY! COME NOW...OR YOU'LL HAVE A DEATH FAAAR WORSE THAN HERS!".

Angel did not stop, she couldn't stop. Her heart raced so fast that she thought if Wolfe didn't kill her, a heart attack would. Tears poured down her face over the thought of leaving Lyla back there. But she couldn't go back to get her, she couldn't go back to that _monster_. She thought of Lyla, how she had just met her, but was willing to help her find her parents and help her friends so freely, without any hesitation. She was a true friend, someone who cared deeply for her, even though she just met her. And now she was dead, killed at the hands of Team Rocket. So many of Angel's friends had died.

Why did they have to die?

Why?

Angel felt the cool breeze as she sprinted as fast as she could down the halls. She was reminded of just six days prior, when she was fleeing from two Rocket grunts in the woods outside of Pallet Town. Then, she was running for her life, merely trying to escape Rocket clutches once again. Six days later, she would be doing the same, but on a whole different level. She kept flashing back to the woods, flashing back to her cuts and scrapes, her heart racing as she avoided the Rocket Pokémon and the grunts. She thought to how she was going to die, before Ash saved her.

But this time, Ash wasn't going to save her. This time, she was all alone. She thought that maybe, this was a sign. That it would end, where it all began. She didn't know how close Wolfe was to her, she was too scared to turn back to see for even a second. She thought of Lyla, thought of the images she saw, the murder she witnessed. The thought of her smashed in head.

Thinking these thoughts made her _wish _she was dead.

Suddenly, from ahead of her, another door opened. She panicked, her heart racing to a level she didn't think she had. But so much was relieved, when she saw that Ryoto was the one coming out of the door. He immediately turned to the sound of footsteps and looked to Angel, his hand on his sword. When he saw her, he immediately grew worried. Lyla was missing, and Angel had blood on her.

"Angel!", Ryoto exclaimed. Angel immediately ran into Ryoto, wrapping her arms around him. She gripped him tightly, as if afraid that he wasn't real.

"RYOTO! YOU HAVE TO HELP ME!", Angel yelled in fear.

"Angel, what happened!? Where's Lyla!?", Ryoto asked, pulling the girl away from her and looking into her eyes. They were still cascading tears down uncontrollably.

"RYOTO! LYLA'S DEAD! HE KILLED HER! WOLFE APPEARED OUT OF NO WHERE, HE...HE HIT HER WITH HIS BAT! RYOTO, YOU HAVE TO HELP ME, I DON'T WANT TO DIE! I DON'T WANT TO DIE LIKE LYLA DID, PLEASE!", Angel yelled. Her fears were finally beginning to come to life. She was so scared that she was losing sense of herself.

"Shit!", Ryoto yelled, looking down the hall from where Angel had come. He didn't see Wolfe anywheres. He wasn't surprised, Wolfe liked to play with his easy targets. Angel was hyperventilating, he knew that he had to get her safely away from Wolfe or else she wouldn't be able to fight. Despite the training he gave her, it wouldn't do her any good if she wasn't in the state of mind to protect herself. She witnessed the brutal murder of someone right in front of her, and was now being chased, it would haunt any child. Wolfe would have to wait, he had to get her to Ash and the others, if they could find them. "Don't worry, I won't let Wolfe get to you, come on, we need to get moving, let's go!", Ryoto said, ushering Angel into the room he had just come out of and closing the door behind him.

**Aaaand done! There, two days, roughly 4-5 hours of writing! I didn't get out as many updates as I wanted during my Spring Break, (which officially ends after today), but it was the best I could do, my apologies. Hopefully these two latest chapters, (and the latest chapter to, "The Alphabet Game: EVAN AAML Style", "Wet"), keep you all entertained and happy. So, what did you think? I bet none of you were expecting such a violent ending after it seemed safe and even happy at times. Lyla was someone I really wanted to express more than I did, but unfortunately, her time had come. I hope you all enjoyed her character, despite being so small, she really was someone I liked. "With Lyla gone, and her friends out of reach, can Angel find her parents and survive the horrors of the Veridian Rocket base? Or would Wolfe do as promised, and give her a slow, agonizing death? Find out next time on EVAN AAML's "R"!" I hope you all enjoyed! PLEASE be sure to F.A.R., I practically LIVE off of those! XD And please also check out my Twitter for updates and news, perhaps it will answer questions you may have! Take care everyone! And if I don't update before next weekend, HAPPY EASTER! :D**

**sincerely,  
evan, a fan of aaml -EVAN AAML**


	92. Chapter 92

**Before we begin this chapter, I would like to send out a dedication to those affected by the terrible terrorist bombings at the Boston Marathon on Monday, April 15th. For those of you who do not know, two brothers believed to be of Chechnyan descent placed two bombs at the finish line of the Boston Marathon in Boston, Massachusetts. The explosions caused the deaths of 3 people and the injuries of over 170. Please pray for those affected, and keep them in your thoughts. **

**I will try to cover as many of the groups as I can, but it'll be too jumpy if I don't do it right. So for those who have not seen their OCs in a while, or miss their favorites, I ask that you please be patient. I hope to make your wait worth it. **

**-EVAN AAML**

Despite the destruction and chaos above the Rocket base, down below, there were a surprising number of places where it was almost too quiet. The lack of Rockets down here, (due to them rushing upstairs to fend off the frontal assault), allowed the few rebel groups in the base to sneak around without being caught. However, while some of the groups were going for the attack...

some were merely trying to escape.

Since they were attacked upstairs after losing Evan, Ash, Misty, Aleksi, Milo, and Pikachu had been making their way to the lower levels of the base. While they had killed everyone who attacked them above ground, staying too long in one spot was much too dangerous, so they continued in until they were able to find a spot suitable for a rest. They eventually found this spot in a boiler room, not far from where they had entered the lower levels of the base. Ash was the first to check the room. He looked around, Pikachu on his shoulder. The room was dark, but enough was visible to see that there was no one around. Ash turned to the others behind him.

"Alright, the coast is clear", Ash said. He then stepped in, holding the door open for the others. Misty helped Aleksi into the room, while Milo checked their backs. When they were all in, Ash closed the door. He sighed heavily and turned to the others. "Ok, we'll stay here and...gather our thoughts", Ash said. He himself was at a loss for words after what had just happened.

Ash had mentally prepared himself for the death of his teammates. While he didn't want it to happen, and while he even tried to reassure himself otherwise, he knew that a mission this big would have casualties. However, he was not prepared to witness these deaths personally, especially when it involved a relationship. Ash turned to Aleksi, who was placed alongside the right wall of the room, several feet from the closest boiler. She sat against the wall, holding her knees together with her arms and looking out into the distance. She had not spoken since they had gone underground, and they were beginning to worry about her health.

Misty continued to try to talk to her, try to at least get a response, but got nothing. She put a hand on Aleksi's shoulder, giving her reassurance. Aleksi didn't so much as glance in her direction. Misty turned to Ash in worry. He sighed, he was close to Evan and found the loss difficult himself, he couldn't imagine what Aleksi was feeling.

Milo, who paced back and forth near the left side of the wall, was the opposite of Aleksi. She was in a state of shock from too many emotions running at once. Milo was now just experiencing the emotional build-up. He walked to the wall, clenching his Spas-12 in his hand. He flipped the gun over so that he instead held the barrel of the shot-gun, and then smashed the butt of the gun into the wall. The sudden impact caused Ash and Misty to jump in shock, (Aleksi still did not move). Milo banged it against the wall again, and again, and again. Like swinging a bat into a tree, he swung over and over again, each hit being harder than the last.

Eventually, Ash walked over and put a hand on Milo's shoulder. The sudden tough caused Milo to turn abruptly, only to see Ash and relax, if only slightly. He looked at the wall, which had scratches all over it now, and then to his gun, which looked slightly dented, but held its form still. He threw the gun to the ground and broke down.

"He's gone man...Evan's gone...he was my boy!", Milo said, unable to comprehend the loss. Milo and Evan were close friends, and Milo was not prepared for what had happened to him. Ash felt as though as he was beginning to lose control of the group. Milo was a wreck, Aleksi was comatose, and he couldn't get contact with Angel, Lyla, or Ryoto. Slowly but surely, they were beginning to lose to the Rockets.

"Milo...I understand how hard this is for you", Ash said. Milo however turned to him.

"Do you? DO YOU!? No...I don't think you do...because if you thought this was hard for me...then you shouldn't even imagine what Aleksi's going through!", Milo said. Ash stared at Milo in some shock. Milo eventually sighed. "I'm sorry man...it's just...Evan was my friend. I just...didn't expect...".

"It's alright. We're all on edge at the moment. We've lost contact with Brian's squad, and now we can't get a hold of Angel, Lyla, or Ryoto. We have to defeat Giovanni and get everyone out of here soon", Ash said. Milo nodded.

"I know...I know...I just...let me...", Milo said. He was fighting back tears now, He turned and leaned against the wall, using his right arm as a prop against it. Ash nodded and patted him on the shoulder.

"I understand", Ash said. He knew what Milo was going through. It's never easy to lose a close friend. Ash, more than anyone, understood this.

He lost most of his close friends in this war.

He then walked over and brought his attention to Aleksi. Like before, she was not moving, not talking, in fact, Ash couldn't even tell if she was blinking. It didn't bode well. He reached the two girls and looked at Aleksi.

"How is she?", Ash asked Misty, looking over the traumatized girl. Misty looked to Ash.

"She hasn't said a word since we came down here...Ash...I'm worried", Misty said. The two then looked back to Aleksi.

Her mind had been wandering ever since Evan was killed. Her raw emotions got the better of her when it first happened, and when Team Rocket attacked them. But now that the adrenaline rush was over, and they were for the moment safe, it gave her time to think. Time she sooner wished she didn't have. Despite her personality, Aleksi had been alone for most of her life. For the longest time it was just her and her mother since her father helped with the rebels. Then, when her mother died, and her father left her to fend for herself, she was all alone.

When she joined the PTA, she felt that she finally had that family she had been yearning for. She worked harder than anyone, to make sure that she could make them happy. And she became good. No, not good, she became one of the best. She was finally happy, she finally had that family. But, despite this, there was still something missing. She needed something, more.

Then Evan came along.

She would admit, she did not like him in the least when they first met. The smoking was enough alone to put her off, but his ego, it was one of the worst she'd ever seen. But yes, despite these faults, there was something there. Something she couldn't put a finger on, but it was definitely there, and she couldn't help but feel...attracted to it. With her father being out of her life for most of her childhood, she never had a male figure to look to for love and support. While she looked up to people like Ash and Brock, it wasn't the same. She saw them as friends and allies, but not as someone to truly love. Evan however, fit that part better than she would have ever imagined.

He was caring, not just for her, but for Angel, and for everyone. A lot of the PTA were caring, but not to his degree. He genuinely wanted her to be safe and protected. He saved her life. And, despite his faults, he had that one thing Aleksi was looking for. Someone who loved her, and who loved her for being her. She didn't want to admit it at first, (for it would have been a strike to her pride to admit she was wrong about someone), but she was slowly but surely falling head over heels for the man. The more she got to know him, the more he proved that he cared for her, and thought of her as someone special.

The ball was one of the best moments of her life. Despite having to see her father again, despite being attacked by Team Rocket, it was something she would never forget. Not for the bad, but for the good. For the _great_. For she was with Evan. They danced the night away, they spent nearly the entire time together, laughing, talking, just enjoying each other's company. It was all that she needed, to know without a doubt, that he was her true soul mate.

That night sealed it, with a kiss.

He was there for her when she was down. He stood in the rain, holding her, protecting her from the wet and the cold. He was there to comfort her, and then, he was there to bring her back up. She never felt stronger in her life. Evan was not someone to do everything for her, to hold her back from being free; like other boyfriends would. He knew how capable she was, how strong and independent she was. But at the same time, he gave her support when she needed it, he gave her just the right amount of help without being overbearing. And the love...he loved her, with all of his being...and she loved him just as much.

Team Rocket...changed all of that.

Aleksi had confidence that everyone was going to make it out alright. She truly believed that they would be fine. They would defeat Team Rocket, and go home together. It was Evan who expressed doubt over it. He was the one who was afraid to admit that there was a chance they wouldn't make it back alive. Stupid jerk! Why did he have to think that way? Why did he have to be the one to be painfully honest? Why?

Team Rocket...they took away so many lives over the years. So many people lost their parents, sisters, brothers, friends...lovers. Now Evan joined that list of people lost. And Aleksi couldn't bare it. The image, the image of seeing Evan's chest, blood beginning to pour out of it, seeing him look up to the sky before falling. It would forever be engraved in her mind, like a scar that never heals, it would haunt her forever.

_"If that's what you truly believe in Aleksi...then I will believe it too...I love you"._

She reflected back to that night. She had told Evan that they would both survive, that they would live together happily...and he believed her. She remember admitting that she couldn't bare to think of a life without him...now...she didn't have a choice but to. She was now cascading tears, unable to stop them, not that she tried anyway. She continued to look ahead of her, ignoring Ash and Misty, who noticed the tears, and grew more and more worried. She didn't try to wipe them away, didn't try to hide them from the others. She just let them slide down her cheeks, as she thought of the man she loved...gone forever.

"...He's gone...he's really gone", Aleksi whispered to herself. It was the first words she had spoken in quite some time...hearing the words she spoke...Ash and Misty wished she had kept silent. Misty looked up to Ash, she herself about to cry by the looks of it. Ash sighed heavily. He could not blame Aleksi for feeling the way she was, but it was a dangerous action here. If she was not mentally able, she could become an easy target for Team Rocket. And Ash refused to lose anymore of his friends.

Misty stood up, allowing Aleksi time alone to her thoughts, (for better or for worse, she did not yet know). Ash turned around and walked several feet away from the girls. Misty followed close by. Pikachu had decided to hop off Ash's shoulder and approach Aleksi. While it knew that it could do nothing to quell the feelings Aleksi had, Pikachu could at least try. It snuggled into Aleksi's leg, giving her warmth. Misty and Ash meanwhile stood next to each other away from the others.

"Ash...what are we going to do?", Misty asked the young man. Ash's back was to Misty, something Misty grew more and more used to over the years. He did this when he was in deep thought, and didn't want emotion to get the better of him. Misty knew Ash, she knew that Ash's biggest weakness was that he cared too much. Becoming the leader of the PTA, he had to work with this "weakness" nearly everyday. While Ash saw this as a strength rather than a weakness, he knew that he had to work around it at times for the benefit of their cause. One of his little methods was to look away from people during traumatic moments in order to think and not be distracted by the emotions of the others.

"...We won't be able to wait for long. Team Rocket knows we're down here. And it's safe to say that, assuming Ryoto's hunch on Wolfe was correct, that they'll hunt us down until we're all dead. We need to quickly stop Giovanni before we lose more friends. We'll wait here to see if we can make contact with Angel, Lyla, and Ryoto. Then...we'll get moving", Ash said. Misty nodded in agreement. She then turned around to the others. Milo continued to try to collect himself, though found it difficult. While he was close to Evan, he understood that he couldn't let emotions get the better of him. Especially when the lives of his entire family were on the line.

Aleksi was just the opposite. She continued to stare out into emptiness. The only sign of her even being alive were the occasional re-shifting of her body and the constant flow of tears coming down her cheeks. Pikachu continued to rub against her, trying its best to comfort the hurting girl. Misty couldn't bare to see her friend like this. Ash saw Misty looking at Aleksi, and felt a pain in his chest. The thought had just occurred to him. It was quick, in and out of his mind in a flash, but its impact was none the less huge.

He could end up like Aleksi...if he lost Misty.

No, he couldn't think that way. He couldn't. He _wouldn't _lose Misty. He refused to think of a life without her. He lost so many of his friends over the years. He just lost his friend Evan. He almost lost his mother last night...he couldn't lose the love of his life.

He now understood the pain Aleksi was going through. Aleksi was feeling this broken after losing someone she loved dearly. And they had only known each other for less than a week. Ash had fallen in love and known Misty for nearly his entire life...how bad would it hurt him if he lost her today? The sudden pain in his heart gave him an idea.

It would be unbearable.

Slowly, Ash approached Misty from behind. She could feel his presence, but did nothing. Until he wrapped his arms around her body. She immediately began to blush, but kept it subdued due to the grief of the moment. She felt comforted by Ash's arms, but knew that this was not done out of mere enjoyment. Ash was trying to feel for the moment...it could be the last one they had.

While this moment was somber, it was at the very least peaceful. The same, however, could not be said for those on the front lines.

Here, the worst of the battle was just beginning. Everywhere one looked, the bodies of fallen PTA rebels and Team Rocket grunts laid about. The grass and concrete that surrounded the Rocket Headquarters and neighboring buildings were coated with blood, as if the skies themselves were showering them with the blood of their enemies.

The noise. The noise of the bullets zooming past, the sounds of screams from the dying, the howls of Pokémon fighting without stop, the boom of the explosions. If there were such a thing as Hell on Earth, it was here, and it was now.

Darrel ducked down below a make-shift bunker, covering his head from a barrage of bullets while holding in his free hand his M-16. When the bullets momentarily stopped, he took a quick breath and overlooked his body. His adrenaline had been on a non-stop rush since the fight started, and he quickly lost track of himself. He knew that he could have very well been injured and didn't know all this time. His white PTA uniform was covered in dirt and sweat from the fighting. Had he decided to keep the jacket, he probably would have died from heat stroke out here. After seeing that he had no serious injuries, he looked back to the battle.

Rebels all around him were being slaughtered by the likes of Team Rocket. While Darrel had expected heavy resistance attacking the main Rocket headquarters, he was not expecting something along these lines. Team Rocket must have sent reinforcements from other bases around them before they arrived, suspecting an attack. But if that were the case, then why not send everyone? Wipe out the PTA in one heavy assault?

Because that would be too easy.

No, Team Rocket did not merely destroy their enemies, they broke them. They made them suffer mentally and physically before killing them. Giovanni knew that he could have killed them all with his numbers alone, but he wanted to send a message. He wanted to make sure that everyone, the civilians of Kanto, and the rebel factions that are hiding, that they were not to be challenged. So he made sure that there were just enough Rockets to win, not an overbearing amount. He wanted to give the rebels that sliver of hope in winning before crushing them.

And this would be Giovanni's gravest mistake.

Darrel turned to his side and saw that two rebels were firing at a group of Rockets across the battlefield. This was the same boy and girl whom he recognized from New Island. He had heard that they were survivors from Misty and Brock's squad. They were also with him during Evan's training session. They didn't appear to be fighters at first glance, but they certainly had the heart. They both took cover from oncoming fire, and because of this, they failed to notice the small black grenade that landed not too far from them. Darrel panicked and rushed towards them.

"LOOK OUT!", Darrel yelled. As quick as lightning, he grabbed the grenade and threw it back towards Team Rocket. He ducked and the grenade exploded. The sounds of shrieks could be heard, but Darrel was too preoccupied to notice how many people were killed. When all was said and done, he sighed and looked to the two young teens, who looked to him in shock. "You two alright?".

"Yeah...we're alright", the guy said in relief.

"...Thank you...", the girl stated. Darrel merely nodded. Suddenly, the sound of yelling could be heard from behind them, back towards the reserve lines.

"ARE YOU ALL ALRIGHT!?", someone asked. Darrel turned to see Wallace, looking over towards them while ducking down to avoid fire. Standing beside him was a Chansey, which was holding up a rebel who was injured and in pain on the ground. He looked to be a burn victim, most likely from one of the many flying fire Pokémon that covered the fields every so often. Wallace turned to Chansey. "STAY HERE AND HELP! NO MATTER WHAT, TEND TO THE INJURED! UNDERSTOOD?". Chansey nodded and immediately went back to tending to the burn victim while Wallace rushed over towards Darrel and the teens. He tripped over the obstacles on the ground and avoided gunfire as he did so. Eventually, he reached Darrel, who dragged him to the cover they were hiding behind.

"Are you alright!?", Wallace asked, concerned for the well-being of his team.

"We're fine Wallace! You should be staying in the back, focusing on the injured and staying out of the fighting!", Darrel said.

"I go where I'm needed, '_general', _and if that's out here, then so be it!", Wallace said. Suddenly gunfire erupted, prompting Wallace to duck for cover once more. Darrel turned to the source of the fire, aiming his machine gun towards them and firing back.

"GO TO HELL TEAM ROCKET!", Darrel yelled. He fired shot after shot, not ending his volley until he felt that the Rockets were either dead or hiding. The two rebels who he had saved from the grenade were also firing back, adding to the barrage. Even Wallace fired shots down the way with his pistol, though he was not aiming, and merely fired at will. As he did, he looked to the ground and noticed something odd, a shadow. Wallace lowered himself for protection and continued to look at the shadow. Being a doctor, he was inquisitive, and looked around for the cause of it. There were few clouds in the sky, and none covered the sun. No one was blocking the light, so why was there a shadow?

And why was it getting darker and bigger?

Wallace soon found his answer, as the shadow began to become more life-like. It pulled itself off of the ground and formed into a ball. Wallace immediately panicked, knowing it was a ghost Pokémon.

"SHIT! DARREL!", Wallace yelled. Darrel turned to Wallace only to see the shadow instead. It swirled faster and faster, going from a pitch black to more of a purple and green. And then there was laughter. Heinous, spooky laughter. Soon, the shadow took form, Spiritomb.

"SPIRITOMB!", Darrel yelled. The ghost Pokémon laughed as it suddenly began to fire volleys of Will-O-Wisps at the rebels. Wallace jumped back, just narrowly dodging one of the fire balls. Darrel grabbed the two rebels near him, (who were distracted shooting at the Rockets), and dove for cover. Several Wisps flew by them, but missed none the less. Spiritomb did not get frustrated, but rather laughed maniacally in response.

"THAT'S CALAMITY JANE'S POKEMON!", Wallace yelled.

"THEN WHERE IS SHE!?", Darrel asked, looking around in a worry with his gun at the ready. Wallace too looked around intently. Most of Team Rocket were distracted with the battles going on around them. If Calamity Jane was actually here, and not just letting Spiritomb fight under its free will, (something that was rare, but Team Rocket trained for), then she was hiding well.

"SHE IS PROBABLY WAITING FOR AN OPPORTUNITY TO STRIKE!", Wallace commented.

"THAT COWARD! COME OUT AND FIGHT JANE!", Darrel yelled. Spiritomb yelled out loud, sending shivers down the spines of the rebels.

"WE CAN'T WORRY ABOUT HER RIGHT NOW! WE NEED TO FOCUS ON SPIRITOMB!", Wallace declared. Just then, Spiritomb began to chuckle, something that worried Wallace and Darrel. It created a dark haze, which it swirled all around itself. Wallace and Darrel braced themselves for the attack. Before they knew it, Spiritomb unleashed it, Ominous Wind. The rebels prepared for the onslaught.

And perhaps even...their deaths.

As the explosions and fighting continued outside, inside the base, it was another story. It was almost like another world. There was no fighting, no violence, and for the most part, it was quiet. While most of Team Rocket was outside fending off the assault of PTA rebels, some were kept stationed inside of the base to protect it from rebels who may break in. Walking down one of the halls were a couple of Rocket grunts, their guns at their side, ready to shoot anything and anyone that moved.

Due to the fighting outside, the Rockets were tense. Beads of sweat dotted their faces as they took step after step down the hall. The clicking of their boots against the tiled floor almost made them more nervous. The ceiling lights were out due to the EMP, and so they were forced to use small unreliable flashlights they kept attached to their guns near the barrel. Everytime the base shook from the fighting outside, the Rockets stopped and looked around, making sure that no one was around them. Their heart rates increased with every second and they nervously twitched their fingers on the triggers of their guns. They were trained to kill, trained to terrorize and control; now that the tides had turned, they were nervous.

"I don't like this, I hate being down here, it seems like everytime I turn around, I see something move at the corner of my eye", one of the Rocket grunts said, looking around the hall cautiously. The base shook, causing little bits of dirt to fall from the ceiling as the hanging lights swayed. The Rockets aimed their guns around, but much like before, saw nothing.

"I know, I hate it too", the other grunt said. He was just as nervous, but didn't feel like talking too much.

"We should be up there man. I'd hate that too, but at least we'd be able to see our enemies. It'd be better than just walking around down here, waiting to get attacked, right?", the first grunt asked as he walked. There was no response. "Right?", the grunt asked again. Still nothing. The lack of response sent a pain down his spine, as if the sudden realization of something paralyzed him. He immediately turned around, only to see darkness, and nothing else. The other Rocket was no wheres to be seen. The grunt panicked, moving his light up and down the hall, checking the floor and ceilings for Pokémon or any signs of something out of place. He gasped at even the slightest sound, his gun at the ready. He kept his finger on the trigger, the slightest pressure would fire the gun.

Suddenly, the Rocket felt a slight pinch on his chest. It didn't hurt a lot, but it was not something he expected. He looked to his chest and saw something odd. He reached down and pulled out a small dart with a fuzzy end to it. He looked at it curiously, and suddenly felt dizzy. He dropped the dart, hearing the slight cling it made as it bounced on the ground. He tried to hold his gun out around him, but could barely keep his eyes open much less hold his gun properly. What was happening to him? Before he knew it, he fell to the floor, and didn't move.

After a few seconds, the darkness at the end of the hall seemed to dissipate. It was as if the darkness was never there to begin with. Soon enough, a small group of people emerged from the hall. It was Dawn and her squad. The small group of seven were in charge of going through the Rocket base and eliminating any highly ranked Rockets while also looking for the prisoners being held by Team Rocket. Standing in the front of the group was Mathinza, who had his SVD aimed down the hall. Standing beside him were his Umbreon and Espeon, Yuki and Vui. Yuki's eyes, which were glowing previously, now stopped, and the darkness disappeared entirely. Vui's eyes also stopped glowing. The two had helped Mathinza shoot.

"Lights out, aye?", Mathinza said about the Rocket. Dawn, who stood to Mathinza's left, looked over someone on the ground. It was the other grunt, who was already unconscious. She appeared to be checking his vitals. As expected, it was fine.

"Nice shot Mathinza!", Max exclaimed. Since Dawn and Mathinza gave their word to May that they would watch over Max, they had kept him in their group. He had not done a lot for them per say, but they were glad for that much. Dawn stood up and turned to Mathinza.

"It was. But we need to keep moving. We've taken down grunt after grunt, but no signs of Calamity Jane, Butch, or Cassidy", Dawn said.

"You got it", Mathinza said, lowering his gun and walking ahead, his Pokémon following right beside him. The other rebels followed close behind. Max, seemingly confused, turned to Dawn.

"I don't get it, why are we moving so quickly? We're making excellent progress as it is, why tire ourselves out?", Max asked.

"Because, we're in constant danger Max. We can't stay in one spot for too long. Besides, we have a mission to look for highly ranked Rockets, and so far we haven't seen any, so we need to keep moving", Dawn explained. Max sighed as he and Dawn began walking down the hall to catch up to the others.

"Man, I'm getting tired", Max said. While Dawn sympathized with the young teen, (she too was also tired), she did nothing to help him.

"Max, you should have foreseen this when you decided to join us. You can't slow us down Max, not when you stowed away the way you did, and not when we're on such an important mission", Dawn explained. Max turned to Dawn in surprise. Max knew all of Ash's friends well, and he knew that Dawn was often laid back and at times whiny herself. But now, she seemed like an entirely different person. She had a mission, and she intended to go through with it. She came off as harsh, but Max could not blame her for it. After all, he did thrust himself onto the group without their consent, and he wouldn't be able to live with himself if his actions cost the group their lives. Dawn turned to Max, seeing the shocked expression, and sighed.

"Max, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to snap at you like that. But we're under a lot of pressure, and we can't have excuses to slow down. Not when we're so close", Dawn said. There was a moment of silence before Max turned back to the hall.

"...I know", Max said. Dawn turned to him. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't be whining. I put myself into this situation, the least I can do is be helpful and not complain", Max said. Dawn continued to look at Max for a moment or two before smiling. She was proud of Max for realizing this. Suddenly, the two found themselves stopping. Mathinza and the others had stopped and were waiting at the end of the hall. Yuki and Vui were using their powers, which meant that Rockets were just around the corner. Dawn and Max kept quiet and joined their allies. They looked around the corner to see who was in their way.

The hall led to an open area of the base. While it was not massive, it did lead to more halls that seemed to go to separate parts of the base. Standing in the open area was one lone Rocket. His back was to the rebels, as he was focused on the halls before him. This Rocket was much larger than most of the Rockets they had taken down, but otherwise it was the same situation. He looked around, unable to see without his flashlight. Mathinza brought his rifle up to level and aimed it down the hall to the Rocket. It didn't take long for him to fire a muffled shot. The dart hit the Rocket in the back. The rebels could hear the sound of him moaning and watched as he fell forward onto the ground with a thud. Mathinza smirked.

"The bigger they are, the harder they fall", Mathinza said quietly. Vui and Yuki powered down and the rebels moved forward. They kept their guns at the ready, just in case someone should come down the halls before them. Mathinza approached the unconscious Rocket and nodded, seeing that the dart was stuck to him.

"That's another Rocket down, this is getting too easy", Mathinza said.

"That's what you think" someone said. The group of rebels immediately gasped as the "unconscious" Rocket quickly rolled over onto his back, aiming at Mathinza a pistol. He fired the shot without hesitation. Mathinza could do nothing but cover himself from the shot. However, Vui quickly used Psychic and stopped the bullet. Mathinza opened his eyes to see that the bullet hovered in the air, not even a foot from his head. Mathinza's eyes widened in shock. The Rocket just scoffed as he slowly stood up. The rebels aimed their guns at the Rocket as he reached his hand behind his back. He pulled the dart out from his back and then brought it forward, showing it to them.

"Kevlar vest, really helps in preventing little...bug bites", the Rocket said in a gruff voice, referring to the low-powered gun. He flicked the dart onto the ground. Mathinza glared at the Rocket and then turned to Vui.

"Vui!", Mathinza said. As if knowing what he wanted, Vui swung its head and the bullet which was hovering in mid-air immediately flew to the Rocket. It struck him in the chest, causing him to take a couple steps back. It did not have the force to hurt him, but did cause him to lose balance momentarily before catching himself. The bullet fell to the ground with a clatter.

"Impressive, you know how to use your little rodents well...I think I have something just for that", the Rocket said, reaching for his belt. The rebels immediately aimed their guns at the Rocket.

"Don't even think about it!", Dawn exclaimed. The Rocket stared at them for a moment, until he smirked.

"Oh, I wouldn't do that if I were you", the Rocket said.

"Oh yeah, and why not!?", Max asked, not seeing how they wouldn't.

"Because you little pest...shooting me just might accidentally set off one of these here bombs I have strapped to me", the Rocket said, slowly unzipping his Kevlar vest and revealing several small cases of plastic explosives strapped to him. The rebels all gasped in shock. It was enough explosive to bury them all underground.

"YOU'RE MAD!", Mathinza exclaimed.

"Mad? Nah, just willing to do whatever it takes to win mate", the Rocket replied. He then reached for his belt. "Now then...as I was saying...I think I have something to counter your little Pokémon". He pulled off a Pokéball from his belt and opened it. The bright light caused the rebels to cover their eyes as a Yanmega appeared. The vibrations from its wings echoed down the halls as it looked at the rebels with its buggy eyes.

"Alright Yanmega, Silver Wind on the pesky Espeon", the Rocket commanded. The Yanmega flapped its wings faster and released several attacks towards the Pokémon. Due to the close proximity, dodging was out of the question. Yuki must have sensed this, as it immediately pushed Vui out of the way before taking the full force of the attack. Mathinza and the others looked on in shock. Yuki fell to the ground in pain, unable to move.

"No! Yuki!", Mathinza yelled.

"Bug types are strong against Umbreon and Espeon, be careful!", Max declared.

"Good luck with that", the Rocket said. He then turned to Yanmega. "Yanmega, Bug Buzz". Yanmega vibrated its wings, causing a very loud noise that was only made worse due to the echoes of the halls. The rebels covered their ears, the noise hurting them. They felt as though as their ears would soon bleed from the attack. Vui, due to its large ears, took more damage from the attack and fell to the ground. "Now! Signal Beam!", the Rocket yelled. Yanmega, while still using Bug Buzz, fired a colorful beam at Vui. Unable to move due to the noise, Vui took the attack dead on. The small explosion from the attack caused the rebels to fly backwards onto the ground. The Rocket smirked as Yanmega stopped its attack. The room was now silent once more.

"Well, looks like I took out your little helpers there didn't I?", the Rocket said, referring to Yuki and Vui. Mathinza sat up and looked to his Pokémon. Both were injured severely and unconscious. He scrambled over to them.

"Vui! Yuki!", Mathinza said in concern. He then glared to the Rocket. "You're going to pay for this!". The Rocket smirked.

"I find myself doubting that kid", the Rocket said. Dawn was the first to her feet, and aimed a pistol at the Rocket.

"We may not be able to shoot you, but we can just as easily take you prisoner", Dawn said. The Rocket smirked, which worried Dawn.

"Funny...I was thinking the same thing", the Rocket said. He then snapped his fingers. Suddenly, bright lights shined at all of the rebels. They shielded their eyes for a moment before adjusting to the lights. All around them were Rocket grunts, who shined large lights on them. This was a trap from the start. The rebels aimed their weapons, but found themselves surrounded and outnumbered.

"You really should have thought about hiding the Rockets you knocked out instead of leaving them in the halls for us to find. We narrowed down your path by the bodies and took another way around to set up this trap", the Rocket explained. Dawn growled at the Rocket in anger, but there was nothing more she could do. Mathinza's Pokémon were injured, and they were hopelessly outnumbered. Dawn could do nothing else,

but lower her weapon, and raise her hands in the air.

The rebels, while not liking the idea, knew they had no other choice. They too lowered their weapons and raised their hands in the air. The Rocket smirked as the grunts approached the rebels.

**Dang, this ended sooner than I thought. I had hoped to cover Angel and Ryoto at the end of this chapter, but ran out of room for it. Oh well, guess I'll cover that next chapter. I do apologize for the wait, I understand it's been quite some time since I last updated. But school's coming to an end, so I have a lot of work to do to prepare. Plus I've had some severe internet troubles, which have plagued my updates. That, added to the tragedy on Monday, it slowed down my work. But, I hope you enjoyed regardless. I think I'll skip the little ending narration for this chapter and just ask once again that you keep those affected by the Boston Marathon bombings in your thoughts and prayers. Thank you.**

**sincerely,  
evan, a fan of aaml -EVAN AAML**


	93. Chapter 93

**I have been having some laptop issues as of late, which may or may not cause some delays in my updates, so that's a warning for you all ahead of time. Also, I may be changing my e-mail around, (as I have been using AOL all my life, but my parents are thinking about switching it around), so I do not know how this will affect my account or receiving/sending messages. I will let you know when, (or even if), this happens so that I can prepare ahead of time. Until then, here's another update for you all to enjoy!**

**-EVAN AAML**

The lone Rocket grunt walked down the hall, the sound of boots clicking against the tiled floor echoing down the empty hall. This area of the base was particularly quiet despite the havoc going on in and around the base. The quiet gave the Rocket a sense of peace and tranquility on a day where their life could be over in an instant. Such moments were rare to come by in today's world, and this Rocket would cherish it while it lasted. It was odd however, to experience such calm while everything else was chaos. It would be a lie to say that thoughts of this peace ending abruptly and violently didn't cross the Rocket's mind. However, they were ignored as much as possible.

The Rocket's hands were intertwined at the fingers and behind the back. The grunt's head looking down, but being as alert as possible despite the peace. For looks could be deceiving. Coincidentally, it was not PTA rebels this Rocket was concerned about running into, but rather other Rockets.

For this Rocket, wasn't a Rocket at all.

This grunt was actually Caitlin, who continued to walk the halls casually, making sure to prevent her squad from being seen by Rocket patrols. She casually looked behind her, bringing her attention to the edge of a hall that interjected with hers. There, she could make out the view of someone from her squad, looking at her and making sure she was safe. Caitlin gave a slight nod as she continued to walk ahead, signaling that everything was clear thus far.

Since taking on the disguise as a Rocket grunt, Caitlin had been "patrolling" the halls, acting like a typical grunt on security detail. With security cameras off-line due to the EMP, all she really had to worry about was the chance of running into other Rockets patrolling the halls, (and possibly even other PTA rebels, who may not see through her disguise before attacking her).

But so far, nothing happened. There were no other Rockets, and no other PTA rebels. It was all quiet and calm, which was what concerned her the most. She knew that Rockets inside the base would be on high alert due to the attacks outside. While she didn't expect to run into many Rockets, the fact that it was so quiet was what worried her. Despite this, she kept her cool and continued her ruse. She knew better than to give away any hints as to who she was really affiliated with, especially when under cover.

She approached the end of the hall and casually turned to her right. Still nothing to report. She glanced behind her, seeing that the hall was clear from both ends. Gary, Emily, and the others would know enough to take their time in following, as danger could arrive at any moment.

Good foresight.

For no sooner did Caitlin begin walking down the right hall, than voices begin to echo towards her. Caitlin's heart raced inside of her chest as she tried to make out what they were saying, wondering if they were friend or foe. They were seemingly talking casually, and even at times laughing. This made it difficult to tell who it was. PTA rebels would be taking this mission a lot more seriously, and Rockets should be extremely nervous and on edge with their base under attack. Regardless, Caitlin continued her act, knowing that changing it now would be too risky.

She pin-pointed the source of the voices to a room that was on the right side of the hall. The door was open, probably due to the lack of lights. As Caitlin continued to walk down the hall, she could hear the voices getting louder. They were leaving the room. It took mere seconds for the occupants to make their way into the hall and make eye contact with her.

Rockets.

There were only three in total, two of them being young grunts based on their uniforms, the third being slightly higher ranked, a Corporal. Caitlin's disguise gave her the ranking of a grunt, a Private, much like the other two Rockets. She had to think fast. If the Corporal gave her orders to follow them, then her saying no would give away her cover. But if she went with them, it could very well mean she would be helping in hunting down her friends. The Rockets stopped in the hall and faced her. She acted cool, putting her back to the wall and saluting the Corporal. One of the two grunts stepped forward, looking Caitlin up and down.

"Well...hello sexy...what are you doing in the halls?", the Rocket asked. It was clear that he felt he had power over her, even though they were equally ranked. Clearly her being a girl affected his opinion.

"Patrolling the halls", Caitlin said, not hinting at nerves in the least.

"Shouldn't you be doing something more productive?", the Rocket asked. Caitlin glared at him.

"Shouldn't you?", Caitlin responded. The grunt looked angrily at her, getting annoyed at her attitude. Despite the seemingly foolish idea to piss off a Rocket, this was actually for the best. If she gave in too much, the grunts would question her strength, which would in turn question her training and allegiance. Her acting in this way fit the typical personality of women Rockets. Due to constant sexism by the male grunts, they often ended up tough and, for lack of a better word, bitchy.

"You got some god damn nerve!", the grunt said. Caitlin glared at him even more.

"Listen, I'm doing this under Giovanni's orders. He wants security increased around here with the PTA attacking the base", Caitlin explained. The grunt looked worried at first, but only for a brief moment. He turned to the Corporal.

"I don't buy it. If she was given orders from the top, we would have heard about it", the grunt said. Caitlin didn't so much as flinch.

"Do you _honestly _think, with the PTA attacking, that Boss Giovanni would give the time to alert some low-level grunt about the increase in security?", Caitlin asked. The grunt began to get more and more annoyed at Caitlin.

"You're starting to get on my nerves bitch!", the grunt exclaimed. Caitlin smirked.

"Aww, is the mean lady being mean to you? Do you want to run to mommy and cry?", Caitlin asked. The grunt got fed up. He approached Caitlin quickly and grabbed her by her uniform.

"I'm starting to think that, maybe, you're not even a Rocket. Because no Rocket would be so stupid as to piss me off!", the grunt said. Caitlin was beginning to worry at this point. Had she taken her act too far? Something like this has never happened to her before, and she knew she had to think of something fast or else risk being discovered. Luckily, fate decided to step in.

"Shut it!", the Corporal said to the grunt. The grunt turned to the Corporal in confusion and protest, but soon released Caitlin and stepped back, defeated. Caitlin readjusted her uniform and looked at the Corporal. He was older than the grunts, and clearly didn't show the same seduction towards her as the other grunt. He looked her up and down as well, but merely to see if she seemed legitimate.

"You said Boss Giovanni gave you the orders?", the Corporal asked. Caitlin nodded, keeping her hands behind her back and her posture straight, like a soldier in line being commanded by a drill Sergeant.

"Yes sir. He stationed grunts all along the halls. You haven't seen any?", Caitlin asked, showing some 'confusion' at the realization. This little act gave the Corporal concern, which was what she wanted.

"No...we haven't...", the Corporal said, looking up and down the hall. Caitlin acted surprised as well.

"D-do...do you think...?", Caitlin asked. The Corporal nodded.

"I do...", the Corporal said. He then turned to the two grunts behind him. "We may have PTA in the base! I want thorough checks in all rooms and halls!".

"Do you want me to come?", Caitlin asked, knowing the answer she would get.

"No. If Giovanni gave a direct order, follow it. We'll do it ourselves. If you see anything, report it as soon as possible, do _NOT_ confront them on your own. Understood?", the Corporal asked. Caitlin saluted.

"Yes sir! Happy hunting, long live Team Rocket!", Caitlin said. The Corporal saluted back and began to make his way down the opposite direction. The quiet grunt quickly followed. This left Caitlin and the angry grunt alone for a brief second. He looked at Caitlin for a moment. Caitlin smirked.

"Shouldn't you be running off?", Caitlin asked. The grunt became annoyed once again, but knew better than to start something and anger his commanding officer. He ran off, catching up to his group. Caitlin continued to watch them for a moment or two, before seeing that, out of no where, electrical shocks were fired from the adjacent hall and at the three Rockets. They yelled for a brief second before falling to the ground in a heap. Caitlin rushed over as Gary, Emily, and the others walked to the bodies. Shinx stood on the ground, its cheeks sparking.

"Good work Caitlin, that was some impressive acting", Gary said as the rebels began dragging the paralyzed Rockets out of the hall and into a room. Caitlin sighed.

"It was harder than I thought, I'm glad I didn't crack", Caitlin said.

"I am too", Emily said. But she smiled and gave her a pat on the back. "But you did good, great job!". Caitlin smiled, glad that she got Emily's approval. Suddenly, the sound of something beeping alerted the group. They all looked around, their weapons at the ready. However, they soon realized that the noise came from Emily's Pokénav. She put her gun away and pulled it out while the other grunts relaxed. She pressed a button on the screen and a shadow appeared. The image function was turned off from the other person's Pokénav.

"Emily? This is Ash", the voice said. Emily sighed heavily upon hearing their leader's voice, as did the other grunts. Gary, however, was not so relieved. He could tell from Ash's tone that something was wrong.

"Ash! Boy are we glad to hear from you! We're still going through the halls. No sign of the others, but we've managed to take down some Rockets", Emily explained.

"That's good to hear", Ash said, though his tone made him sound as though as that wasn't important. Gary approached the Pokénav.

"Ash...", Gary said, knowing that Ash would understand what he was asking.

"Gary, have you had contact with anyone else? Brian's squad? Angel? Anyone?", Ash asked.

"We haven't heard from Brian's squad, nor were we able to contact them ourselves. Think the worst has happened?", Gary asked.

"Yeah...I think so...they must have been captured. While you're around, look for any cells, they're bound to keep them in there...we're counting on you to find them", Ash explained. Gary nodded.

"Understood", Gary said.

"We also just tried contacting Dawn and her squad, and came up with nothing", another voice said through the Pokénav. This was Misty.

"Shit!", Gary said worried.

"Do you think something happened to them?", Caitlin asked in concern.

"We don't know, and that's what worries us. Try to see if you can contact them, maybe we just have bad connection", Ash said. One of the rebels immediately pulled out their own Pokénav and got to work.

"Wait, Ash...you asked us if we had contact with Angel...shouldn't she be with you?", Emily asked. There was a moment of silence.

"No...Angel and Lyla...we were attacked when we tried to get Giovanni...they got separated from us...and we haven't heard from them since", Ash explained. Emily covered her mouth in a gasp. No, not Angel. She was the youngest one there, out of all the rebels. She had to save her parents, be reunited with them once more...she couldn't die.

"Do...do you think...?", Emily asked, not being able to even utter the words that crossed her mind.

"No...at least...I don't think so. We sent Ryoto to go look for them, so they should be safe. But that doesn't explain why we can't reach them", Ash explained.

"They could be in trouble", Gary said.

"But we won't know where they are until they contact us. If Ryoto finds them then we'll be fine, he'll bring them to us. Meanwhile, you guys look for Brian and the others. You're the closest to them, and they could be in more trouble than anyone else. I'll contact as many people as I can to see if anyone can get a hold of Dawn's squad, but if it comes down to it, you may have to look for them too. You've officially been moved to rescue detail", Ash decided. Gary nodded.

"Understood", Gary said. He turned to his rebels and appeared to be ready to give out commands. However, Ash and Misty weren't finished.

"Wait...there's...one more thing", Misty said. Gary, Emily, and Caitlin turned to the Pokénav to see what it was she wanted to say. "We...we were under attack, and...we...lost Evan". Emily gasped, nearly dropping the Pokénav in shock. Gary turned away from the device, solemnly praying to himself. He had worked with Evan on Blaine's ship off the coast of Cinnabar when the others were attacking New Island, he had gotten to know him...and now he was gone. Caitlin had barely known Evan, not really sharing any conversation with him. However, she did know that he was friends with Angel, and wondered how she would take the news. The idea of it scared her.

Emily, trying to pull herself together, held the Pokénav closer to her. She had not been particularly close to Evan. She didn't have a problem with him, but they just didn't talk a whole lot. However, she was close to Aleksi...and she knew that this must have been hard on the poor girl.

"How's...how's Aleksi taking it?", Emily asked.

"She's...taking it hard. She's barely spoken since it happened, we can barely get her to move...we're worried about her", Misty said. Emily sighed heavily, understanding. She could only imagine what Aleksi was going through now that she lost her love.

"Don't worry Ash, we'll find the others...make sure everyone stays safe, got it?", Gary said, trying to get a hold of the situation. He knew that if he let the news of Angel's disappearance and Evan's death get the better of him, it will unsettle his team; a dangerous thing.

"Thank you...you all stay safe yourselves...Ash out", Ash said. The communication then died out. Emily placed her Pokénav slowly away while the others remained silent. They looked to Gary for instructions. Gary paused for a moment, but soon collected himself and looked to the rebels.

"Alright, change of plans. We're going to go look for Brian and Dawn's squads. This is a rescue mission, so keep alert, we're not just looking out for our own lives now. Odds are, if they're captured, they're being kept in separate places as a precaution, so we'll need to really look around well. Caitlin, you'll stay at the head, but keep an eye out for any rooms that have heavy security or talkative grunts", Gary ordered. Caitlin nodded and then immediately went off down the hall. Gary then turned to the other rebels. "The rest of you, stay close to each other, and keep your distance from Caitlin, we can't give away her cover...weapons at the ready". The rebels all nodded and together, they made their way down the hall, making sure to be out of sight.

While some groups were focused on remaining hidden and silent, others had these as the last things on their minds. Others were just focused on staying alive. Especially when "staying alive" meant trying to fight off a ghost Pokémon.

Wallace stood by as his Chansey took the hits from Calamity Jane's Spiritomb. Luckily, Chansey was immune to ghost-types, and so took no damage, (something that greatly upset Spiritomb). Unfortunately, Chansey was also a normal-type, and nearly all of its attacks were useless against the spirit Pokémon. So they found themselves at a stale-mate. Darrel wished to help Wallace in the fight, but the amount of fire from the Rockets around them drew his attention. He had to make sure that they didn't get shot in the back. This was probably Jane's plan. She would hide safely away while her Pokémon, which couldn't get shot, distracted the rebels. Then Team Rocket would simply shoot them when they had their backs turned. A coward's method, but it worked.

"Ok Chansey, we need to think of something fast. You're doing a great job at protecting us, but if we can't land a hit on Spiritomb, then this will last forever", Wallace said. Chansey nodded in agreement. "Alright, let's try a ThunderBolt!". Chansey raised its hands in the air, collecting electricity, and then threw it forward towards Spiritomb. Spiritomb laughed as it suddenly disappeared into thin air, dodging the electric attack. Wallace and Chansey looked around, wondering where the ghost had gone to.

"Ergh, where is it!?", Wallace asked, beginning to get worried. Darrel fired a couple of shots down at the Rockets and then turned to see how Wallace was doing. Seeing that Spiritomb was gone, he looked around quickly. Suddenly, he spotted something and gasped.

"WALLACE! ABOVE YOU!", Darrel yelled, pointing to the sky. Wallace and Chansey looked up to see Spiritomb hovering above them, it laughed as it unleashed a Hyper Beam attack directly below. Wallace gasped.

"NO! CHANSEY! LIGHT SCREEN!", Wallace yelled. Chansey placed above itself and Wallace a light purple barrier. The Hyper Beam struck the barrier, causing it to explode and scatter. Rebels and Rockets near the explosion were sent flying this way and that. Darrel ducked into the small trench to avoid being blown away, grabbing the two rebels near him in the process. When the dust settled, Wallace looked up. Chansey and him were safe, though Chansey was getting tired. It wasn't trained for battling like Wallace's other Pokémon, he had it to help people. Because of this, it wasn't as strong as it could have been. Chansey panted heavily as Spiritomb looked down at the two with a smile. It was still ready to continue.

Watching from the trench, Darrel growled in frustration. Spiritomb would be the death of them, if he didn't do something about it. He turned to the two rebels he shielded from the blast, who were both still trying to gather themselves.

"Hey, listen, I need you two to watch our backs, got it? I'm going to help Wallace!", Darrel explained. The two rebels looked at each other, then at Darrel.

"You got it!", the male said.

"We'll do our best!", the female replied. Darrel nodded in response. He then got up, (making sure to not stand out too much so that the Rockets could shoot him), and got closer to the battle. As he did, he reached for his belt. He knew that trying to shoot Spiritomb would only result in a waste of ammo. So he went for another weapon. A Pokéball. He pulled it off his belt and clicked on the center button, making it bigger. He looked up to Spiritomb, who was more preoccupied with Wallace and Chansey than him.

"Alright you god-damn ghost, time to end this!", Darrel exclaimed. He then threw the Pokéball in the air and it burst open. The light landed on the ground and began to take form. As Darrel caught the Pokéball, the light turned into a Camerupt. It snorted and blew smoke out of the little volcanoes on its back. "Camerupt, Eruption!". Camerupt made a loud noise, (which caught Spiritomb's attention), and launched a massive spray of lava at the ghost Pokémon. It panicked as it was struck with the lava, damaging it heavily. It fell to the ground, surrounded by the lava. Darrel smirked and then turned to Wallace.

"WE GOT THIS WALLACE!", Darrel yelled. Wallace, seeing Darrel's actions, smirked. He stood up and nodded back. They both faced Spiritomb as it blasted the lava away with its psychic abilities and roared. It was no longer laughing, but not angry. It would send shivers down any person's spine. It then used Psychic and covered both Chansey and Camerupt with the purple glow. Both Pokémon struggled to get loose, but to no avail. As the Pokémon struggled to get loose, the ghost flew back up in the air. Spiritomb then roared as it launched both Pokémon into different directions. Chansey to the left, crashing into the cliff side, and Camerupt to the right, scrapping against the ground.

Camerupt eventually stood up, shaking off the attack. Chansey however was much more injured. It fell to the ground, where Wallace rushed over to check on it. Seeing this, Spiritomb took advantage. It laughed as it fired Will-O-Wisp at the two. Darrel saw this and turned to Camerupt.

"CAMERUPT, COUNTER WITH YOUR OWN WILL-O-WISP!", Darrel yelled. Camerupt nodded and fired its own volley of little fireballs. The attack collided with Spiritomb's, cancelling out the attack. Spiritomb turned to Darrel in anger. It built up a dark energy at its mouth. Darrel saw this and prepared itself. "Ok Camerupt, it's preparing a Shadow Ball, this is our chance. We need to hit it hard, and hit it fast". Camerupt snorted in response. Soon, Spiritomb fired the Shadow Ball attack. It went flying towards Darrel and Camerupt at great speed. "ALRIGHT CAMERUPT, FIRE BLAST!", Darrel yelled. Camerupt opened its mouth and fired a large X-shaped fire attack. It went flying into the Shadow Ball, pushing it away like it was nothing, and towards Spiritomb. The ghost Pokémon wailed as it was struck by the attack, falling to the ground in an explosion.

Darrel watched carefully to see if the Pokémon would get back up. He knew that Camerupt was powerful, but Spiritomb was something else entirely. By this time, Wallace had recalled Chansey and rushed over to Darrel's side. He had his hand at the ready for another Pokémon, should the need arise. They continued to look at the flames that covered the ground, wondering when, or if, Spiritomb would arise. As if on cue, a sudden gust of unnatural wind appeared, blowing the fire out in an instant. Spiritomb floated in the air, panting heavily as it glared at the rebels. Darrel and Wallace braced themselves for another fight. However, another fight, they would not get.

Spiritomb, instead of readying another attack, merely smirked. This smirk soon turned to chuckling, and the chuckling soon turned to all out laughter. This worried the rebels, who did not understand why the Pokémon found this funny. The ghost then phased, becoming nearly invisible. Darrel and Wallace looked at it curiously. Why would it phase? They weren't launching an attack...unless someone else was.

Just then, something fell from the sky, (cliff side from the angle of the fall), and right in front of them. It bounced at first, until it eventually rolled to a stop. The rebels looked down to see that what had fallen from the sky was a small black grenade. They immediately panicked. Darrel turned to Camerupt.

"CAMERUPT DEFENSE CURL!", Darrel yelled. In an instant, Camerupt lowered itself and shielded its body. The grenade then exploded. Darrel was sent flying backwards into the air, and landed hard on the ground. His ears were ringing, he might have ruptured his ear drums. He could not feel parts of his body, as the force of the grenade seemed to paralyze him. At first, he thought that he might be dead, that this was Heaven, and that his fight was over. He couldn't tell, as he was still gathering himself.

He turned his head this way and that. He didn't have the energy to pick himself up, or even lift his head off the ground. He couldn't hear a thing, and could barely see. Trying to get himself together, he attempted to move what little he could. His legs couldn't move, but they could have been blown off his body for all he knew. His fingers twitched, and he was able to feel them. At least he still had his arms. Suddenly, he felt something touch him. He couldn't tell who, or what, it was, and so began to panic. he tried to look at who was touching him, but could only make out a figure. He could hear a voice, something was trying to communicate.

He tried to focus, tried to hear who was talking. It took some time, but he was able to make out something.

"Darrel! Darrel!", someone yelled. Though the person was yelling, Darrel could only just make it out. He felt someone trying to check his pulse. He assumed that this meant he was at least alive, and not imagining all of this. He almost forgot what had happened. It was as if the blast nearly made him lose memory. He tried to move, but this time, was forced down. The person talking to him was preventing him from moving. Not knowing who this person was, Darrel panicked once again, trying to force his way into moving. However, he must have been injured, for the most he could do was turn his head towards the person.

Soon enough, his vision began to slowly come back to him. It was cloudy and the sunlight didn't help matters. But eventually, he was able to make out that the person talking to him was Wallace. He looked banged up, bu was otherwise alright. Either he had avoided the grenade while Darrel did not, or the grenade just barely missed him. His hair was covered in dust and dirt, and he had a trail of blood coming down from his forehead. Darrel watched as Wallace looked at his arm and sighed. He grabbed some of his medical tools and began working on pulling something. He could just barely make out his yelling as Wallace pulled out a piece of shrapnel from his arm and threw it away. He then brought his attention back to Darrel.

"Darrel, can you hear me!?", Wallace yelled. Darrel could barely make out the noise coming from Wallace's mouth. He knew he was speaking, but could not entirely make out what he was saying. His ears were still ringing, and his vision was much too cloudy to be able to read his lips. However, Darrel was able to see Wallace begin to work on him, though what he was doing he couldn't tell. Darrel turned his head to his right and tried to look for Camerupt. He could not see in the distance well, but was able to make out the red of the hide. Camerupt had protected itself with Defense Curl, but was still injured from the shock wave of the blast. However, it would be fine.

Darrel felt his head being moved carefully back towards Wallace, and he was able to make out fingers being held up in front of him. They were blurry, and it gave Darrel a headache to look at them, but he figured what Wallace was asking of him.

"T...two", Darrel managed to utter. Darrel didn't know if this was in fact right, but that was all he was able to make out. He couldn't tell what Wallace was trying to do now, but it looked as if as he was trying to administer some kind of shot into him. Darrel became worried, wondering what it was he was going to be injected with, and if he was in so bad of condition that he truly needed it. However, he was in no condition to argue or resist, and so merely watched as Wallace placed the needle through his arm.

Immediately, Darrel began to feel entirely different. While he did not know if this was an immediate recovery, (he doubted it), he at least felt like he could actually speak back coherently. His hearing was still shaky, but his vision began to come back to him. He turned and looked to Wallace, who looked him over.

"Looks like I was smart in bringing Prof. Oak's Rocket Pokémon medicines. Alright, I don't know how well you can hear me, but you got hurt badly by that grenade. Luckily you avoided most of the shrapnel, but the shock wave did a number to you. We need to get you off the battle field", Wallace said. Darrel could not hear everything Wallace had said, but put what he could hear together. He was annoyed that, after being put in charge of the frontal assault, he was already out of commission. But he could do nothing as Wallace tried to pick him up.

Suddenly however, Darrel noticed something. Wallace had looked up from Darrel momentarily to look in front of them. Darrel was not able to see because he was laying on the ground, but he was able to make out Wallace's facial reactions...fear. Quickly, Wallace reached for something on his belt, but then just as suddenly, Wallace fell backwards. Darrel was able to hear some kind of noise, almost like a pop, but it was not loud enough to be very distinguishable.

What was distinguishable however, was the bloody hole in Wallace's right eye.

Darrel's heart raced as he saw Wallace fall backwards, his glasses flying off his face, a bullet hole punctured through the right lens. Wallace fell backwards and landed with a thud, out of Darrel's vision. Because of the drugs he put into his system, Darrel was not able to move to see the attacker. However, he didn't need to, for the attacker went to him.

He was able to make out a figure stepping over to them, standing between him and Wallace. It was hard to make out extensive details, but Darrel was able to tell that this was Calamity Jane. Her long reddish-brown hair and black Rocket attire were easy giveaways. She held in her hands a pistol and looked over Wallace with a smirk.

"That was for New Island!", Calamity Jane said. She then brought her attention over to Darrel. He wanted nothing more than to kill her with his bare hands, but he couldn't even so much as get up to do it. He was almost completely immobile, and at Jane's mercy. She snickered as she approached him. She knew he couldn't move. Darrel watched as Spiritomb hovered over to her. She turned to it with a smile as she pulled out a Pokéball and returned the ghost Pokémon. She then brought her attention once more to Darrel.

He could not move, and she had a gun. He was completely defenseless and knew it. He expected the worst. However, Jane did not aim the gun at him. In fact, she put the gun back into her holster, and blew a kiss to Darrel, before running off. Darrel had mixed feelings over this. He was angry that she was getting away with murder and he could do nothing. Frustrated that she would leave him to sit there, injured, and probably soaking in the blood of Wallace. But, he also felt relieved, that he would not be killed just yet.

Darrel could hear the sounds of gunshots once again, and before he knew it, the two rebels he had saved earlier were by his side. The female rebel bent down and looked over Darrel while the male rebel aimed his gun down the field, firing at who he assumed was Jane.

"Wa...Wa...llace", Darrel mustered. He watched as the female rebel turned to look over Wallace and grimaced, covering her mouth in horror. The male rebel saw this and motioned to focus on Darrel. The two then began to work on moving him out of the line of fire and away from the battle. All Darrel could do was watch as he was dragged away, leaving behind Wallace's body.

While the rebels brought Darrel to safety, elsewhere, another group were thinking about the safety of their own. Ash and Misty had remained inside of the empty room for some time now, and were growing worried and impatient. While they wanted to wait to allow Aleksi and Milo to recover fully, they knew that they would be getting no wheres just standing around. The only thing keeping them there was Angel, Ryoto, and Lyla. If they could get in contact with them, they would move out and meet them somewheres. But ever since they got separated, there had been nothing but silence.

Misty stood and watched as Ash paced back and forth. It was something he had grown into since becoming the leader of the PTA. He paced. Often. And it made her nervous. Because when Ash paced, _he _was nervous, and that spelled trouble.

"Ash...", Misty said. Ash continued to pace, but looked over to Misty. Seeing her worried expression, Ash stopped.

"Oh...sorry", Ash said. He knew that she was not a fan of the pacing. But more so, Misty was not a fan of seeing Ash worried. He tried his best to relax. Ash looked over to the others in the room. Milo had, for some part, calmed down. While he was still visibly upset, he was no longer raging; banging his gun against the wall. He knew better than to let emotions get the better of him. This being, of course, because he had his family to think about. He knew he couldn't save them if he was putting himself and his team at risk.

Aleksi, however, was a different story.

She was still sitting on the ground, still looking out to the distance, still cascading tears. Pikachu had snuggled into her and did what he could, but in the end, it was all in vain. Ash looked to Aleksi, and couldn't help but feel for her. She had lost the love of her life in an instant. He couldn't begin to imagine what that feeling was like. Misty approached Ash slowly, making sure to keep quiet.

"Do you think she'll be able to fight?", Misty asked. She didn't want to look at this as a distraction from their job. She, more than most, understood what Aleksi was going through, and wanted to help her anyway she could. But with the stakes as high as they were, she knew she had to put her job as a PTA region leader ahead of her sympathies.

"Honestly...no", Ash said. "She lost Evan, there's no recovering from that, especially not as soon as this. From this point on...Aleksi could very well be nothing more than a liability". Misty didn't like the thought of it, but she knew Ash was right. Aleksi was one of their best allies. If she was not ready to continue with the mission, then it had to be for a serious reason. And it didn't get more serious than the death of a loved one.

Suddenly, the sound of a door opening echoed throughout the room. Ash, Misty, Milo, and Pikachu turned to the source of the noise. It was a heavy metal door located at the back-end of the room. Ash immediately cursed at himself for not checking to see where that door led. Immediately, all of them pulled their weapons out and aimed them at the door. It slowly creaked open, and a gun was in turn aimed out from behind it. The others braced themselves for a fight. However, after a couple of seconds, the gun disappeared, and Ryoto's head popped out from behind the door. He caught eye of the others and sighed heavily in relief.

"Finally!", Ryoto said relieved. Ash and the others sighed as well as they lowered their weapons. Ryoto opened the door completely and Angel entered the room. She looked at the others and smiled as she rushed to them. She immediately went towards Aleski, but Misty got in-between them, looking as if she wanted a hug, but intending to prevent Angel from seeing Aleksi the way she was. Ryoto closed the door behind them and approached the group. However, the lack of another person with them gave them questions...and worries.

"Ryoto...where's Lyla?", Ash asked, knowing that she was supposed to be with them. Ryoto remained silent. Angel squeezed Misty tightly, knowing that Lyla and Misty were from the same base in Johto.

"Lyla...she...she...", Angel said. She then began to cry, putting her face into Misty's stomach. Misty immediately realized what had happened, and began to cry as well, holding Angel tightly. Lyla had become her friend after working together in New Bark Town...and now she was gone. Ash turned to Ryoto, hoping for answers.

"It was Wolfe. Lyla contacted me and told me where they were...but Wolfe got to them first...beat her to death with a bat...Angel saw the whole thing", Ryoto explained. Ash looked on in horror and anger. He tightened his fist until it shook uncontrollably.

"He will _pay _for what he's done!", Ash declared. Milo squeezed his Spas-12 in anger as well.

"That's the second person we've lost!", Milo said in anger. Ryoto and Angel looked to Milo in confusion.

"Second?...Who else did we lose?", Ryoto asked. Angel, who was already crying at the thought of Lyla, was now silent. Her heart was racing, pounding in her chest. Who had died? Who did they lose? Thoughts ran through her head, images of her friends. Which one of them was now gone? Angel looked up to Misty, hoping for an answer. Misty's eyes were still shedding tears from the news of Lyla's death...and now they were about to lose more.

"Angel...", Misty said. Angel continued to look at her eyes. Trying to figure out who it was they were hinting at. Why would they think she would take the death harder than anyone else?

Then it hit her.

She released herself from Misty, taking a couple of steps back, but never once breaking eye contact. Her heart was beating so hard, so fast, that she thought she was having a heart attack. Slowly, she began to shake her head. No...no, it couldn't be...it couldn't. Angel turned her head to Aleksi, who, despite knowing that Angel was now safe and with her, did not move an inch from her spot. Angel slowly approached Aleksi, while everyone else just watched. Eventually, the little girl reached her adopted sister. She looked at her, saw her broken spirit...and knew.

For the first time in ages, Aleksi stirred. She looked up to Angel, her eyes still managing to find the ability to cry. She saw Angel's face, saw her tears, and the face of shock...and couldn't control herself. Immediately, she began to whimper, tears coming down even more than before. Angel, immediately after seeing this, lost it. She went into hysterics and fell into Aleksi, who immediately grabbed her and wrapped her up tight. There, the two girls began sobbing, not being able to control themselves.

"I'M SO SORRY ANGEL! I'M SO SORRY HE'S GONE! PLEASE FORGIVE ME!", Aleksi yelled through her wails. Angel did not respond to her, she merely pulled herself more into Aleksi as the two hugged and cried.

**Quite the long chapter! I would go into more details here over the shocking death and heartbreaking end, but I'm in a bit of a hurry here! No narration, but I do have an important A.N.! As of right now, I will be deleting the poll I have on my profile and re-uploading it, in order to let people vote for characters who were not on the poll before they cast their vote. This way, it's a fair shot for all the characters! So please vote again! Until next time!**

**sincerely,  
evan, a fan of aaml -EVAN AAML**


	94. Chapter 94

**Well I'm on vacation now, and that means more updates right!?...right? Well, let's not assume anything here, (as you can tell by the extensive wait between this update and the last). Yes, I will be having a lot of free time coming up, (perhaps even more than normal), however, I am job hunting now, and I have some trips this Summer that will be taking up some time, namely NYC, D.C., Niagara Falls, and up North. Also, as I stated in the previous chapter, I have re-uploaded the poll I had on my profile. So, if you voted on it before, you'll have to vote on it again. I have all the OCs of the story on there now, so everyone has a chance to vote for their favorite OC(s). Now then, onto the story! This chapter and the few after it will follow back to the gang in Pallet Town, so let's see how they're holding up!**

**-EVAN AAML**

Drew raced down the stairs as quickly as he could. Aside from avoiding explosions and bullets that struck the side of the lab, it was for the most part uneventful, which concerned him greatly. If there was such little action going on inside, that meant that either May and the others were _successful_ in fighting off the seemingly endless waves of Rockets...

or they _weren't_.

Drew refused to stop, not even checking to see if Roserade was still following behind him, (it was, though had trouble keeping up). As he rushed down the stairs, the sound of mortar fire erupted from outside. Drew immediately stopped, recognizing that the sound was approaching them. He quickly turned around and covered himself as an explosion struck the side of the lab. The wall immediately caved in and fire burst into the building. Drew did his best to protect Roserade and himself. Soon, the flames died down, and Drew slowly turned around to see the damage. Drywall and wood were scattered all over the stairs, and flames were covering the hole in the wall that led outside. Drew was lucky, he had survived.

"If we don't stop this soon, we won't have a lab left to protect!", Drew said to himself. He then turned to Roserade. "Come on, we need to move faster, May could be in trouble!". Roserade nodded in response and the two began maneuvering over and around the debris to continue down the stairs. It wasn't long before he finally found himself at the bottom of the stairs. He had made it to the first level. Upon reaching it however, a part of him wished he hadn't.

As he feared, it appeared as if the Rockets had taken over. While there were no live Rockets near him, the destruction to the lab was obvious. Bodies were strewn around the lab, both Rocket and PTA alike, (though by the looks of it, mostly PTA). Drew stood still, unable to comprehend the violence around him. It was the sight of horror movies. Blood and guts were all over the floor. Some bodies were missing limbs, others had major gashes or burns. The smell...the smell of death and fire filled his nostrils to a degree where he wished he could rip his nose off his face.

On the ground before him was a PTA rebel's body, the white uniform covered in dirt and blood. Drew bent down to get a better look at the body. He grabbed the rebel's left arm and tugged, flipping the body over onto his back. The rebel had bullet holes in his chest, the likely cause of death. The uniform had no names on it, which didn't surprise him, as only a certain number of rebel uniforms had rank and name on them. However, Drew did recognize something about the rebel.

"Wait...he was with our squad...before I brought Prof. Oak and Mrs. Ketchum to safety...May", Drew said, immediately assuming the worst. If this rebel was with their squad, then perhaps the entire group was killed by the Rockets. However, he soon laid this thought to rest as he looked to the rebel's belt. His Pokéball belt, his form of dog-tags, was missing. While Team Rocket would eventually take them as trophies and possible weapons depending on the Pokémon, only the PTA would think to remove them during a battle. If this rebel's belt was gone, then that means at least one rebel was alive to think of it. He looked around to the other bodies near him. All of them were belt-less. He sighed in relief.

While this did not guarantee May's survival, it at least instilled new hope into the idea. She wasn't here among the dead, and that meant she could still be alive. Still, she could be in danger, and so Drew knew he had to move. He walked over the mass of bodies and made his way across the room, making sure to keep quiet should any Rockets still be in the area. With Roserade at his side and his pistol at the ready, Drew sneaked around the room, looking to see if there were any signs of May.

He debated over trying to contact her and the others, but knew that, if they were in fact in danger, contacting them would only prove to be a distraction. Still, he had no idea where they were or if they were hurt or not. he slowly approached the entrance to another room, and kept quiet. He slowly pulled his head out to see if the coast was clear. In doing so, he heard the sound of a gun shot and quickly hid into cover as a bullet hit the wall near him.

"NO! STOP!", someone yelled. Drew immediately recognized the voice. "DREW!?". It was May. Drew sighed heavily and stepped out from hiding. Standing at the end of the room, hiding behind cover, was May. She sighed heavily in relief, holding her chest as if she nearly had a heart attack. Drew couldn't help but blush at the action, she worried greatly about his safety. Next to her were Sawyer, Nick, (who had fired the shot, and was now looking relieved to have missed), and a few other rebels. They looked tired and worn, some were even slightly injured. But the heart and spirit of the PTA was not something that could be broken so easily, and they were living proof of that. Drew pulled out a Pokéball, returned Roserade after thanking it for a job well done, and then approached them.

"I was worried about you all, I thought that you had", Drew said before being interrupted.

"We held them off, but their numbers were too much. They made their way into the lab from other entrances. We're all that's left of our squad", May explained.

"I noticed, I saw the bodies in the other rooms. You took the belts off then?", Drew asked. Nick nodded, putting his gun back in its holster.

"Yeah, we hid them for now. I doubt Team Rocket will find them anytime soon, especially since they're not looking for little things like that", Nick explained.

"How are the others? Prof. Oak and Mrs. Ketchum? Are they safe?", Sawyer asked.

"Yeah. They're in the upper levels. I have a few rebels watching over them, and it's not as if they can't fight back themselves. They'll be fine for now, but we need to push Team Rocket back. They tried to make their way upstairs, and it doesn't appear like their numbers have dwindled heavily", Drew explained.

"Any ideas?", Nick asked.

"Well by the looks of it, the lab is, for now, safe. All of the Rockets have either focused their efforts outside, or...", Drew began. As if on cue, the sound of an electronic noise startled the rebels. May turned to her side and pulled out her Pokénav, which was ringing. She pressed a button and was soon met with the face of Hunter, and the sound of gunfire.

"MAY!", Hunter yelled, looking at the screen. He ducked briefly to avoid bullets.

"HUNTER! ARE YOU IN THE BASE!?", May asked, concerned that they had been breached.

"YES! TEAM ROCKET BROKE INTO THE BASE FROM ALL DIFFERENT LOCATIONS! WE'RE FIGHTING THEM OFF AS BEST WE CAN, BUT WE'RE NOT ENOUGH! (HOLD THIS LINE! WE'RE NOT LETTING THEM PASS!)", Hunter yelled. Suddenly, the Pokénav was taken as Hunter took his machine gun and fired at enemies off-screen. The face of Catie then appeared.

"May! We're holding off the Rockets here, but we don't know how many more entered the base, or from where. We just know that the more we defeat, the more that come to take their place. We need you guys down here to help defend the base!", Catie explained. She then ducked from more fire.

"KEEP YOUR HEAD DOWN DAMN IT!", Hunter yelled to Catie. She did as she was told.

"Hold on! We're on the way! Where are the others!?", May asked.

"Most everyone broke up into teams to help fight off the Rockets! Trent and the twins are still with us though!", Catie explained.

"Alright, tell everyone to keep fighting, we'll be down there soon to help! Over and out!", May said. Catie nodded and the screen went blank. May put the Pokénav away and then turned to the others. The stress from leading was beginning to set it, as it had on New Island. While she was trained, and had experience, in dealing with changing situations, too many lives were on the line for her to screw up. She knew that one bad decision could cost her squad, Drew, and even her own life. She thought for a moment, and then came to a decision. "Ok, the upper levels of the lab will have to stay unprotected for now. The base is more important, and the others need our help. Brock and the others are going to have to prevent as many Rockets from getting in as possible until then".

The rebels looked at each other in concern. While they had trust and confidence in May's decision-making and leadership, leaving the lab unprotected seemed hazardous. It was not technically a part of the base, but being a lab, it had tons of information and items that could not be replaced. On top of that, it would give the Rockets a strategic advantage in getting into the base if they were to take it over.

"May...are you sure Brock can hold the line up here?", Nick asked.

"Do you think he isn't capable?", Drew asked, some disdain in his voice. He did not appreciate Nick seemingly not believing in Brock's capabilities. Nick shook his head, sensing Drew's annoyance.

"No, that's not it. But...that's a lot of Rockets he needs to fight...and we don't know how many rebels we've lost outside", Nick said.

"If they needed our help outside, they would have contacted us. And seeing as how the lab is, for the moment, not under attack, it's safe to assume they're doing their job. Brock is one of the best leaders I know, he's more than capable of defending the lab while we're helping the others. The base is our main priority, and our friends are in danger. We'll head down through the hidden book shelf, help the others, and then decide what to do from there", May explained. The rebels all looked at one another, trying to figure out if this was a sound plan. It was risky, but May brought up excellent points. And so, the group nodded in agreement. "Alright then, let's get moving".

The rebels, their weapons at the ready, sneaked their way through the lab, in hopes to avoid being noticed by any Rockets that may be inside still. They moved through a couple of rooms slowly, making sure to have eyes on every entrance way and window. Despite the shocking silence and the lack of action, their heart rates were skyrocketing. Any second now they could be faced with a barrage of bullets, one false move could mean their deaths. Eventually, they found themselves entering through the back door of the main hall. As one rebel in the front aimed his gun into the room, he looked around. After seeing that the room was empty, he turned to the others, giving a nod. Slowly, the rebels piled out of the door and into the hall.

As they made their way across the hall, their machine guns and pistols aimed, they looked at the carnage around them. The tables, chairs, and even some decorations were still up from the ball last night. Due to the sudden strike from the Rocket grunts and Natalie, they never had time to completely put anything away. May turned to her left to see the broken windows from when the sniper had shot into the room, seeing some glass still on the floor. It gave the room an eerie feeling, given what else was in the room.

Scattered on the floor were the bodies of Rockets and PTA rebels. Guns were by their side, and many were laying in a pool of their own blood. Tables and chairs were thrown about everywhere, used as make-shift cover or possibly knocked over when a body fell. Over at the food table, cups and plates were knocked over or broken. One of the fruit punch bowls had been shot, leaking punch over the table and onto the floor, dripping every second or so. The rebels passed by a table with a dead PTA rebel over it. It looked as if he had been shot and fell over onto it. His gun was on the floor, just below where his hand had laid to rest. Similar to the punch bowl, he too had holes in him, dripping another liquid over the table, and onto the floor.

Dripping in unison to the punch. Drip...drip...drip...

The large windows that were located along the sides of the main hall were shining light into the room. It made the room well-lit, and even quite warm given the sunshine. While some windows were broken, having been shot at by either rebels or Rockets, other looked as pristine as they had during the ball. Most of the window curtains were pulled back from the night before, others were spotted with bullet holes or sprayed with blood. One window still held one of the word banners used, though only one single piece of tape was holding it up now. It hung just above the ground, swaying slightly in the little breeze that entered the room. Through the windows, they could see fighting outside on the fields of Prof. Oak's land. None of them bothered looking through the windows, as they were all preoccupied with the enemy before them.

The rebels kept moving, knowing that the others who were still alive needed their help. But they could not help but feel for the loss of their friends in the room. Passing another table, May looked down onto the ground to see the body of another rebel, this one a female. Her long brown hair covered in her own blood, which poured out of a hole near her neck. Her eyes were still wide open, forever frozen in a shocked expression. It looked like she had tripped over a chair when she was shot, as a chair was on its side right beside her. May recognized her as a member of her squad from New Island, she was one of the survivors of Calamity Jane's surprise attack.

May stopped walking and knelt down beside the deceased rebel. She placed her machine gun down onto the ground gently and reached over to the female. Slowly, she brought her hands over the girl's eyelids and brought them down, closing them. She looked much more peaceful now, almost as if she was sleeping. May could feel tears working their way through her system. She did not know this rebel well, but took her death hard. May helped her survive the horrors of New Island, only to have her die here only days later, protecting the lab and the people of Pallet.

At least she would be remembered as a hero...this much, she deserved.

"May?...", someone said. May turned around to see Drew standing over her, bending down somewhat to get closer to her level. "We have to keep moving...we can't stop here". May paused for a moment, looking back to the dead rebel on the floor. Slowly, she nodded. She looked over the body once quickly to see if her Pokéball belt was present. While she did have one on, (as it was part of the PTA uniform), there were no Pokéballs on it. This was not uncommon, as PTA rebels would wear the belts as dog tags whether they actually owned Pokémon or not. Saving the Pokémon was their priority, but since there were none, May would take the time to remove the belt for identification later...when they had won.

She grabbed her machine gun and used it to lift herself up from the ground. She looked over the deceased one more time, before walking off with Drew, leaving behind her comrade. The other rebels were waiting for them at the other end of the hall. They looked out the windows and down the hallways of the main hall doors to make sure that no one was around. When May and Drew had caught up to them, they made their move. The rebels moved as one down the hall, a couple rebels in the front with their guns out while a couple were walking backwards at the end of the line to watch their backs. Soon enough, they eventually reached the entrance to the small library. The rebel at the front pressed his body against the wall right beside the entrance, his gun at his side. The rebel behind him held his gun out, putting a hand on the rebel's shoulder. When the rebels were ready, he squeezed his shoulder, and the front rebel walked into the room.

The room was empty, though it was clear that Team Rocket had been here. While most of the library was intact, the camera that was in the corner of the room had been shot and was still smoking from the damage. Team Rocket must have thought that the rebels could hack into their cameras and use them as well. The secret door that led to the base was gone. It looked as if it had been blown away, as pieces of wood, papers, and books were scattered throughout the room. The rebels poured into the room, and May saw the damage.

"Shit, they found the room. We need to double-time everyone, move!", May commanded. The rebels nodded. With their guns out once again, the group ran through the hole in the wall and down the spiral stairs. As they moved deeper underground, they could begin to hear the sounds of gunfire and yelling. They knew that the Rockets and rebels were fighting right at the bottom of the stairs. Right before they reached the bottom, they stopped. They knew that, given their position, if there were plenty of Rockets left, they would be in a tough position to fight. The element of surprise however, was on their side. The rebel at the front peeked over the side just far enough to see a little bit of a Rocket grunt firing into the base. He then turned to the others and nodded. Seeing this, Nick stepped forward, reaching into his jacket.

The rebels watched as Nick pulled from his jacket a frag grenade. He ushered the others away and stepped forward. The rebels went up a few steps as Nick pulled the pin from the grenade and dropped it down the stairs. Due to its circular shape, it had no problem rolling down the steps until it stopped at the bottom by the handle. Nick took several steps back and suddenly, an explosion. The stairs shook and dust and debris was blasted by them. Due to the circular shape of the stairs, only the dust managed to make its way to them, as everything else either hit the wall or the base. There was some coughing and the sounds of pain, but no more firing.

"Good job Nick!", Sawyer said, proud of his quick thinking. Nick nodded back in response.

"Hunter!? Catie!? You down there!? It's us! We're coming down!", May yelled.

"May! You made it!", Catie said, ecstatic.

"Everyone, hold your fire! Friendlies coming in!", Hunter commanded. May walked down the stairs, followed closely by the other rebels, with Drew taking up the rear. As they reached the bottom, they looked at the bodies of the Rockets. Several who were huddled on or near the stairs were now unrecognizable. Limbs were severed and blood pooled everywhere. The explosion caused blood, guts, and all other forms of horror to be sprayed onto the walls and across the floor. Stepping over the limbs was no easy task, as the idea of stepping in the blood of their enemies did not excite them in the least. When they passed the Rockets, they were met with the smiles of their allies. Several surviving Rockets, (many injured from the grenade), were surrendering and were now being stripped of their weapons and tied up.

"Glad to see you were able to get down here so quickly!", Catie said, approaching May and giving her a hug, making sure not to hit her with the machine gun she was holding. May did the same. Hunter approached the group, with his M-16 swung over his shoulders by the strap and using his walking stick to move. How he was able to battle with his injury was both a mystery and a miracle.

"What's it look like up there?", Hunter asked.

"Hell. Team Rocket has all of Pallet Town under siege. We're holding them off as best we can, but as you can see, their numbers are a heavy favor to them", Drew explained.

"What about Brock and Tracy?", Catie asked.

"They're still fighting, keeping the Rockets distracted as best they can", May said.

"Have you heard from Ash and the others?", Trent asked. Trent and the twins were positioned to the side of the group, having defended one of the doors to make sure no Rockets escaped. They looked tired, but otherwise ok.

"No, nothing. I'm not surprised though, they wouldn't contact us unless extremely necessary", May explained.

"From what little we got, the EMP went off without a hitch, but Angel and Lyla got separated from Ash and their squad. Otherwise, we don't know what's going on", Trent explained. May and the others looked at him in shock.

"How do you know?", May asked.

"Brenna told me, when...SHIT!", Trent yelled, realizing something. The twins seemed to pick up on this as well.

"What about Brenna!? What happened!?", May asked.

"Brenna! She was with us right when the Rockets started breaching!", Luke explained.

"She ran off to protect the library before the fighting started, she was the one that told us", Logan finished.

"Brenna has never been in an actual fight before, she won't be able to fend off the Rockets for long! And they can't get their hands on the information in the library!", May explained.

"Do you want us to go and help her?", Trent asked, gripping his weapon tightly.

"No, we'll go do that. You guys stay here and keep defending the base. We can't afford to let more Rockets come in", May explained. She then turned to Drew, Sawyer, and Nick. "Drew, Sawyer, Nick, you come with me. The rest of you, stay here and help out. Treat any wounded, and help re-fortify. We'll help Brenna, and make our way back as soon as we can!".

"Are you sure you four can do that on your own? Who's to say how many Rockets have entered the base!?", Hunter said, ironically annoyed at their stubborn actions.

"We'll be more than enough for these Rockets. Besides Hunter, you're injured. You're doing a fantastic job at leading your troops, they need you here more than anything", May explained. Hunter was annoyed at the truth, (he was particularly upset that his injury hampered his actions in the fights), but did not argue any further. Promoting him to field general was proving to be a smart move.

"Everyone, keep up the fight...Team Rocket may have the advantage...but this is our home...and they won't take it from us without a fight!", Drew exclaimed. The entire group of rebels raised their fists in the air, giving the PTA salute.

"GO PTA!", the group yelled. May then turned to Drew, Nick, and Sawyer.

"Come on, we can't wait any longer. We need to go help Brenna!", May said. The three nodded.

"She ran down the hall, heading up the stairs, get going!", Trent said as he showed them the way. May and the others wasted no time and immediately ran down the hall, hoping that they would reach her in time. As they ran off, the others were left standing there, being able to do nothing more than pray and hope for the best.

"I hope they'll be alright", Catie said. Hunter scoffed.

"Those guys? Please, they'll make mince meat out of any Rockets dumb enough to fight them. You just worry about any Rockets who manage to sneak into the base from upstairs", Hunter said.

"Yeah...I guess you're right", Catie said.

"Alright everyone, this area is secure, but for all we know, there could be Rockets sneaking every which way around the base. So we need to split into small groups of say, three or four, and check out the perimeter. The majority of the group will stay here, keep an eye on the prisoners, and make sure the main entrance is protected", Hunter ordered. Catie grabbed Hunter by the arm and dragged him just slightly away from the others.

"Don't you think that's dangerous, spreading out our forces so thinly? If we lose anyone, we could be in serious trouble", Catie whispered to Hunter in concern. Hunter understood why she would be worried, but knew that they had to do it.

"We don't have a choice. We need to make sure the base is secure. Realizing that Brenna was in danger also made me realize that we could still have other people down here who need protection. We need to make sure that they get it", Hunter explained. He then turned to face the rebels. "Alright, I want you four to go down the west wing, you three to search the medical bay, and you four to search the bedrooms and garage". Hunter then turned to face the twins. "Luke! Logan!". The twins turned and gave a salute to Hunter. "You two will be in charge here until I get back".

"Yes sir!", the twins said in unison. Catie once again looked to Hunter in concern. His orders were getting more and more troublesome.

"Where are you going!?", Catie asked.

"_We, _are going to go check on Eli. He's alone down here too, and we can't afford to let the Rockets get a hold of the supplies we have in storage", Hunter said, enlisting Catie for the job. He then turned to Trent. "Trent, you're coming along too. The rest of you, stay put! Defend the base, at all costs!", Hunter ordered. Everyone nodded and prepared. Hunter turned to face Trent and Catie.

"Don't you think we should have May and the others check on Eli? We shouldn't spread ourselves up this much", Catie said.

"And what? Have May and Drew split up their group of four? Making them be in a worse position? No, we can handle this. You ready Trent?", Hunter asked.

"You bet. Let's get going!", Trent said, holding onto his machine gun. Him and Hunter then began to run down the hall, being followed by a skeptical Catie. She was no tactician, and it wasn't that she doubted Hunter's abilities to lead, but she felt that spreading out their forces too thin would only cause more trouble for them.

Trouble that they couldn't afford.

As the three of them made their way quickly to the lower levels of the base, May and her small group tried their best to reach the upper levels. All four of them ran down the halls as quickly as they could, their hearts racing like never before. Not only was all the information the PTA possessed on the line, but so was the life of one of their youngest members. And they were not about to lose more innocent lives. May, who was in the front leading the group, turned to look at the others as they ran.

"Alright, we're almost at the stairs. If we hurry we can reach it within a minute or two!", May explained.

"I hope Brenna is alright!", Sawyer said, worried over the young girl. As they began to round a corner, they stopped in a panic. In front of them, laying in the hallway, was the body of a Rocket grunt. It was resting on top of a pile of rubble, which came from the hole in the ceiling. They could see that several ropes were hanging from above into the hall through the hole. May approached the body, her pistol out and aimed at him. She could see from the bullet hole in his head that he was dead.

"Team Rocket blasted a hole through the ceiling, they're making their own entrances", Nick pointed out.

"That means that we can't just protect the secret doors, we need to assume that they can get in through any which way", Sawyer explained.

"That's not all", Drew said. Nick and Sawyer did not know what Drew was getting at, but May understood, and grew worried.

"What do you mean?", Sawyer asked.

"The ropes...", Drew started.

"There are several of them. But only one body down here. Which means the other Rockets are missing. I'm assuming Brenna fought them off, probably knocking them unconscious. Either she had to kill this one, or the Rockets didn't feel like lugging around an injured ally. Either way this means that Brenna is likely in trouble", May explained.

"Well then let's not keep her waiting, the library isn't too far from here", Nick said. With that, the four of them ran off even faster than before, leaving behind the Rocket body. It wasn't long before they reached the stairs that led to the upper levels of the base.

"There they are!", May said. Just before they started their trek up the stairs, a sound that they wished they wouldn't hear echoed down from the top of the stairs.

The sound of gunfire.

The three gasped and immediately rushed up the stairs. They pulled their guns out and prepared to put their Pokémon into action. Brenna was in danger, and they had to do whatever it took to save her.

When they reached the top of the stairs, they noticed a couple of Rockets standing at the end of the hall, looking out towards an open room. They must have been placed there to stand guard while the other Rockets attacked. May had no time to deal with these nuisances.

"I DON'T HAVE TIME FOR THIS! GLACEON, ICE SHARD!", May yelled, throwing her Pokéball down the hall. The ball burst open and out came Glaceon, who immediately opened its mouth and fired shards of ice towards the now aware Rockets. They were blasted by the shards and thrown all the way across the room until they crashed into the wall on the other side. With them out of the way, May and the others rushed down the hall and into the large room containing the library.

"BRENNA!", May called out. From inside the library, the sound of gunfire and fighting could be heard. The library was still standing, but it was clear that it had taken damage. A lot of the windows were broken, having been shot from both the inside and outside of the library. Sections of the wooden structure had bullet holes in them, and some even scorch marks. On the grated stairs was the body of a Rocket grunt, who lied motionless. Through the window, they could see that the Rocket were fighting someone. Brenna, being small and quick, was able to out maneuver the Rockets in the messy library. The computers, books, shelves, and tables only proved to make things difficult for the large grunts. A couple grunts heard May yelling from outside and looked out the broken windows.

"THE BRAT'S GOT HELP! LET'S GET 'EM!", one of the grunts yelled. Him and another grunt rushed to the door of the library while their allies continued to chase down Brenna inside. They stopped at the door and aimed their Uzis down the hall. Drew grabbed May from behind.

"WATCH OUT!", Drew yelled as he pulled May away from the oncoming fire. Bullets flew towards the group as they all dove out of way, using the hall for cover. Nick aimed his machine gun towards the Rockets, but could not get in a decent shot without stepping out of cover.

"WE CAN'T GET TO BRENNA IF WE DON'T STOP THESE ROCKETS!", Drew yelled.

"GLACEON! ICE BEAM!", May commanded. Glaceon nodded and popped its head out from cover while Nick supplied cover fire. It fired the beam towards the Rockets. However, they were able to avoid the beam, which blasted the side of the door and froze the wood solid. They then fired upon the small Pokémon, which ducked back into cover.

"IF WE STAY HERE ANY LONGER WE'RE GOING TO GET KILLED!", Drew yelled.

"BUT WE CAN'T LEAVE BRENNA BEHIND! I REFUSE TO ABANDON HER!", May replied. She would never leave a friend behind, never. Inside the library, Brenna, (who had managed to avoid being shot this far due to the massive amount of cover), noticed that her friends were in danger. The other Rockets knew where she was, but could not reach her. Brenna looked over to them, noticing that two of them were now trying to remove the data from the computers while the remaining two were still trying to shoot her.

Brenna was running out of options. She had to either save her friends, or save the data.

Luckily for her, there really was no other choice.

Brenna ran out from her cover and rushed towards the two Rockets firing upon May and the others. She whipped out her PPK S and aimed it at them.

"YOU LEAVE MY FRIENDS ALONE!", Brenna yelled as she hopped over a table. She fired the pistol a couple of times. She struck the Rocket on the left side of the door with each shot, sending him falling to the ground. She then quickly aimed for the other Rocket, but found that she was out of ammo. She had wasted it all keeping the other Rockets at bay. But she was too far now to stop. Seeing that one Rocket was down, she threw her pistol at the remaining Rocket. It struck him in the head, distracting him just long enough for Brenna to push him out of the library. He dropped his Uzi and fell down the stairs, managing to keep himself relatively balanced until he reached the railing at the bottom. He tripped over it and fell off the grated platform onto the ground with a thud.

Seeing that they were clear, Brenna looked to May and the others, who were now looking at her in shock and relief.

"THE COAST IS CLEAR! COME ON!", Brenna yelled. Just as May and the others got out of cover however, more gunshots rang out.

Striking Brenna in the back.

She screamed in pain as she fell to the ground, several shots having gone through her back. The Rockets who were still inside had taken advantage of her being out of cover to save the others. They laughed when they managed to shoot her down. May and the others gasped at the sight as their hearts plummeted deeper in their chests.

"NO! BRENNA!", May screamed. It was so loud that it caused her throat to ache, but she ignored the pain and ran towards Brenna. However, the Rockets inside saw this, and opened fire. They sprayed bullets towards the rebels. May tried to continue her way towards Brenna, but Drew pulled her back. There was no way she would survive reaching her with the Rockets shooting at them. Brenna, who lied on the ground, raised her head up as best she could. Her vision was becoming blurry, and she could feel blood coming up her throat. If she didn't bleed out soon, she would end up suffocating from her own blood. She watched as her friends were fired upon from the Rockets. They were gathering the intel, and they were trying to kill her friends.

She knew she was out of options.

She reached to her belt slowly, pushing through the pain as she pulled a small object out from a pouch on the side. She then slipped the belt off and looked towards her friends. She could not see well, but was able to make them out despite the blurry vision. May watched as she held her belt out, and then threw it as best she could towards them. It flew in the air and then slid across the floor before reaching them. Glaceon, knowing that Brenna's Pokémon were on the belt and in danger, quickly rushed over and grabbed it in its mouth before running back to cover.

"BRENNA! WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?", May asked, knowing that taking off her belt meant only one thing. Brenna, unable to drag her body away due to the gunshot wounds, grabbed the small object she had pulled from her belt, and looked to the others.

"I'M SORRY...I COULDN'T STAY LONGER...TO HELP YOU ALL...", Brenna yelled. She held the object in her hand up, revealing a small detonator. May, Drew, Sawyer, and Nick gasped in shock, they knew what she was planning.

"BRENNA, NO!", May yelled. The four of them tried to rush to Brenna, but the bullets continued to zoom through the air, nearly striking them. Brenna held out her hand.

"STOP!", Brenna yelled, not wanting them to get close to the library. May tried her best to push through, tried her best to reach her and save her, but the Rockets refused to relent. They had no idea what Brenna was planning. Drew dragged May back, using all of his muscle to contain the girl. She tried to muscle and claw her way out, but could not do so. Brenna smiled.

"I'M GOING TO COMPLETE MY DUTY...AS DATA KEEPER! STAY SAFE...AND PROTECT THE BASE! AND...TELL ANGEL...I'M SORRY...WE COULDN'T GET TO BECOME BETTER FRIENDS!", Brenna yelled. May tried to push Drew off of her and reach Brenna as quickly as possible, her heart going a mile a minute.

"BRENNA! NOOO!", May yelled. Finally, through sheer force of will, she managed to pry Drew off of her. She bolted towards the library.

Just as Brenna pushed the button.

There was a very quick beeping sound from the library, before the entire thing exploded. Flames and shrapnel flew everywhere. The force of the blast blew May backwards, causing her to land into the others as they flew into the wall behind them. The Rocket who had fallen off the grated platform also flew into the wall, several feet away from them. The supports gave in, and the library fell to the ground. The force of the blast mixed with the flames and the weight of the library caused the floor to cave in. The entire library fell through the floor and crashed below, causing more flames to shoot out from below. May and the others could only watch in horror.

"BRENNA! BREEEEENNAAAA!", May yelled at the top of her lungs.

**What can I say? I delay this update due to internet troubles and a busy schedule all this time, and I leave you all with a shocking death and a major blow to everyone's emotions...I'm some sick person huh? I apologize profusely for the heavy delays, and I hope to make up for it with more frequent updates soon. "Despite May's best efforts, Brenna has now become the latest victim to Team Rocket's evil! Will the PTA be able to stop them before more are added to the list? Will May and the others avenge the loss of their friend? Stay tuned for next time, on EVAN AAML's "R"!". Please be sure to F.A.R. and to check my Twitter account for updates and news! And also vote again on the poll! A final Happy Birthday shot out to my brother and my mom, for today is their shared birthdays! And a happy belated Father's Day! Goodbye everyone!**

**sincerely,  
evan, a fan of aaml -EVAN AAML**


	95. Chapter 95

**For those of you who were unaware, this update was very late unfortunately because I was on hiatus due to a family emergency. Although it came at a severe cost, said family member survived the ordeal, and is resting comfortably. I thank all of those who wished me and my family good wishes on Twitter during that time, they truly helped. :) Speaking of hiatus, (on a happier note), my good friend and fellow writer Carlo Santos, (who you might remember as Carlo from "Power From Within"), has returned from his long hiatus and is currently updating his story, "In The Club: Cerulean City United's First Season". It's a fantastically written story with a great emphasis on Pokémon battling, as it's based on tournaments for sports like Soccer. He has been on hiatus for a long time, so I would appreciate it if you could check out the story. Not much else to say here, so let's get right into it. **

**-EVAN AAML**

The flames had managed to decrease in size. What started out as a raging inferno of death and destruction, was now just a relatively large, yet calm, fire. The library which once stood over the floor by several supports was now gone. The only thing left standing on this level were some broken parts of the metal grating, which managed to stay stuck to what little bit of the floor remained. The rest of the library was now a level lower than before, still burning. There was no yelling, no shrieks of terror, or the cries of agony.

Nothing, but the sounds of a fire.

May had not moved since the explosion. She remained still, unable to make her muscles take her to where she wanted to go...not that she knew where to go anyway. Her eyes continued to cascade tears, a silent yet heavily flowing stream that went down her cheeks and to the floor below. Sawyer was not as composed, and could do nothing but bury her face into Nick's chest, crying heavily while the equally traumatized Nick comforted her. Drew however did not cry. He did not express the sadness he was currently feeling over the loss of their ally. He knew that, as tragic as it was, in war, there was death. However painful it was, he knew that they had to move on.

And it was, indeed, painful.

Brenna was not only the youngest of the rebels to be killed in the war, (to their current knowledge, as they had not heard from Angel or anyone from Pallet for that matter), but the sacrifice she herself made in order to save May and the others, and to prevent Team Rocket from getting their hands on the data in the library...she defined what it meant, to be a true PTA Rebel.

Drew looked to the others. Nick was too distracted comforting Sawyer to notice him, and just continued to stare at the flaming remains of the library in disbelief. Glaceon's ears were pointed backwards, a sign of sadness in most Pokémon. Slowly, and with great care, it lowered its head and placed down on the ground Brenna's Pokéball belt. It nudged it, as if making sure that the belt was nice and neat on the ground, and then laid down, its face pressed gently against the balls on the belt. It was as if Glaceon was trying to comfort Brenna's Pokémon through this difficult time.

Then there was May...

Drew could barely manage to look at her, seeing the pain she was going through proved difficult. May barely survived the trials they've been put through ever since arriving to Kanto days ago. She lost most of her squad on New Island, found herself at death's door at the hands of a psychotic Rocket, nearly died again on the return trip home, and witnessed first hand the deaths of countless friends. How she was able to manage leading the PTA in her state, was nothing short of miraculous.

May remained motionless, her eyes staring at the destruction before her. Throughout the years, she had shed many tears. Unlike rebels such as Ash, Brock, even Drew, she had never quite gotten used to the idea of death or sacrifice. Her face began to feel numb from the feeling of the tears coming down her face, her eyes colored red and her mouth ushering a quiver here and there. Drew knew that eventually, he would have to break her out of this stupor, something he was not looking forward to in the least. When May became emotional like this, it lasted for a long time. She still hadn't fully recovered from the trauma she witnessed and felt on New Island, this would only make matters worse.

However, Drew's concerns over this soon faded, as May herself began to move. He watched as May turned to look at the ground, a couple of feet away from them, heading towards the hall where they had taken cover from Team Rocket fire. Drew looked to the ground as well, seeing an object lying on the ground motionless. He watched as silently, May turned and took a couple of steps towards the item. The room echoed from her footsteps, making the first noise they've heard since the explosion. Drew, Glaceon, and now Nick watched as she bent down and picked up the item. It was Brenna's pistol. The explosion pushed the gun away from where Brenna had thrown it.

May felt the metal object in her hand, looking over the gun as if it was the first time she ever seen one before. It felt warm to the touch due to the fire, but was not damaged. She felt the smooth barrel and the rough grip with her fingers, lost in thought the entire time she did this. Drew and Nick turned to each other, concerned about May's well-being. Sawyer was emotionally unstable, but this was a more natural reaction to Brenna's death. She was upset, but would, within time, recover. May however, her emotions were not normal, and this was what concerned them.

The tension in the room was broken up by the sounds of heavy coughing. The boys and Glaceon turned to the source of the coughing, several feet to their right. Sitting on the ground against the shrapnel-damaged wall, holding his right side tightly with his left hand, was a Rocket grunt. This was the same grunt that Brenna had knocked off the metal grating, the one that had been blasted backwards into the wall with them. His hat had been blown off from the blast, revealing messy brown hair covered in ash and dust. It appeared as though as a piece of shrapnel had pierced his side, this being why he was holding it. It didn't look life-threatening, but that didn't make it any less painful.

"(cough) That little bitch...can't believe she blew the fucking room up...side's killin' me", the Rocket said with a gruff and pained voice. He didn't appear to take notice of the rebels only feet away. Either he had just woken up, or didn't care if they heard him. Drew turned back to May for a moment. He knew that she could hear him, but it appeared as though she was ignoring it; keeping her attention on Brenna's PPK S. Seeing that May was still out of it, Drew decided to take charge. Slowly, he approached the Rocket. Nick gently moved Sawyer aside, causing her to look up at him in confusion. He wanted to make sure that, if the Rocket decided to attack, (however unlikely), that he would be ready to deliver the first, and final, strike.

The Rocket turned to notice Drew approach him. It was clear that he didn't see him earlier, but didn't show signs of fear. Rather, annoyance. He gritted his teeth as Drew stopped before him. Drew looked down at the Rocket, showing no emotion. He wouldn't give the Rocket the pleasure of seeing him in pain from the loss of Brenna.

"The fuck do you want!?", the Rocket asked in anger. He assumed that Drew would simply finish the job and kill him right then and there. He was alone now, and too injured to fight back. But he would not beg for his life. Drew looked down at the Rocket, showing no signs of anger or hatred in his eyes or his actions. He merely looked at the broken Rocket before him, battered and beaten. It was quite sad really.

"...If this war...has taught me anything...it's that, regardless of sides, regardless of Team Rocket, or the PTA...no one wins. No one's _ever _going to win. We've been fighting this war...for going on fifteen years. We've lost so many friends along the way, I've honestly lost count. I wouldn't be surprised, if it was somewheres in the hundreds", Drew explained. He clenched his hand into a fist, thinking of the number of friends he's lost over the years, and the even higher amount of allies; but continued on with his conversation. "And I'm willing to bet...that you've lost some "friends" of your own during the same amount of time".

"What's your point!?", the Rocket asked, tired of hearing a story if he was just going to kill him anyway. He just wanted to get this over with.

"My point is...despite the years of torment, the years of looking behind my back everywhere I went, making sure I didn't suddenly find myself with a gun to my face. Despite the amount of friends I've lost, or the amount of enemies I've killed...I refuse to let my emotions get the better of me, and force me to do something I know I'll regret", Drew explained. The Rocket looked up to him, not so much confused over his choice of words, but rather his opinion in general.

"What are you? Insane?", the Rocket asked. He then started laughing, which angered Nick, but did not so much as cause Drew to flinch. "You mean to tell me that you won't let this war change you? Look at yourself! Do you honestly think you're the same person you were fifteen years ago? THINK AGAIN!". The Rocket slowly managed to stand up, using the wall as a brace. He struggled immensely, and gritted his teeth the entire time, but kept the smile on his face. Nick, Glaceon, and now even Sawyer prepared themselves in case the Rocket tried to pull a fast one. But instead, the Rocket just looked at Drew, leaning against the wall, with his hand still to his side.

"Before the war, I was nothing more than a Pokémart Clerk! A man of the law. I probably sold trainer supplies to hundreds, THOUSANDS of trainers then. Hell, I probably sold _you _some supplies! Now, I'm a cold-blooded killer. No different from you", the Rocket detailed. Drew shook his head.

"No, I'm not a killer", Drew replied. The Rocket scoffed.

"Prove me wrong! You just said you've killed my allies! _That _doesn't make you a killer!?", the Rocket asked.

"Yes, I've killed people in the past. I killed people this very afternoon. But, I did so only to protect myself, and those I care about...I don't kill people for fun", Drew remarked. The Rocket smirked.

"Oh please, think about it! What makes you think we're so different? You think because you and your squad of _rebels _are fighting for a noble cause, that you're not killers? The only difference between me and you is the color of our uniforms, and the reason we fight. You fight to get rid of us...and I fight because I get paid", the Rocket said. Drew merely stood there and allowed him to continue. "You may not admit it, but you know that your little PTA isn't perfect. We've received COUNTLESS reports of your rebels gunning down and killing our Rocket members. Many times they were unarmed, hell, sometimes we were even HELPING people. You may not like OUR style of control, but it _works_. You can't argue with that!", the Rocket said.

Drew tried not to let the words of the injured Rocket get to him. However, a lot of what he was saying, however much he hated it, was true. Being a region leader, he was in charge of setting up a lot of missions for members of the PTA in the Hoenn region. And he was hard-pressed to know that a lot of the rebels were more consumed by their desire for revenge against the Rockets than they were for their wishes of freedom. Because of this, it was not uncommon for missions to follow through differently than they were planned, or even fail altogether, because of a rebel's blood lust. There were times where a rebel would murder a Rocket in cold blood if given the chance.

Drew was not so naïve as to believe that all Rockets were entirely bad. It was true that Team Rocket was filled with, and controlled by, people of unbelievable evil. However, there were Rockets who were merely following orders. There were Rockets who had families. Wives and children, people that they cared for, and worked to provide for. However, regardless of a Rocket being evil or not, the organization had to be taken down.

And Drew knew, that sometimes, this was not done out of the pureness of their hearts.

"You can pretend to ignore it, pretend that your little cause is worth it, I don't give a shit. But at the end of the day, even if you _win _this damn war, which we _both _know you're at an unlikely advantage to, you and your little friends there, they're changed, forever", the Rocket said. Drew had had enough. He didn't want May to become even more emotionally unstable due to the Rocket's words.

"What is your attack strategy? How do you and your Rockets intend to strike and where?", Drew asked. The Rocket looked at him somewhat confused.

"What? You think that we're organized like that?", the Rocket asked.

"Team Rocket is nothing but order, there's no way you would go into this fight with nothing more than a guerrilla warfare mentality. You know exactly how to attack, where to attack, and when. And I want to know it", Drew explained. The Rocket chuckled.

"Listen kid, think what you want, but you can't get information out of someone when that information doesn't exist", the Rocket said. Drew looked at the Rocket intently. He knew he was lying. He was good at hiding it, almost too good. Rockets were trained to be impossible to get information out of. He's seen Rockets commit suicide enough times to know that they'd rather die than give information away. This Rocket clearly didn't have a cyanide capsule, pistol, or some other weapon to use on himself, otherwise he would have used it by now. So the Rocket had nothing left to do but lie.

Drew debated over how to get the information out of the Rocket. Because of this deep concentration, he barely noticed the presence of someone walking beside him. Which was why he was stunned when suddenly, a pistol appeared at his side, and fired at the Rocket. The Rocket yelled in pain as he held his left thigh and fell to the ground in agony. Drew turned in shock to see May standing to his left, her pistol aimed towards where the Rocket was standing.

Her face was still red and tear-stained from the emotional struggle she was dealing with moments prior, but now it seemed like there was something else there. It was as if she was possessed by some sort of demon. Her eyes looked emotionless, soulless even. What remained of her sadness before was nothing but a remainder of what was, as now it seemed as though as she was a different person entirely...and it scared Drew to no end.

"May!", Drew yelled in shock. Nick, Sawyer, and Glaceon looked on in shock. She would have been the last person any of them would have suspected of doing something like shooting an unarmed Rocket, but they all witnessed it first hand; and it appeared as though as she had no regrets. She did not look at the stunned Drew or the worried Nick and Sawyer, but instead kept her attention to the Rocket, now writhing in pain.

"What parts of the base do you intend to attack?", May asked the Rocket, showing no remorse for her actions. The Rocket looked up to her in anger and pain.

"WHAT ARE YOU, CRAZY!? YOU FUCKING BITCH!", the Rocket yelled, gripping his thigh now. The bullet had gone clean through and avoided the arteries, though he doubted it was something May intended.

"I only have a couple bullets left in this gun, so you have till then to tell me. I will shoot you again if you don't answer", May stated with a calm voice. However, it was easy to feel the hidden tone behind the seemingly innocent voice. Chills went down Sawyer's spine at the words, causing her to flinch. Nick looked on in utter shock. He had debated over being the "violent" one if it came down to it to get the information, but never anticipated May to take on the role, especially with such a cold-hearted demeanor. The Rocket looked over to the still stunned Drew, who for once, seemed to not know what to do.

"You see!? What'd I tell you!? You rebels aren't ANY different from us!", the Rocket yelled. May aimed her pistol at the Rocket's head.

"The next shot will be in-between your eyes...talk", May said with slightly more force in her voice. It wasn't the rebel's violence that scared the Rocket, nor was it her authority...it was that look. Her lack of emotion and willingness to do something the others wouldn't, that terrified him to no end. It was enough to break the Rocket.

"Alright, alright!...We're hitting the base in different fronts. We broke up into different squads, my squad was to infiltrate and look for your databases...just like you did to us at New Island", the Rocket explained.

"Where else?", May asked, keeping the gun still and ready.

"We have a group looking to destroy your supplies, make you run out of ammunition and weapons...We also have what we call "scorchers", people who burn down sections of the base, destroying everything in it to remove evidence and anything you'd deem important", the Rocket went on.

"And the Rockets outside?", May asked.

"Decoys, a way to get the rebels focused on the outside. They're only mission is to kill as many rebels as they can. We're being led by someone named Natalie, cold-blooded Captain of the Rocket Army. She's leading her personal squad to...pretty much raise hell. That's all I know", the Rocket said. The others looked at each other.

"If they're going for the supplies...", Nick started.

"Then Eli's in trouble. He's all alone down there, defending the room", Sawyer finished. She turned to Drew. "Should we go down there?".

"Of course! We can't afford to lose the supplies. And I'll be damned if we lose another friend to the Rockets!", Nick said. Drew, however, seemed to be thinking this over. He turned to May, who was keeping her pistol aimed at the Rocket. He had given them all the information he had, and Drew was nervous over the idea that May would find the Rocket to be a loose end. He could see that the pistol was beginning to shake slightly in her hand. It was as if she was losing control over herself. The Rocket saw this and began to get nervous. But with his injured ribs and now a bullet hole in his leg, there was not much he could do other than pray.

Drew slowly approached May, being careful not to make any sudden moves around her. His heart was racing, but he kept his appearance calm and collective. He was nervous for May, who seemed to be losing her grasp of sanity. He looked at the shaking gun, and then to May.

"May...", Drew said. May's face showed distortions, as if different personalities were controlling her face all at once. She struggled to control herself, her finger tightening on the trigger. "May, it's over. He told us what we wanted to know...we don't need to hurt him".

"He...he killed Brenna! He's killed our friends! He...can't be allowed to live!", May said, her finger tightening even more. The Rocket held his breath, waiting for the moment where he would be gunned down. Drew got closer to May, which caused her to panic. She turned and aimed the gun at his chest, the signs of panic across her face. Sawyer gasped and moved forward, but Nick grabbed her and held her back. She looked back to him with pleading eyes, but he would not let go. He didn't want Sawyer hurt, and he knew that this was something Drew had to do.

Drew did not try to grab the gun out of May's hand, (though it did momentarily cross his mind). Instead, he slowly raised both of his hands up in the air, indicating that he was unarmed.

"May...it's me...it's Drew", Drew said calmly. He knew that May would never normally point a gun at him, especially in an act to harm, but she was losing her control. Her emotions were beginning to take over, and she was running almost purely on adrenaline and anger. Not a safe combination. "Please May...put down the gun...", Drew said.

May's hands shook over the gun. She now had both hands holding it up, as if the gun began to get heavier in her hands. Her arms shook violently, causing the gun's aim to steer this way and that. Tears began to form in her eyes, which seemed to now be the only sign of humanity left. Her body showed anger and vengefullness, but her eyes showed fear. She was just like the young girl Drew had met years ago on his travels across Hoenn. Here, Drew could see that, while the years have hardened May, she was still the innocent young girl who was scared, afraid of letting people down.

Afraid of losing more friends.

Drew slowly lowered his hands and placed them over the pistol. Nick and Sawyer watched on in fear, uncertain if May would pull the trigger accidentally or not. Drew did not pull the gun away from her, or try to grab and restrain her. He merely put his hands on the pistol, and looked deep into her eyes. May began to cry heavily now, realizing what was happening.

"May...this isn't you...I know this isn't you. You're upset. You've lost some close friends...we all have. But you can't let your emotions get the better of you. You need to be in control", Drew said. May blinked a couple of times, the tears cascading faster down her cheeks. Through her eyes, Drew could see that she was beginning to return. "May...I love you...and it hurts me to see you like this...please".

There was a moment of silence in the room. Everyone watched in anticipation, hoping that May would return. That she would drop the pistol, and everything would be alright. May looked at Drew, her eyes still shedding tears. In her anger, in her emotional outburst, she had almost killed the person she loves. The one person she would fight this whole war over again for. The gun got heavier and heavier in her arms. Eventually, she managed to regain just enough composure, to lower the gun.

She cried heavily now, weeping as Drew wrapped his arms around her and held her close. May was quick to return the hug, wrapping her arms around him and squeezing tightly. She couldn't believe what she had almost done, and needed nothing more than comfort and reassurance.

"I'm so sorry Drew...I'm so sorry", was all she could managed to say through a whisper. Drew did not need to hear an apology. He knew that what he had witnessed was not May. He knew that she was perhaps the most caring person he knew, and that she would never have meant to aim a gun at him that way. He nuzzled into her, causing May to feel more comfort.

It's ok...it's ok", Drew said. Nick sighed in relief at the sight. While he did not want to admit it, he was fully prepared to pull out his weapon if the need arrived. He would never want to kill one of his friends, but if that friend was threatening to kill Sawyer, then he would have no choice. He looked to Sawyer, who looked relieved beyond words. Unlike him, she would never be able to shoot May if she had snapped. The idea of losing a friend like that, especially someone she was close to, was too scary for her to think about. Glaceon smiled and slowly walked over to May, nuzzling her leg and giving her the same comfort Drew was giving her.

The Rocket sighed heavily as well, seeing that the madness at least was over. However, he was still a Rocket prisoner, and knew that he was at their mercy. The only way he could see out of this ordeal was to grab May's pistol, which she still held as she hugged Drew. However, with his injuries and their distance from him, there was no way he could move let alone reach for the gun. So for now, all he could do was wait, and be glad that he was alive for a little while longer.

After what felt like minutes, (it very well could have been that long to them, as they had lost track of time), Drew released May. She looked into his eyes, as if asking for forgiveness. However, Drew smiled, knowing that it wasn't needed. He leaned forward and gently kissed May on her forehead, telling her that everything was going to be alright. She smiled back and mouthed "thank you". She put her pistol back into her holster and bent down to pet Glaceon. Nick and Sawyer, seeing that it was safe, approached them.

"Ok, what do we do?", Nick asked, knowing that they needed to get back to the fight at hand. Eli was possibly in danger, and the Rockets were still breaching the base.

"With Hunter and the others defending the base, we'll have to do this rescue mission on our own. We'll use the door over here that leads to the main level, and then loop around to the kitchen. Then we can head to the basement level and help Eli. We need to hurry", Drew said. Glaceon walked over to the Brenna's Pokéball belt and picked it up with her mouth. She then walked over and handed the belt to May. She looked at it with sadness, but knew that she couldn't lose control again. She thanked Glaceon, placed Brenna's small gun into its holster, and placed her belt onto hers.

"What about him?", Sawyer asked, motioning with her head to the Rocket on the ground. The Rocket looked at them intently with annoyance. May looked at the Rocket, not apologizing for her actions, but also not having the thought of killing him cross her mind.

"...Leave him. He's no danger to anyone now. When the fight's over, we'll have medical look over him, and we'll decide from there what to do", May decided. Nick looked apprehensive over the idea, not liking the idea of leaving a Rocket to himself. While he was injured, who was to say that he was not a danger? However, he didn't want to argue over the matter, especially with more pressing issues at hand. The group nodded in agreement, and they immediately rushed to the door to their left. The Rocket turned and watched as they opened the door and ran down the stairs before them, closing the door behind them. This left the Rocket in the heavily damaged room, with his injuries, alone.

Elsewhere in the base, away from the commotion of the fighting, away from the gunshots and Pokémon battling, sat a single Rocket grunt.

Ever since his "interrogation" with Ash, the blonde Rocket grunt, the surviving Rocket from the Ball attacks, sat in his jail cell, simply waiting. It was not long ago when Ash and the others had left the room to prepare for the battle, only hours had passed. Since then, the only person who has given him company was the lone PTA guard, who sat at his desk, weapon in hand. He had done what Ash instructed, and prepared for a bigger fight. He was dressed in the new white PTA uniform, and had an M-16 in hand. He looked nervously not at the Rocket grunt, but at the door that led to the halls. The room was guarded from the outside as well, but he knew well enough that it would only take a few Rockets to overtake them, then he'd be the only person standing between them and the prisoner.

The Rocket on the other hand was not the least bit nervous. In fact, despite his calm demeanor, he was quite ecstatic. Everything his superiors told him had, thus far, come true. He had been taken prisoner, told Ash and the others _exactly _what he was told to tell them, and now everyone was panic-stricken. It was only a matter of time before the Rockets would bust him out, and he would be able to get his revenge on the rebels.

All he had to do now was wait.

He checked himself over, realizing that he was quite unkempt. His injuries had not healed in the slightest, and since Wallace had left, he had no one to check his gunshot wound. However, he was now somewhat used to the pain, and it did not hurt him as much as it did before. He was, however, still covered in blood and sweat. This was no way to present himself to his soon-to-be rescuers. He wiped his hands off on his black pants and then went about straightening his hair as best he could. As he did this, he looked to the guard.

"You seem nervous", the Rocket said. The guard ignored him. A few times since he returned from loading up had the Rocket tried to start a conversation. The guard however was not dumb. He was more than aware of his tactic, trying to scare him into being weak. He saw him try it on Ash. But it didn't work on their leader, and it wouldn't work on him. The grunt did not get angry at being ignored. He instead focused on wiping his face, using the bottom of his messy white muscle shirt.

"I'm not surprised you don't want to talk, when people get scared, they seem to forget about conversation. They want to keep their minds focused on what's scaring them, so that they can overcome that fear", the grunt explained. The guard continued to keep his eyes on the door. The grunt now worked on his arms. "...have you been hearing what I've been hearing?...The gunshots and the explosions?...I think your friends are dying up there".

"Shut up", the guard finally let out. He was not the least bit intimidated by a man locked up in a cell with no weapons, and he was aware that his friends were fighting off Team Rocket as they spoke. But he had his orders, and intended to keep them.

"Oh, finally decided to speak up huh? Well that's nice. I was getting bored of hearing myself talk", the Rocket said. The guard sighed in annoyance. The Rocket stood up, stretching so that he would be more nimble for his escape. The guard glanced over to the grunt when he wasn't paying attention. He was so confident that he would be rescued. He treated being locked up and tortured as a minor inconvenience.

"I think, the first thing I'm going to do when I'm rescued and get out of here, is clean myself up. Can't go around on a mission looking like this", the Rocket said.

"You seem confident you'll get out. What makes you think they'll even come for you?", the guard asked.

"Because it's all a part of the mission. I was told that, when I get captured, and tell you guys basically to piss off, they'd pull me out. Simple as that. I'll be welcomed back like a hero for what I did", the Rocket said. The guard refused to give him more to work with, he had talked to him enough as it was. He kept quite once again. The room was silent for about a minute, maybe two. The blonde Rocket grunt had, for the most part, not moved. He had done most anything he could do to make himself look better, and simply waited. But waiting proved to be boring, and he started up again on a conversation.

"I think they're all dead now...Ash, that torture doctor, that little punk kid...yeah, I'm willing to bet they're all in a ditch right now. Maybe I'll give them the benefit of the doubt, and say that they're only DYING, not quite yet DEAD", the Rocket said.

"Big talk coming from a guy who got caught so easily", the guard said. He knew that Ash and the others were alive. He could feel it. The grunt waved a finger in the air, as if catching a mistake.

"Caught...but not dead", the Rocket corrected. The guard turned to him, his machine gun now aimed at his chest.

"Want to change that?", the guard asked. The Rocket smirked, but raised his hands up, as if giving up on the comments. The guard then brought his attention back to the door. The grunt, however, was not done. Not yet. He was having fun, and he might as well enjoy himself while he waited for his allies to break him out.

"So...how do you think you'll die? Shot? Electrocuted? Maybe if I'm lucky, I can see you burn to death", the Rocket said. The guard sighed in annoyance once again, this time standing up to keep himself busy. He slowly paced back and forth now, simply to do something other than repress his annoyance of the Rocket. "You keep trying to ignore me, but we both know I'm right. My team is already breaching your base. Give it...let's say ten minutes before I'm free, and you're dead".

"You're not escaping", the guard said. The Rocket chuckled.

"You think you're enough to prevent them from getting me out of here?", the blonde asked, now trying to fix his clothes. There was little he could do for his appearance, but he'd do what he could to look presentable.

"Team Rocket isn't that tough", the guard said. This made the grunt laugh.

"Oh really? Tell that to your friends outside. Bet they'd laugh at that comment as they're getting their skulls bashed in", the Rocket said. Now the guard was reaching his breaking point. He stopped in front of the jail cell and looked to the grunt, his gun aimed at him.

"Listen you punk! Keep talking, and I'll", before the guard could finish, he suddenly found himself being thrown sideways to the desk and chair, as the door and wall behind him exploded. The Rocket grunt was blasted back a few feet into the wall from the force of the explosion, but the jail cell had protected him from any flying debris. Rubble and dust fell from the wall as a few figures stepped into the room. There were three Rockets in total, and one Pokémon, a Donphan, which had caused the explosion. The Rocket in the middle with the Donphan walked to the jail cell while the other two looked around the room for any enemies, their guns at the ready. Outside, amidst the rubble, were the bodies of the PTA rebels guarding the door.

The guard shook off being thrown across the room and looked at the Rockets. He gasped and grabbed his machine gun that laid at his side. Before he could fire it, the Rocket in the middle reached for his belt, pulled out a pistol, and shot the guard in the chest. The guard fell backwards onto the broken desk and chair and laid there, motionless. The blonde Rocket inside the cell stood up, shaking off the dust and approached the center of the cell, looking at the body of the guard.

"Huh, so I guess it was death by gun. A shame, I was hoping to watch him die by fire", the grunt said. He then turned to the Rockets with a smile, readjusting his attire once again. "I apologize for looking so...unkempt. I did the best I could under my...circumstances. Come on, let me out so I can clean up and we can go kill some rebels". The Rockets however did not move, which confused the blonde grunt. Instead, the Rocket in the front lifted his pistol, and aimed it at the Rocket. The blonde grunt looked on in shock. "Hey! What are you doing!?".

"Did you talk?", the Rocket asked nonchalantly, his gun aimed directly at the grunt. The grunt looked at him stunned and confused.

"What, are you out of your mind!? Of COURSE I didn't talk! They couldn't get anything out of me! I did _exactly _what I was told to do, right down to the letter!", the grunt said, shocked that the Rocket before him would think anything other than that. The Rocket just stared at him.

"Good", the Rocket said. Then, without hesitation, he fired. The blonde Rocket fell backwards, knocking over his chair in the process, and kept going until he crashed into the wall and sunk to the ground, a few bullet holes in his chest. His chest bled out, and the Rocket, without showing any emotion, put his pistol away, turned around, and with his Donphan at his side, left the room.

**That will do it for this chapter. Once again, I apologize profusely for the delays, as I stated, I was on hiatus due to an emergency. I worked 3 hours straight on the second half of this story to get it out today, and I hope that the wait will be worth it for you all. In the meantime, I will try and get the final chapter of "The Alphabet Game" out soon, so that I can finally close the book on that story, and focus on "R" and future projects. Please forgive me for my tardiness, and please be sure to F.A.R., as well as to check out my Twitter for updates and news, (here, you will see when and why I have delays, if they become persistent). In the meantime, it's Shark Week on Discovery channel, and I'm excited to watch it again! :D Until next time!**

**sincerely,  
evan, a fan of aaml -EVAN AAML**


	96. Chapter 96

**Well to say that it's been a long time coming for this update would be an understatement now wouldn't it? Sadly I would have thought that I'd have more time for updates like this, but things come up more times than you expect, and it causes heavy delays. This time, it's a dying battery on my laptop. It's 3 years old, so finding new ones aren't as easy as I thought. And I'd rather not go out and buy a new laptop when I don't need to. -_- First world problems I suppose. Also, for those of you who did not know, it was (relatively) recently my 22nd birthday! While I do not need birthday wishes, it turns out, some of my readers took it upon themselves to do their own little gift for me. With the help of fellow author and best friend prettygirl17, a site was created dedicated to me. It took me COMPLETELY by surprise, and even still makes me teary-eyed, knowing that so many of my fan-fic family members helped put this site together. So, to all of you who helped work on it, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. :') The site link can be found on prettygirl17's profile, (I can't figure out how to keep the link on mine). With those thoughts out of the way, let's get right to the chapter!**

**-EVAN AAML**

"ROCKETS ON OUR SIX!", Hunter yelled.

"ON IT!", Trent replied, turning around and firing at them with his machine gun. The two soldiers, accompanied by the medic Catie, had been routed by Rocket forces inside the base as they tried to make their way to the basement level, where hopefully Eli was holding his own again the grunts. While they had confidence in their quartermaster's abilities as a fighter and a trainer, the Rocket numbers were overwhelming. And if the weapons and ammunition stored in the basement were to fall to Team Rocket's hands, it could mean the PTA's defeat.

Hunter and Trent kept on the fire as the Rockets giving chase dove for cover in the varying hallways along the sides. Catie, who was in the front of the trio, stopped when they reached the end of the hall. As Hunter and Trent gave cover fire, she looked around the corner to see if it was safe. It was, and she turned to the others.

"CLEAR!", Catie yelled.

"OK! GO, GO, GO!", Hunter yelled in reply. Catie ran down the hall to the right, followed closely by Hunter and Trent. The Rocket grunts followed in hot pursuit. Hunter knew that if they stopped to take cover, they would soon be surrounded. Most of these doorways led to rooms with only one way in, and one way out. On top of this, Hunter's leg injury from the New Island escape was slowing them down considerably. The Rockets realized this, which was why they kept on the chase. Hunter fought through the pain, (much to Catie's annoyance), but he was strictly limited physically. Their only hope was to make a barrage of bullets that the Rockets would be afraid to go through. Thus far, this plan, while being a waste of ammo, was working. Hunter quickly removed his empty magazine and attached a full one to his M-16.

"WELL TRENT, I SEE YOUR SHOOTING HASN'T IMPROVED!", Hunter yelled. Trent glared at Hunter.

"I HAVEN'T EXACTLY HAD A LOT OF TIME TO WORK ON IT ALRIGHT!?", Trent yelled. He took the mistakes he made on New Island to heart, and tried his best to make himself a better soldier. Unfortunately, his recovery and the ball took up all of what little time he had, and so his aim was still lacking. Hunter knew this, and while he was not blaming Trent for the lack of practice, he was certainly going to crack a joke about it.

"YOU'LL PROBABLY DO MORE DAMAGE IF YOU THREW YOUR GUN AT THEM!", Hunter yelled with a smile. Trent growled in frustration and grabbed something from his side. Hunter watched as he used his teeth to pull a pin from a grenade and showed it to Hunter.

"HOW ABOUT THIS FOR DAMAGE!?", Trent yelled. He then threw it with all his might behind them. It flew just over the heads of the Rockets and immediately exploded when it hit the ground. The shockwave of the blast, accompanied by the shrapnel, caused the Rockets to fly forward and land on the ground with a thud. The trio took this time to turn down another hall and try to lose the Rockets. Trent turned to Hunter as they faced forward.

"There! You Happy!?", Trent asked, the adrenaline beginning to slowly go down. Hunter smirked.

"Well, you did still miss the Rockets", Hunter remarked. Catie, having enough of their pointless bickering, turned her head towards them.

"IS NOW REALLY THE TIME FOR THIS!?", Catie yelled. She then looked ahead of them and noticed the door that led to the basement. They had finally made it. "There!"

The trio stopped and panted as Catie opened the door. While she peeked inside to see if the stairway was clear, Hunter and Trent looked around the hall to see if anyone was coming. When the coast was clear, Catie let the boys in, and closed the door behind them. With the pursuing Rockets either dead or at the very least behind them, they had a few seconds to catch their breath. Trent and Hunter checked their ammo and reloaded while Catie looked down the stairs.

"I wish we were able to reach the basement from the main door by the front of the base. I've never used this way down before, who's to say how far we are from Eli", Catie said.

"We couldn't risk it. If we went down there, then any Rockets that might be down there could have seen us, and we wouldn't have had any cover. This way goes around them. We're not that far from Eli anyway", Hunter explained as he tried to recover from the long run. Catie looked over to him.

"How's your leg?", Catie asked. She hated the fact that Hunter was running with his leg injured the way it was. He risked tearing an ACL with the bullet injury, which would make him a sitting Piplup for the Rockets. However, it was either that, or risk getting killed, so she could do little to argue the situation. Hunter grabbed his walking stick from his belt, (which conveniently shrunk to size by sliding in on itself), and leaned on it.

"It hurts like hell, but it'll be fine", Hunter exclaimed. "It doesn't matter, we need to focus on helping Eli. Trent", Hunter said. Trent looked to him. "Try to contact the twins, see how they're holding up". Trent nodded and reached for his Pokénav. He opened it up and began punching in some numbers. It didn't take long for the screen to show the heads of both twins, sharing one Pokénav.

"What's going on Trent?", Luke asked.

"Did you find Eli yet?", Logan added.

"No, not yet. But we've reached the basement. There was heavy resistance from Rocket forces. They're getting passed Brock and Tracy. I hope they're alright. How are you guys?", Trent asked.

"We're fine here. Ever since you and the other groups left it's been quiet...too quiet actually", Luke said.

"We haven't heard from the other groups, and if you guys were being attacked by Rockets, that makes us wonder why this area is being ignored", Logan explained. Hunter motioned to Trent to let him see, and Trent turned the Pokénav around to put Hunter into view.

"Either the Rocket forces have broken and we were just unlucky, or they're re-directing their focus not on the front of the base, but on the sides. They may be trying to surround you all. Get the other groups back if they're not helping the injured and try to set up cover in the rooms around you. Make barriers, try to prevent any Rockets from reaching you. If you're outnumbered, try to make it to either the garage or the hidden escape in the basement, got it?", Hunter explained. The twins nodded.

"You got it", Luke said.

"Consider it done", Logan finished. The screen then went blank. Trent put the Pokénav away and Hunter sat up.

"Ok, let's move. We can't sit here when Eli could be in trouble. If he's fine, then we'll take as much of the provisions as we can and destroy the rest, then return to the others. We'll try and find May and the others on the way, if the Rockets are in fact trying to focus on the sides of the base, then they could be in more trouble than I thought. Let's move", Hunter said.

Hunter, Trent, and Catie then quickly but cautiously made their way down the stairs. As they did this, from up above in the streets of Pallet, the fighting had intensified. Like the rebels in the base had mentioned, Rockets were making their way through the lab to attack the rebels inside. Brock and Tracy directed their attention to the lab as best they could, but it was almost impossible for them to give orders in an area as wide as the entire town of Pallet. Their experience in leading troops did not cover a full-scale fight like this one. Still, they fought. They had managed to at least keep the lab, (and most of the town in fact) in one piece, which was a victory in itself given how outnumbered they were.

Brock and Tracy were now in close-quarters, trying to keep the Rockets at bay. They had tried to rally the troops, but in the midst of it all, the Rockets had separated them from their soldiers. Now they remained behind enemy lines, hiding behind a rock formation that jutted out of the ground. Bullets zoomed overhead, causing them to take cover. The Rockets were kept at bay merely by open fire from Tracy and Brock, but they could only do so much. Tracy turned around to reload while Brock fired shot after shot with his rifle.

"Do you think we'll be able to hold them off!?", Tracy asked, showing some concern.

"Honestly...no. It's only a matter of time before we run out of ammo", Brock answered. There was a brief moment of silence between the two rebel leaders before Tracy spoke up.

"Didn't think I'd die this early in the fight. I would have liked to at least lasted half-way through", Tracy said. Brock couldn't help but smirk.

"What makes you think we're not at the half-way point now?", Brock asked as he fired more shots at the Rockets. A couple of shots from the enemy caused him to duck for cover. He began to reload his gun while Tracy looked behind him. The two of them had been lucky to take cover in a good vantage point. There was little for the Rockets to hide behind, and they had taken out a decent number of them. However, numbers were on their side, and Tracy knew that it wouldn't be long before they simply overcame them.

"I think we'll have to use our Pokémon for this, think Steelix can give us cover?", Tracy asked.

"Steelix is too tired. It's been used too much in the fighting so far. And I don't think my other Pokémon are strong enough to take much bullet damage. Some of these Rockets are using armor-piercing rounds", Brock said.

"Well I'm open for suggestions!", Tracy said. Brock tried to think of a plan. He knew that it would have to come down to using their Pokémon to get them out of this mess, but he wasn't sure how. Tracy's Pokémon were susceptible to bullet damage, and the majority of his own were too slow to cover them for long. Suddenly, an idea came to him. He turned to Tracy.

"Tracy, remember when we were hold up on Biker Bride outside of Celadon, and we were surrounded?", Brock asked. Tracy recalled the moment. Team Rocket had tried to turn the peninsula of the cities of Vermilion, Fuchsia, and Celadon into a harbor for the Team Rocket Navy in order to take over Hoenn. Brock and Tracy, along with other rebels, were sent in to destroy the Biker Bridge and sink it in order to block off the harbor from the ocean. Unfortunately, things did not go as they had planned, and they had to abandon the bridge. Fortune however smiled upon them, as soon, Team Rocket had to disband the Navy entirely due to insufficient funds because of the war.

"Yeah, I remember, not one of my fondest memories", Tracy said.

"Remember how we planned our escape?", Brock asked. Tracy tried to think back.

"You mean our little Pokémon attack combo?", Tracy asked.

"Yeah!", Brock said. Tracy sighed.

"If I recall, that didn't work! We had to jump off the bridge to escape!", Tracy recollected.

"Well, no better time to try it out again!", Brock said. Tracy grew nervous over the idea, but Brock was right. It may have been their only option. Tracy put his machine gun down and reached for one of his Pokéballs. Brock did the same. Tracy released Marill, while Brock released Croagunk. "Alright Tracy, you know what to do!", Brock said. Tracy nodded. He then turned to Marill.

"Alright Marill, use Hail, now!", Tracy said. Marill nodded and turned to the sky. It opened its mouth and released a beam of ice. When it reached the sky, the clouds became dark, and suddenly, hail hurled down onto the Rockets. The golf ball sized pieces of ice struck the Rockets, causing them to lose focus on the enemy before them. Hail is not meant to be a severely damaging attack, so the Rockets were not killed from the ice balls. But it was enough to give Brock the moment he needed.

"Ok now, Croagunk, Sludge Wave!", Brock commanded. Croagunk opened its mouth and released a massive wave of poisonous sludge. The Rockets, too distracted from the falling hail above, were not prepared for the oncoming wave. The Rockets were swept up and dragged down the path. The wave did not last long, but the poisonous effects would. Any Rocket caught up in the wave, without immediate attention, would certainly die a most gruesome death. Tracy and Brock, now safer, sighed.

"Glad to see it worked this time", Tracy said, wiping his brow. Brock nodded in agreement. Tracy looked around. "I lost track of Jake, Noah, and Ashley".

"Jake went to add support to the back-end of the lab, and Ashley is bringing wounded to the make-shift medical center in the Pallet Town Mart", Brock explained.

"And what about Noah?", Tracy asked.

"I don't know, he must have gotten separated. But unfortunately, we have too much going on right now, we can't focus on him. He'll be fine on his own for now. We need to see who else needs our help", Brock said. As the two were about to embark on their next objective, something caused them to stop. The sudden sounds of an alarm rang throughout Pallet Town. Brock and Tracy looked around, wondering who it was that was sounding the alarm, and what it was for.

"We don't have alarms in Pallet", Tracy said.

"Those must be Team Rockets", Brock decided.

"But...why sound an alarm? Are they retreating?", Tracy asked.

"Not likely, they still have the heavy advantage. Why would they retreat now?", Brock said. However, despite the seemingly one-sided battle, the Rockets in the area seemed to back off. They turned on a heel, retreated from the immediate town, leaving a large section of rebels alone.

"I don't like this. They have no reason to leave us be like this, they're planning something", Tracy said.

"I agree. But this gives us a few seconds to round-up. Let's take this to our advantage", Brock said. The two of them ran off and began to group the scattered rebels together. The injured were quickly brought off the battlefield and into unoccupied homes while newer troops were brought out. As Brock helped some rebels bring weapons out to the troops, he spotted someone, huddled on the side of one of the buildings. Thinking he might be injured, Brock gave the weapons he was carrying to someone else and approached the rebel. Upon closer inspection, he discovered that this rebel was in fact Noah. He looked traumatized, and was shaking considerably.

"...Noah?", Brock asked. Noah turned to Brock in a panic. He immediately stood up, brushing himself off as though as he were asleep. He readjusted the sunglasses he had temporarily placed on top of his head and looked to Brock.

"I'm good, I'm ready!", Noah said. He acted in a way that made him appear fine, Brock however could tell what was going on. He sighed, this was something he was used to, especially with younger rebels.

"Noah...it's ok to be nervous", Brock said. Noah became weary, and in a failed attempt, tried to play it off.

"Nervous? Who's nervous? I'm...I'm fine. I can fight, I know I can", Noah said. Brock wasn't buying it. He was wiser than people gave him credit for, and smarter as well. Noah's young age and inexperience gave him away far too easily.

"Noah, listen to me. You are a young teenager fighting in a bloody battle. You are surrounded by the most horrific scenes imaginable, especially for someone of your age. Only people absent of sanity could go through this unscathed mentally. No one blames you for being afraid", Brock explained. Noah looked at Brock nervously. He recalled words from Jake earlier in the day, just before the fighting broke out.

"_...and I suggest that, when that time comes, you get to hiding kid. You're not going to be of much use here_".

"It's...it's not...just that", Noah said. Brock raised an eyebrow in confusion. "I...I _am _nervous. And, seeing everything out here...it scares me. But, what also scares me...is that I can't do anything about it", Noah said.

"Noah, you're out here aren't you? Whether you realize it or not, you're helping", Brock stated. Noah shook his head.

"No, I'm not. Yes, I battled some Rockets with my Pokémon...but I didn't last long. I'm good...but they're better. And, with their guns...I just...I hid. I can't do anything. Jake was right, I'm nothing more than a target for them", Noah explained. Brock sighed heavily.

"Noah...you don't realize what potential you have", Brock explained. Noah looked up to him. "I'll admit...I myself was hesitant to have you involved with this battle. Especially given your age and questionable back story. But regardless, I knew that you would be of help. You may not be the best fighter...but that doesn't mean you're no less a rebel than anyone else here. Everyone of us here has a talent, something that gives them that little bit of an advantage against Team Rocket...you just need to find yours", Brock said. Noah thought about these words, and was uncertain of what to say. Inspiring though they may be, what good did they do? He was in the midst of what could be the final battle of his life, and the PTA. If he couldn't find that talent now, then what good would he be? Unfortunately for him, he didn't have time to think of it further.

Sounds of yelling could be heard scattered around the area. Rebels were witnessing Rocket forces releasing Pokéballs, and were warning the others. Brock and Noah looked around and could see that several Pokémon flying in the air. However, these were not the typical bird-types that many Rockets were using in this fight, but a rather odd combination of Koffing, Weezing, Magnemite, Magneton, and Magnezone. On top of this, their positioning was also troubling. The poisonous gas Pokémon seemed to create a large circle around a portion of the town, while the magnetic-electric types seemed to be positioned in strategic defensive positions. Many rebels looked around, wondering what Team Rocket was planning. From below, Ashley, (who was at the moment helping an injured rebel walk to the inside of a building), looked around. She grew nervous of the sudden appearance of Pokémon, and hurried the injured inside. Tracy meanwhile immediately began preparing rebels, but was uncertain of what to counter with. Brock and Noah merely stood there for a moment, just waiting.

"What are they planning?", Noah asked. He hadn't the slightest idea of what Team Rocket would do, thinking they would merely battle with those particular Pokémon. Brock, on the other hand, became more weary. This was not just a coincidence, Team Rocket had something more planned than a battle. And it was this that worried him. He rushed over towards where he knew Tracy would be, which prompted the nervous Noah to follow him. It only took a minute or so before Brock reached him.

"Tracy!", Brock said. Tracy turned to him.

"Brock, do you think...?", Tracy asked. Brock nodded.

"I think so, we need to evacuate everyone now!", Brock said.

"Wait, what's happening!? What are they going to do!?", Noah asked. He would soon get his answer. Before they knew it, the poisonous Pokémon began releasing their toxic fumes over the town. The high number of Koffing and Weezing allowed the gas to fill the section of Pallet quickly. Before they knew it, everyone was covered in the deadly fumes. Rebels immediately began coughing, their lungs filling with the toxins and their eyes burning. Brock and Tracy immediately dove to the ground.

"EVERYONE! GET DOWN! IT'S EASIER TO BREATH CLOSE TO THE GROUND!", Tracy yelled. Anyone who heard them did as they were told. While the fumes did still reach them, it was in fact easier to breathe.

"THEY'RE COVERING THE TOWN IN GAS!", Noah yelled.

"I KNEW IT!", Brock yelled. "THEY'RE TRYING TO TAKE US ALL OUT AT ONCE!". Noah immediately reached for a Pokéball on his belt.

"NOT IF I HAVE ANYTHING TO SAY ABOUT IT! SWELLOW! BLOW AWAY THE GAS!", Noah commanded. Soon enough, the ball burst open, and a Swellow emerged. Oddly enough, Brock noticed, it did not have the coloration of a typical Swellow like Ash's of red and blue, but green and orange. This was a rare shiny Swellow. The Swellow immediately began beating its wings back and forth, trying to blow the gas away. However, all it did was cause the gas to move in vortexes. The Swellow soon became injured from the toxic fumes, and fell to the ground beside Noah. He gasped and crawled over to its side.

"SWELLOW!", Noah yelled.

"IT'S NO USE! THE GAS IS TOO WIDE-SPREAD! IT CAN'T BE BLOWN AWAY THAT EASILY!", Brock noted. Tracy looked around and noticed that several other rebels had the same idea as Noah, releasing their flying Pokémon to blow away the gases. All of them however failed. He then noticed that other trainers ordered their Pokémon to fly out of the gas, probably to attack the sources of the fumes; the Koffing and Weezing. This looked like their way out, but he soon saw that it would not be that easy. One by one, Pokémon began falling to the Earth. It appeared that they had been shocked. Tracy clenched his fists in anger.

"DAMMIT! THEY'RE USING THE ELECTRIC POKEMON TO STOP ANY FLYING TYPES FROM LEAVING THE GAS!", Tracy stated.

"IT ALL MAKES SENSE!", Brock noted. Noah, having returned his Swellow, turned to him.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN!?", Noah asked.

"THE KOFFING AND WEEZING ARE USING THE GAS TO POISON AND SUFFOCATE US. THAT WAY, THE ROCKETS DON'T EVEN NEED TO LIFT A FINGER! THEY KNOW THE GAS IS TOO WIDE-SPREAD FOR FLYING TYPES TO SIMPLY BLOW IT AWAY! WHAT'S MORE, THEY'RE USING ELECTRIC/STEEL TYPES TO TAKE CARE OF FLYING TYPES THAT LEAVE THE GAS! THEY'RE IMMUNE TO THE POISON, AND ARE THE DEFENSE! THEY INTEND TO EUTHANIZE US!", Brock explained. Noah gasped in a panic.

"AND THAT'S NOT ALL!", Tracy noted. "WITH US TRAPPED IN HERE, THE ROCKETS HAVE FREE REIGN OF THE LAB AND THE BASE!". As if on cue, the Rockets, safely outside the gas dome, began to put their attention on the lab and the smaller rebel force that were lucky enough to be outside the gas. From near the lab, Jake, (with a group of rebels), watched in horror as their friends suffocated. Jake grew worried, he knew that, with the majority of the forces inside the gas, they would quickly be over-powered by the Rocket forces. One of the rebels beside him grabbed a Pokéball.

"DON'T WORRY! I'LL HAVE CHARIZARD FLY IN AND", the rebel exclaimed. However, before he could throw the ball, Jake grabbed his arm, stopping him.

"NO!", Jake yelled. The rebel turned to him in surprise. "If we use anything like a fire attack, it'll ignite the gas! You'll blow Pallet Town sky-high!". The rebel, his eyes wide in shock over the realization, put his Pokéball down. "We can't use any close-range attacks, or the electric types will stop them. And most other attacks could risk setting the gas off. If we're going to save the others, we need to rely on our weapons".

Suddenly, the group found themselves under attack by Rocket forces. Jake and the others ducked to avoid the barrage of bullets, and immediately began to return fire. From inside the gas, the rebels could hear the sound of the guns and became worried. The Rockets knew that their only hope was their allies outside, and now they had to worry about the Rockets firing on them if they moved in to help. They were now on their own. Inside the homes, rebels tried to hide from the gas by closing the windows and doors and even clogging chimneys if they had them. But bullet holes and cracks in the homes made it impossible for the gas to stay out for long, and now the injured were beginning to feel the effects of the gas. Ashley bent over in coughing fits, her eyes tearing up and her throat aching. There was little she could do for herself, much less her allies around her.

Brock and Tracy began to think of a plan quickly, before they all succumbed to the poison.

"WE HAVE TO TAKE OUT THE KOFFING AND WEEZING TO STOP THE GAS!", Tracy remarked.

"BUT ANY BLAST COULD SET OFF A SPARK AND KILL EVERYONE!", Brock noted.

"WHAT IF WE USE FLYING TYPES TO ATTACK THE POISON POKEMON DIRECTLY, FROM INSIDE THE GAS!?", Tracy asked.

"NO GOOD, THEY CAN'T SEE THROUGH THIS MESS! THEY'D HAVE TO LEAVE THE GAS TO BE ABLE TO SEE, AND BY THEN THE ELECTRIC TYPES WOULD ZAP THEM! WE NEED A WAY TO SEE THEM FROM INSIDE!", Brock said. Just then, a realization hit him. He turned to Noah, reflecting to something from before. It was at the meeting they had before the others set off for Veridian. He recalled Noah, talking about a special type of training he was doing.

Wave Guidance.

That was it! Brock grabbed Noah's arm, causing him to turn to the now excited Brock in shock.

"NOAH! DO YOU THINK YOU AND RIOLU CAN USE AURA TO SPOT OUT THE POISON POKEMON AND ATTACK THEM!?", Brock asked. Noah thought about the plan for a moment.

"I...I GUESS! BUT WOULDN'T WE SET OFF THE GAS!?", Noah asked.

"NO! AURA DOESN'T EMIT A SPARK! WE COULD STRIKE THE POKEMON, AND THE ELECTRIC-TYPES WOULDN'T BE ABLE TO SEE YOU TO FIGHT BACK! TEAM ROCKET ISN'T GOING TO RISK HAVING THEM ZAP THE GAS AND EXPLODE IT! THEY'D GO OUT WITH US!", Brock explained. Tracy was ecstatic over the plan, but Noah showed apprehension.

"BUT...THAT'S A LOT OF POKEMON TO SPOT OVER A LARGE AREA! AND ME AND RIOLU ARE ONLY BEGINNERS IN WAVE GUIDANCE!", Noah explained. Brock this time grabbed both of his shoulders and shook him slightly, which slightly scared the young rebel.

"NOAH! YOU'RE THE ONLY ONE HERE WHO CAN USE AURA! IT'S UP TO YOU TO SAVE US! I TOLD YOU EVERYONE HAS A SPECIAL SKILL, THIS IS YOUR SKILL!", Brock said. Noah looked at Brock for a moment. After a second or two, the nerves and fear seemed to vanish, and was replaced with a new-found confidence. Yes, this was his ability! This was how he could help. He nodded and immediately reached for a Pokéball. He released his Riolu, which immediately began reacting to the gas around it. It was a young Pokémon, probably not heavily experienced in battling, especially of this magnitude.

"RIOLU! RELAX! WE'RE FINALLY GOING TO TEST OUR WAVE GUIDANCE! WE NEED TO SPOT OUT THE KOFFING AND WEEZING MAKING THE GAS, THINK YOU'RE UP FOR IT!?", Noah asked. Riolu, still somewhat stunned from the gas, nodded in response. Noah nodded back. "ALRIGHT! USE YOUR AURA!". Riolu suddenly stopped itself. It remained still, ignoring the poisonous gas around it, and meditated. Soon enough, a blue light began to emit from its body. It was building up the aura. Likewise, the aura was beginning to branch out from Riolu build around Noah. The two closed their eyes and concentrated, and soon, they were one. Riolu began looking around the gas.

No, not around...through.

As it did, Noah did as well. Riolu was able to detect the many life-sources outside of the gas. Noah had to distinguish between the rebels, the Rockets, and the Pokémon around the dome. He looked up, and could spot the many Pokémon above and around them. They all were high up, and circling the dome. Luckily, it was easy to point out the different Pokémon from one another. He pointed to the closest one to them.

"THERE! RIOLU, AURA SPHERE!", Noah yelled, pointing to a spot in the sky. Riolu turned, locating the life-source, and fired a sphere of aura. It went flying out of the gas and struck the unaware Koffing, knocking it back down to the ground. The other Pokémon, unable to see through the gas themselves, were stunned at the sudden attack. They were unable to do anything but stand there and continue the gas. From in the dome, Brock and Tracy looked on in amazement.

"WAIT, RIOLU AREN'T ABLE TO LEARN THE AURA ATTACKS UNTIL THEY EVOLVE INTO LUCARIO!", Tracy explained.

"LOOKS LIKE NOAH'S RIOLU IS BETTER TRAINED THAN WE THOUGHT!", Brock noted. Noah looked around once more, and spotted another target.

"THERE!", Noah yelled. Riolu turned and fired another blast, this time striking a Weezing. The electric/steel types looked around at one another, uncertain of what to do. They knew as well that they couldn't use their electric attacks on a target inside the gas. The Rockets who owned the Pokémon witnessed the poison-types beginning to faint one after another. Eventually, the gas would dissipate. They ordered their electric types to go in the gas and stop the attacker. Post-haste, several Magnemite, Magneton, and Magnezone entered the gas. While they were immune to the gas' effects, they were unable to see from far distances, and so had to move in close to find their target.

However, with Noah and Riolu using Aura, they could spot them. Noah pointed out one small group of the magnet Pokémon to Riolu.

"OK RIOLU, CROSS CHOP NOW!", Noah commanded. Riolu jumped up in the air and attacked the magnet Pokémon. Unable to use their electric attacks in the gas, and their vision clouded, they could do little to stop the attacks.

"PERFECT! STEEL TYPES ARE WEAK TO FIGHTING ATTACKS!", Brock stated.

"NOAH'S REALLY HANDLING HIS OWN OUT THERE!", Tracy said. Before they knew it, the Pokémon were defeated. Noah and Riolu began making quick work of the Koffing and Weezing above them, and with the gas dissipating, the rebels began to use their flying types to blow it all away. The Rockets looked on in shock. Their euthanizing attack had never failed them before. Before they knew it, the rebels were already regaining their composure, and firing back at the Rockets. Since they split their forces to attack the rebels outside the dome, they were easier targets for the now rejuvenated PTA. Brock and Tracy stood up and began giving commands to the troops. Noah and Riolu, having defeated the Pokémon, ceased the Aura. Riolu fell to the ground exhausted, and even Noah felt some weakness. Brock smiled as he helped Noah to cover beside one of the buildings. Tracy meanwhile picked up Riolu and carried it over to them.

"Good job Noah, you saved all of us here", Brock said.

"You truly are a PTA rebel!", Tracy added, placing Riolu beside Noah. Noah couldn't help but blush slightly at the comments. "Leave the rest to us Noah, you deserve a break", Tracy continued.

"Tracy's right. We'll get Ashley to bring you over to one of the medics to recover. For now, you stay hidden and recover", Brock ordered. Noah could do little to argue over his exhaustion, and merely nodded in agreement. Brock and Tracy then stood up and charged into battle, their Pokéballs at the ready.

"OK EVERYONE! CHARGE!", Brock and Tracy yelled, releasing from their Pokéballs Geodude and Venonat respectively. Geodude knocked several Rockets back with its fists while Venonat used its Confuse Ray to disable attacking grunts. The rebels, seeing their leaders fight back, became filled with moral, and fought back with more intensity. From a distance, Jake, (who was covering behind large rocks to avoid Rocket gunfire), could see the rebels fighting back. He smirked, seeing Brock and Tracy leading the way. He then turned to the rebels around him.

"WELL!? YOU SEE YOUR LEADERS! FIGHT! GO PTA!", Jake yelled, grabbing one of his Pokéballs. The now inspired PTA rebels threw their fists in the air.

"GO PTA!", the rebels yelled. They began throwing Pokéballs in the air, while others fired back at the now stunned Rockets. Jake himself released a Mightyena, which fired a Hyper Beam into a group of Rockets. The PTA had become inspired to defeat Team Rocket. Their moral increased tremendously, feeling the fighting spirit inside of them gave them hope and courage.

A sight, that did not go by unnoticed.

From inside the lab, a group of Rockets stood by, watching. They grew worried over the PTA force. While they were still winning the fight, the PTA had suddenly changed the odds in their favor. It would only be a matter of time before they turned their attention to the Rockets inside the lab. One of these Rockets was Ryker, who watched on, gripping his AK-47 tightly.

"They're fighting back harder now. Won't be long before they focus on us", Ryker said, showing some signs of mental stability, (a rare feat indeed). However, another Rocket behind him showed less concern. This female Rocket merely smirked, her guns on her belt, and her arms crossed. She stood above the corpse of a PTA rebel, whose blood was spilled all over the ground. She stepped in the blood, as if it wasn't even there.

"It's about time. They're finally becoming more of an opponent", the Rocket said. There was a moment of silence before she spoke again. "Ryker...I think it's time we stop playing with these little rebels. We had our fun, but it's time we got more serious". Ryker turned to the Rocket and smiled wickedly. The other Rockets, knowing how their leaders were, smiled as well. The female then turned around, looking at a blown hole in the ground near the PTA body, which led to a secret tunnel in the base. They could tell from the location that this was a tunnel meant to be an emergency exit. The female Rocket made an evil grin.

"It's time...for the PTA down there to know...that my name is Natalie...and that I'm coming for them!", Natalie exclaimed. She then hopped down into the hole, followed closely by Ryker and the rest of their Rocket squad.

**Well now! Looks like the PTA have more trouble coming their way! "With Natalie and her vicious Rocket soldiers coming their way, can May, Drew, and the others protect the base? And what of Ash, Angel, and the others in Veridian? Will they survive? Find out next time, on EVAN AAML's "R"!". Once again, my profuse apologies over the tardiness. It's been strenuous trying to update lately with so many things going on, especially now that it's close to the holiday season. I have more written out, so my updates SHOULD come a bit more frequently. But I hope this chapter makes up for the lateness! I once again want to thank you all for the wonderful gift you helped with! I am truly blessed, to have family such as you. :') If you wish to see the site, please check out prettygirl17's profile page! Until next time my friends!**

**sincerely,  
evan, a fan of aaml -EVAN AAML**


	97. Chapter 97

**Well, not as quick of an update as I hoped, but it was quicker than the last few ones I suppose. I'll take my little victories when I can. I wanted to get this one out by Halloween, so that those of you who do not go out trick-or-treating could have something to do on All Hallow's Eve. I myself will probably be going to a small little party, nothing special. Anyway, this chapter, we find ourselves back in Veridian, where we'll see how the PTA are handling themselves against the forces of Team Rocket. Let's not waste more time, and get right to it!**

**-EVAN AAML**

I failed.

These were the only words that seemed to cross Dawn's mind, words of discouragement that caused her to feel nothing but guilt and regret. But these were not words that someone forced onto her, these were all thoughts that she herself could not help but feel. As she walked down the hall with her small squad, her hands on the back of her head like her allies as they were being led to God only knows where, she could not help but feel responsible for their capture. Rocket grunts walked alongside all the rebels, their guns at the ready should any of them try anything. They had been stripped of their guns and Pokéball belts and were now being taken further down into the depths of the Rocket base.

Walking beside Dawn was Max. Dawn carefully looked to her side to see him, making sure that he was alright. While physically he seemed fine, it was obvious that he was stricken with fear. He looked forward, his eyes wide and his hands sweaty. Dawn could almost feel his pulsing heartbeat from where she was. While she knew Max had been in dangerous situations with Rockets before, he had never been captured by them.

When they had made it home from New Island, Milo told her about how Max had fought a Rocket all by himself while at Cinnabar, and how he had defeated him single-handily. But that was one Rocket, and he had the element of surprise. This time, he was completely at their mercy. Dawn wanted nothing more than to hold him, to comfort him and tell him that everything was going to be alright.

But she knew better.

She knew that, more than likely, they were going to be tortured for information, or just tortured for the hell of it. If they had wanted them dead, they would have killed them already, she knew that. Being a region leader, she was well aware of how Team Rocket worked, and this appeared to be something worse than a simple firing squad. They were in the middle of a battle, so Team Rocket wouldn't take the time to interrogate them individually for days on end, like they would under normal circumstances. They would most likely torture them all to the extreme quickly, get as much information out of them as they could, and then dispose of them. She felt her heart tugging at her, reminding her of her promise to May.

And how she had broken it.

She promised May that she would watch after Max, that she wouldn't let anything happen to him. She made a promise, and it was about to be broken. She was weaponless, and doing anything to help Max escape now would only result in her and possibly the rest of her team to be shot and killed. Max was the youngest, and Team Rocket would know that he would be the least experienced.

It was what she didn't know that worried her the most.

She didn't know what the Rockets knew of them personally. While it wouldn't take much for them to look up information on them, she knew they didn't have the time. They would go straight to torture, and she knew they would start with Max. He was the youngest, and the most likely to break. She didn't know if they were aware of his status in the PTA, which worried her. He alone had more information on the PTA than most of the rebels did, and being a kid, it wouldn't take much to get it out of him.

It was obvious to her that they knew she was in charge of their squad. All she could hope for was that they would torture her first. She knew her limits, and she knew there was no way these Rockets would reach them, not in the little time they had. If she could hold out long enough for them to be rescued...

that was their only shot.

She soon found herself stopping and snapped out of her train of thought. They had reached what appeared to be some sort of dungeon. It appeared to be old, much older in fact than the Rocket base in fact. It seemed so out-of-place, and yet...so fitting. The walls were not made of modern-day looking materials with a slick paint-job, but made of large stones that appeared to be leaking in water from the looks of the moss scattered about. The door was large and rounded, being made of thick iron bars with a large lock that was now being opened. It was as if they had entered a new era, like they had crossed into the middle ages. She cursed herself for not paying attention to what happened since their capture.

When the large lock was removed, a Rocket grunt swung it open, using a lot of muscle to even manage moving the metal gate. It creaked open loudly, sending chills down Dawn's spine. She didn't know where they were being taken, but she sensed something inside of her, and it scared her to no end.

She didn't want to be here.

She would give anything to escape. Anything to get out of this hell, and to at least see light again. Something inside of her told her to run right then and there. To just turn on a heel and make a break for it, as fast as she could. It took all of her power to resist that urge, as they were roughly ushered into the room. The hall became much more narrow, and forced the Rockets on the sides of them to go either in the front or behind. Not that this change of positioned helped the rebels in any way, they were still outnumbered to fight back.

The floor was also made of stone, and their boots clicked against the hard surface, echoing in the mostly empty room they found themselves in. Parts of the room looked bone dry, as if they had not seen water in eons; while others were covered in moss and looked cold to the touch. Dawn shivered, her bare legs getting goosebumps. But it wasn't from being so far below the surface that made her cold, it was the atmosphere of this room.

Why would Team Rocket build such a place?

The short narrow hall they went down soon led to another hall to the right. However, they were stopped short of going any further. And she knew why. While it appeared to be obscured from the turn and several heads blocking her site, she could make out what appeared to be two cells, both as cold and dark as the gate they entered.

Dawn suddenly felt short of breath, her lungs tightening and her heart racing. Dawn had never been claustrophobic before, but something was making her panic. And she felt that it wasn't the tight spaces. The Rocket who had captured them looked down the hall and motioned to someone who was out of sight. It didn't take long for a figure to come out and into view. This Rocket, (if he could be called one, he didn't even look human), turned and looked at the PTA rebels. He smiled wickedly and gave a chuckle that sent shivers down Dawn's spine.

The Rocket wore the normal grunt uniform, all black with the large red "R". But it wasn't his attire that appeared to take away his humanity. It was his appearance. His eyes were a dark brown, which gave off an impression that seemed soulless, almost like looking into the eyes of a Sharpedo. He had a scruffy beard and large muscles, looking both intimidating and powerful. His hair was brown and messy, and he looked like he had just been working out, he was covered in beads of sweat. She hoped that he was not already working on torturing other rebels. He looked at the rebels with a glimmer in his eyes, excited at something, of what she could gather a guess.

"We captured a new group of...wiling subjects for you", the Rocket leader said. The large jail warden Rocket chuckled some more. "Unfortunately, with everything going on upstairs, you don't have a lot of time. Do whatever you want, don't hold back, but get as much out of them as you can. When you're done, you should join the others upstairs...after cleaning up down here".

"You got it", the warden said with a voice as cold as the stone around them. It was then that he caught eye of Dawn. Meeting his gaze, Dawn felt as though as she was already suffocating. Her heart race skyrocketed, and she felt her knees shake uncontrollably. He was the reason she was afraid to be down here. She could sense his presence even before she made it through the iron gate. Something about this man terrified her to no end. It didn't help that he seemed to smile upon seeing her, which only filled her with more terror. Suddenly, the Earth shook. It was muffled, being as far down into the Earth as they were, but it was unmistakable. The Rocket leader looked up at the ceiling and turned to the warden.

"Things are getting bad up there. We're going to head up now and defend the base. Make it quick down here", the Rocket said. The warden nodded and the Rocket motioned to his grunts. They each grabbed one of the rebels and forced them forward. As they were pushed ahead, they could see down the corner that there was a long line of jail cells. At least twenty of them, and all of them cold and dark. There was one other Rocket in the hall, who sat at a wooden table that had a candle lit on it. He looked young, and even somewhat scared himself. He saw the rebels, gasped, and immediately rushed over to the jail cells. He opened up three of them and stepped away, allowing the grunts to shove the rebels into them. Dawn found herself being placed in the one closest to the exit, just outside of sight from the hall looking in. Mathinza and a terrified Max were shoved in behind her. The others were dispersed throughout the other two cells.

She was pushed to the wall, (which was also made of stone, like the rest of this room), and thrown to the ground. She gasped and began to panic as her wrists were grabbed and placed in shackles attached to the walls. The metal was cold and rusted, looking as old as the room they were in. Soon her ankles were also placed in shackles, which were slightly more free and at the very bottom of the wall. Mathinza was placed in the shackles directly across from her, and Max in the shackles at the end of the room, facing the jail cell door. Her legs shivered on the cold stone floor, which was moist from the leaking ceiling above. She tugged on the shackles as hard as she could, but while they were old and rusted, they held in tight. She could only manage to move her wrists about an inch before they held into place. Due to her ankles being shackled as well, she was forced to rest on her knees, much like Mathinza and Max. The walls were solid stone, so she could not see her comrades, but she could hear them struggling and arguing with the Rockets.

She looked out of the iron doors and could see that all the Rockets were beginning to head down the hall, leaving this dungeon. After a couple of minutes, she could hear the sounds of the iron door creaking. She felt her heart race again, as if she could feel her escape chances disappearing with the sound of the door being shut. The slam of the door echoed down the hall, and it was quiet. Dawn was panic-stricken, but tried to keep calm for her squad. She looked over to Mathinza and Max. Mathinza was, not surprisingly, trying his best to escape. He tugged on the chains as hard as he could, grunting as he did so. While it appeared that he was faring slightly better than Dawn, (she assumed his shackles were slightly looser), he remained chained up. Max, sitting further away, did not even try to escape. Instead, he looked all around him, his eyes wide with freight. He was taking in the sights, and getting more scared by the second.

"Max", Dawn whispered. She didn't know why she was whispering, at this point she doubted that she would get yelled at for talking, but she did regardless. "Max!". Max gasped upon hearing his name and looked at Dawn, panting heavily at this point. She could see the fear in his eyes and felt an immediate chest pain through guilt. She put him in this situation, and she could do nothing to get him out of it. "Listen Max...everything...everything's going to be fine. We're going to get out of this", Dawn said. She couldn't help but feel nervous over her own words. She herself didn't believe what she was saying. But she knew she had to comfort Max. She couldn't let him be this scared.

"...We're going to be fine...", Max said to himself. He seemed to be reassuring himself, as if saying those words would make him feel better. Dawn did not know if this would work, but she had to try. She nodded in response.

"Yes, we're going to be fine", Dawn said reassuringly. Mathinza, who could see what Dawn was trying to do, nodded in response to Max as well. Dawn didn't know what Mathinza felt of the situation, but she appreciated his support. However, their quiet conversation was soon interrupted by the sound of boots clicking against the stone floor outside of their cell. Dawn gasped and turned towards the entrance. It had been so quiet since the Rockets left, she had forgotten about the other two Rockets that were there before they arrived.

She watched as the younger Rocket looked inside, making eye contact with Dawn. She looked quizzically at him. He didn't look dangerous compared to the other Rocket. In fact, he looked more inquisitive. It was as if he was looking for someone, and wanted to know if she was the person. He then looked over to Mathinza, and then Max. He must not have found who he was looking for, for he shrugged.

"Open it", a gruff voice said off to the side. There it was again. That feeling. Dawn shuddered at the voice and felt her palms get sweaty as the young Rocket fumbled with the cell door and opened it up. When he did, the large warden stepped into the cell. He had his hands behind his back as he stood there, looking at the three rebels before him. The younger Rocket stood just outside of the cell. Dawn looked at him, even he looked scared of this Rocket. He knew what he was capable of.

"So, I have more members of the PTA here to play with", the large Rocket said.

"What do you mean _more _PTA!?", Mathinza asked, scowling at the warden. He chuckled.

"I've been in charge of this little jail down here for quite some time. This used to be some sort of prison back in the day, probably barracks used from early settlers of Kanto. We stumbled upon it while making the base bigger, and liked the design of it. Boss Giovanni felt that the...atmosphere would be perfect for breaking captives, and every once in awhile, I'm given a member of your little group to...interrogate. I'll admit, your little soldiers are tougher to break than most people I work with. I'd say a good half of them die before I can get them to talk. But...everyone has a breaking point...I only have a little bit of time to work with you lot, but I have a feeling I'll get things out of you yet", the warden said, looking particularly at Max. He squirmed in hit spot, which only made the warden chuckle.

"You leave him alone!", Dawn yelled. The warden turned to Dawn, seeing her shackled to the walls...and had yet another glimmer in his eyes. Dawn's eyes grew wide in shock. She tried to tug at her shackles once again, but had no give. She knew now why she felt the terrible feelings, she knew why his presence gave her the chills. She knew why he gleamed when he saw her.

And there was nothing she could do to stop him.

"Oh...trust me...I'm not starting with him...I doubt I'll even need to touch him", the Rocket said, slowly approaching Dawn. She struggled more and more, and could not budge. Soon enough, he was bent down to her level, he looked into her eyes, saw the fear in them...and smiled. "I have a feeling that...the only person I'll need to _touch_...is you". He slowly brought his hand forward and brushed it against Dawn's face, moving her hair out of the way. Dawn began to panic. It went against all of her training, all of her preparation leading up to this final fight. But she couldn't help herself. This was her worst nightmare, brought to life. She tried to pull her legs free, tried as hard as she could to escape, but only seemed to succeed in making herself tired and ache.

Max knew what was happening, and closed his eyes as tight as he could. He knew he couldn't do anything to help her. His shackles were tight, and he knew he was the weakest one there anyway. He wanted to help her, wanted to do something, but knew that he was powerless. He wanted to cover his ears, block out the entire thing, but all he could muster was to close his eyes, and hope it would end soon.

Mathinza on the other hand refused to sit idly by. He saw what this Rocket was trying to do, and he refused to let it happen to his leader, especially not in front of him and Max, and with the rest of her squad possibly listening. He turned to the Rocket outside of the cell, as if hoping he would intervene. He looked terrified. It was obvious that this Rocket had seen this...monster in action before. He was just as scared as the rest of them. It was clear he wouldn't be of any help, so he was on his own. He tugged and tugged as hard as he could, but was not able to make the shackles give.

Vui and Yuki were in their Pokéballs with the others, and were injured. His gun was taken, and he had no weapons on him to help...no, he did! He knew it wouldn't work, at least not enough to kill the Rocket. He was at close distance, but with his hands restrained, he didn't have enough give to make it work. But he had to try. He tilted his head over to his right hand, using it to grab something from his hat. The Rockets were fools. They assumed that since his belt and gun were taken, that he was clean. He managed to take off his hat and, with great care so as to not drop it, removed from the inside lining a small knife. It was a fixed blade, and very small, but it just might work.

Mathinza was not a skilled knife thrower, he knew this. And with his hands restrained, he wouldn't have a lot of power in his throw either. But it might just be enough to at least deter the Rocket from Dawn. He looked, and could see that the Rocket was becoming too touchy. Dawn's face was filled with terror. He had to act fact. He turned to the cell door. The Rocket had disappeared, probably too scared to watch any longer. He held the blade as best he could, and flung it.

The blade didn't stick in the Rocket, it merely bounced off his back and landed on the ground with a clang. But it did hit him with the blade. The Rocket yelped and put his hand to his back. It was more like a Weedle sting than anything. He watched as the Rocket turned, his eyes glaring at the rebel. He looked at his hand and saw small traces of blood, but nothing more. But it worked, it kept him off of Dawn. Mathinza merely sat there, glaring at the Rocket. The Rocket looked to the ground and saw the knife, and then noticed the rebel's hat, which was now on the floor beside him. Slowly, he turned around, ignoring Dawn at least for the time being, and faced the rebel.

"So...you think you're tough do you?", the rebel said. Mathinza didn't reply, he wouldn't give him the satisfaction of an answer. He just kept glaring at him, it was about all he could do. The Rocket just looked at him. "Your eyes...filled with such hate...such anger...I don't like it". Mathinza didn't know what the Rocket was getting on about, and he didn't care. The longer he focused on him, the longer Dawn would be safe. The Rocket looked down and slowly picked up Mathinza's knife. He looked at it curiously, as if seeing how good of a blade it was, and then slowly stepped forward to Mathinza. By this time, he was as close to him as he was to Dawn moments earlier. He held the knife in his hands and looked at it.

"I saw that one of the guns stripped from you kids was a sniping rifle. And by the looks of your one glove, I'll assume it's yours. Which means you were the one who took out all of my comrades in the halls", the Rocket said.

"What of it!?", Mathinza asked. The Rocket smirked.

"Well...being a sniper...you have to rely on your senses don't you? Sight and all of that...must be awfully important to you", the Rocket said. Mathinza didn't know where this was going...and he didn't like it. The Rocket glanced over and picked up Mathinza's hat. He looked at it for a moment, and then placed it down beside him, upside down, like a bowl. He then held up the blade and pointed it to Mathinza's face.

"They say...that the eyes are the window to the soul...and it looks like your soul is quite a tortured one...let's find out...shall we?", the Rocket said. With that, he slowly brought the knife blade closer and closer to Mathinza's eye. He panicked, trying to pull away, but was unable to do anything. Dawn and Max watched on, wanting to help, but being just as powerless. They yelled, screamed, trying to distract him. But the Rocket was not deterred. Mathinza watched as the blade grew closer and closer,

and screamed.

Screaming was also heard from outside the base, but for a different reason. From outside, the battle between the Rockets and the PTA become more and more fierce; with Team Rocket on the upper edge of the fight. The rebels were unprepared for such numbers, especially coming from a surprise attack. This and the fact that they had lower ground did not help matters. They found themselves being pushed back more and more, with injured rebels being forced to stay behind enemy lines. The Rockets, while suffering heavy loses of their own, were not slowing down. They knew that with this victory, they could finally defeat their biggest enemies.

From the Rocket front, Calamity Jane led grunts into battle, giving orders and strategizing on how to win this fight. All around her were the screams and groans of injured Rockets. Many of them burn victims from fire-type attacks. But she ignored their plies for help and continued to give orders. Their suffering meant little to her, compared to her lust for revenge.

"So we continue to push forward, do not let up, do you understand me?", Jane asked the Rocket before her. This Rocket was higher ranked, but clearly understood where his place was compared to her. However, the orders seemed to confuse him.

"But shouldn't we align ourselves properly? Continuing to just move forward like this could leave our rear exposed", the Rocket said. Jane scoffed.

"Do you see their numbers? If they DID get behind us, they would have a dozen to our fifty! We press forward, choke them out, and shoot any survivors, got me!?", Jane demanded. The Rocket did not argue with his orders. He saluted.

"Yes sir!", the Rocket said. As he began to send the orders down the line, another Rocket approached Calamity Jane.

"Commander, a call from the base", the Rocket said, handing her a phone attached to a large contraption on the Rocket's back. Calamity Jane looked somewhat annoyed over the distraction. She also wondered why she would receive a call from such an outdated contraption as this one. But she ignored it and picked up the phone.

"Yes, what is it?", Jane said into the phone.

"Jane, it's Wolfe", the person on the other line answered.

"What is it Wolfe?", Calamity Jane asked. Her and Wolfe were the same rank, and she knew as well as most Rockets the Mercenary's capabilities in battle. So why he was bothering her, she did not know.

"We got a problem. There are several groups of rebels inside the base, all of them within the lower levels. One of these groups set off an EMP, which is why I'm forced to call you with this", Wolfe explained.

"Well then, deal with them. You should be more than capable of", Jane explained, before she was cut off.

"I'm working on it. Two groups are captured, including the ones who set off the bomb. And I saw to it that some others were dealt with...personally. However, they're far too spread out, and with our cameras off-line we can't locate the others. I'm already on the trail of one group, but I need you in here to find the rest", Wolfe detailed. Calamity Jane sighed heavily.

"Listen, I'm a bit busy out here, we're got the rebels on the line, and", once again she was cut off.

"Then you should have no problem leaving the field...besides...these orders come from the top", Wolfe explained. Calamity Jane immediately understood. Orders _that _high up had to be followed.

Without question.

"...Ok, fine. I'm heading in. I'll start on the East end of the building, you cover the West", Jane decided.

"Good...leave no survivors", Wolfe said, before hanging up. Jane handed the phone to the Rocket.

"...I never do", Calamity Jane responded. She then turned to the Rocket whom she had given commands to moments earlier. "Listen, I'm being stationed inside the base now, you're in charge out here, keep the line moving, and kill those bastards!".

"Understood!", the Rocket replied, giving her a salute. Calamity Jane then made her way to the base, already deciding on her next move.

With the Rockets pushing the rebels back, the PTA were finding themselves in more and more trouble. Two of these rebels were already in the thick of it, still trapped in their little jail cells.

Brian was not a fan of being contained. He hated being stuck underground in the base back at Pallet, and went on any mission he could just to get out and see some sun. The only good thing about being stuck in this holding pen was the silence. He actually didn't mind some peace and quiet once in awhile, and it did allow him ample time to think. He continued to pace, the sounds of his boots clicking lightly off the concrete floor. He had already inspected every square inch of it to find any weaknesses, but found none. The ceiling was no better, as it was even more solid than the floor was. He tried each metal bar individually, both in front of him and on the sides, but none were giving.

Michael meanwhile had been merely sitting on the ground, his arms around his knees. He knew they would be stuck there for some time. His Pokémon and knives were taken from him, and he had nothing on his person that could help them in any way. Not that it mattered if they did, the Rocket security officer inside the sound-proof room would glance over to them nearly every second, making sure they were still there. While they were able to talk about anything, they wouldn't be able to escape without being seen and stopped.

If only Riles were with them.

He doubted that Riles would be able to come up with an escape plan either, but he had a way of reassuring everyone. His calming words and demeanor made everyone feel happy, confident.

And now he was gone.

Michael had yet to truly get over his death, he doubted he would anytime soon. But Riles' death did more than make him emotional, it made him think. He wondered about his own mortality, and if it even meant much of anything. He also thought back to the others, both in Veridian and back at Pallet Town. He hoped that they were all alright. Sitting here, doing nothing while his friends were possibly being killed...it was almost too much for him to handle.

With these thoughts crossing his mind, he thought maybe it was a good thing he _didn't _have his knives with him.

He suddenly felt a presence near him, as Brian collapsed onto the ground, leaning against the wall and sighing.

"Whelp, doesn't seem to be anyway to get out of this cell", Brian said. Michael scoffed.

"Oh, you're just now realizing this?", Michael said. Brian glanced over to him, his eyebrow raised.

"Giving up already?", Brian asked. Michael looked at him, somewhat annoyed. The way he said those words, it was as if he was treating this as a game. Like some competition, where he was expecting to win, and was shocked that Michael would give up so easily. But what was there to do? How could they possibly win in a situation like this? His positive attitude made him angry.

"Giving up!? WHAT COULD WE POSSIBLY DO!? WE HAVE NO WEAPONS, NO POKEMON, NO ONE CAN HEAR US, AND FOR ALL WE KNOW, ALL OF OUR FRIENDS ARE DEAD!", Michael yelled. Though the voice echoed in the empty room, the Rocket, still in his sound-proof room, could not hear them. Brian however looked at Michael with shock, unable to comprehend his attitude over the situation. Michael was stronger than this, even for his young age; Brian knew this. So why was he suddenly giving up so easily? Michael looked away, ashamed.

"I'm...sorry...I'm done", Michael said. There was a moment of silence between the two of them. Michael had given up, and Brian was left alone. He didn't know if he should be understanding, or annoyed. After some thought, he went with the former. He knew what he was going through. Brian honestly felt the same way. He had witnessed the death of Riles right in front of his eyes, and their other friends could have met similar fates by now. The only shred of hope he had left was in the fact that no Rockets had come for them, which meant that the battle was not yet over. But that didn't hold enough to mean that they would soon be free, or what's more, that they would win.

Michael was young, and while he had some field experience, he was not prepared for situations like this, especially of this magnitude, and especially with death in front of him. Brian knew what it was like, he was that young boy once, he was in that situation, witnessing death before him, and knowing what it was like to feel helpless. Brian sighed. Michael glanced over as he watched him fumble inside of his boot for something. Did he have a tool to help them escape? No, he couldn't have, otherwise he would have used it already. Michael continued to watch in anticipation as Brian pulled out a small object, hidden in his boot.

A capsule.

Michael looked at it curiously. He had no idea what it was, nor what they could use it for. Brian looked at it, holding it between his index finger and thumb carefully.

"This is a cyanide capsule. Remember when we were escaping New Island, me, Aleksi, Angel, and Jeremy remained behind to let you all escape?", Brian asked. Michael nodded, remembering. "Well, one of the Rockets we stopped used this to kill himself. It poisons you, kills you within seconds. I took this one from that blonde Rocket that attacked us at the ball. And I...kept it...part of me wondered why I would...another part of me knew".

Michael looked at Brian wide-eyed. He felt that urge, that urge to quit and just end it...but those were just thoughts. It felt different when the possibility of quitting was presented to him. Brian examined the capsule some more.

"It's meant for one person, but...I could probably break it in half. It'd still work well enough if you put it in your mouth immediately before it spills", Brian explained.

"W...why?", Michael asked. It was all he could do really. He was too shocked to think of anything else. Brian sighed.

"Michael...I know what you're feeling. I've felt it so many times now that I've lost count. Losing friends like that, right in front of you, and then being captured...it's a lot to bare. We're not of much help here, and they're only going to torture us for information. We wouldn't want to risk leaking anything anyway", Brian explained.

"But...you were so confident. You were the one who said we'd get out. If anything, I should be the one thinking about this, not you", Michael said. Brian sighed once again, tossing the capsule in the air and then catching it.

"Riles...isn't the only person who was killed on my watch. I forced Jeremy to come with us when we stayed behind. Told him...it'd do him some good...and he ended up getting killed because of my stupid decision. And before that, I almost ruined our entire point of going to New Island when I accidentally destroyed the detonator to the D-5. And that wasn't even my biggest mistake...I've had more than my fair share of mistakes in my life Michael...and the way I see it...I should stop myself from making another one", Brian said.

Michael remained quiet. He didn't know what to think, didn't know how to respond. He understood the ramifications of them giving up information to Team Rocket. And it was true that this would prevent that from ever happening...but...what must be going through your head...to have that as your only decision.

"I'm not telling you to do this...I honestly don't even know if I'll be able to myself...but it's an option, if you want it", Brian said, handing it over to Michael. Michael stared at the capsule for some time, until he slowly reached out and took it. He looked at it intently. It was a white capsule, nothing special about it. He looked at Brian, and then back to the capsule. However, something else was on his mind. Something Brian said. If this was going to be the end of it...he at least had to know.

"Brian...what _was _your biggest mistake you mentioned?", Michael asked. Brian chuckled slightly and looked up to the ceiling. He reflected back, remembering that moment all too well. _  
_

"My biggest mistake...was losing Staci".

**There! 2 days of non-stop writing for a Halloween treat for you all! No tricks here! ;) I hope you all liked the update, and that it was something good for you all to do on this holiday! If you find yourselves busy, please, take your time and enjoy the holiday, this chapter isn't going anywheres...that being said, by the time you read this, you could already be DONE with the chapter...in hind sight, probably not the smartest timing. :P ANYWHO! Please be sure to F.A.R., (Favorite, Alert, Review), and to check out my Twitter account for news and updates! I wish you all a Happy Halloween, and hope you all enjoy it by being scared silly! BOO!**

**sincerely,  
evan, a fan of aaml -EVAN AAML**


	98. Chapter 98

**Before we begin, I'd like to announce that Tuesday, Nov. 5th was the 7 year anniversary of me writing here on Fan-Fiction as EVAN AAML, (makes me realize how long ago it was since I updated! 0_0). I like to announce when my anniversary is, (I've probably done so a couple of times in "R" A.N.s alone), not because I want attention, or because I like hearing things like "Congratulations". But because, well...it reminds me of how far I've gotten in life. It's a testament to how far I've gotten into writing, where I've grown since I first decided that I wanted to tell people my stories. And, I think...it speaks volumes to me. Maybe for those of you who write, when you look back at when you first started writing, you'll see the same thing. So, when your anniversary comes, I want you to look back to the day you first made your profile, first typed up your story, first posted it...and see how far you've come. I think it will do you some good. :)**

**-EVAN AAML**

Michael looked to Brian, a mixture of feelings running through him. But even more than that, Michael had questions. He didn't take Brian as the sentimental type, but in retrospect, he didn't KNOW Brian that well. He wasn't in the PTA for very long, and the vast majority of the PTA kept their pasts to themselves for one reason or another. But, if Brian was doing what it appeared he was doing...this would be the last chance to ask.

"Brian...who was Staci?...And...how did you lose her?", Michael asked. Brian sighed heavily, still holding the cyanide capsule in his hand. He looked back up to the ceiling and closed his eyes, remembering the times. Remembering those moments he spent with her, and what led him to this.

"Staci was a dear friend of mine, _very _dear. She was like my sister honestly", Brian stated.

"Were you two...in love?", Michael asked. Brian chuckled slightly.

"Well...not in that sense. We weren't a couple like Sawyer and Nick...or hiding feelings for each other like Evan and Aleksi. But...if we had more time together...if I didn't lose her...who's to say what we'd be at this point", Brian explained. Michael nodded, allowing him to continue. "We grew up together, Staci and I. We lived in an isolated homestead, a bit aways from Fuchsia City. Quite place for the most part, simple little town, kind of like Pallet. There weren't many kids there, most of the people were farmers or retired trainers. Staci and I happened to be of the same age, so we played together, and started our Pokémon journey together too. We took a while to manage our way through the Kanto region...we weren't the fastest travelers", Brian said with a laugh. Michael couldn't help but smile as well.

"How well did you two do?", Michael asked.

"Not that well. We both managed to get all eight of our badges, but didn't last long in the Indigo League. But we were determined, and decided to try out Johto for a shot. It was close, and Staci always wanted to see it, she loved the sights of the wild. It was at that point that Team Rocket began their takeover", Brian told. Michael understood. He was only a small child when the takeover occurred, but he knew that a lot of the older PTA were on their quests when it happened.

"We didn't get far into Johto before Team Rocket began fighting their way through themselves. As you know, Johto was the bloodiest of the takeovers, and me and Staci wanted no part of it. We feared for what might have happened to our families, we wanted to see if they were alright. Knowing that our Johto journey was now over...we left. With all of the fighting, it was somewhat easy to sneak back into Kanto unnoticed. Team Rocket had taken over, but didn't quite yet have an iron grip on the land. It took some time, but we finally managed to make our way back home...but...", Brian said. He trailed off, and Michael understood why. He looked down to the ground solemnly.

"...It was already too late...", Michael said, finishing for him. Brian looked to the ground as well.

"We don't know when it happened, or why. We were in a whole other region when it all went down. But there was...nothing left. Buildings and homes were destroyed, most burned to the ground, nothing but cold ash and debris remained. Some were left abandoned, it looked like the people tried to leave in a hurry. There was...no one. No blood, no bodies...aside from the damage, it was almost like a ghost town. Team Rocket had ample time to clean up", Brian detailed.

"Didn't you try to find anyone nearby? Maybe someone was", Michael said, before being cut off.

"You have to remember, when me and Staci left, we were ten. We knew people, but it had been years since we've seen most of them. If they even remembered us, looking for us would be the last thing on their minds...assuming there were survivors", Brian said. Michael was silent. Brian sighed. "We knew...that our families were gone. My house was ransacked, nothing inside so to speak. I knew my family would have left something for me, to let me know where they went to hiding...but there was nothing. My mom, dad, little brother...they were gone. Staci had it off worse. Her home was burned to the ground, nothing but ash. She was an only child, but she lost her parents, who she was close to. We were...alone...truly alone, for the first time in our lives", Brian explained. Brian sniffled a little, only a little, before continuing.

"After that, we went on the run. We highly doubted that Team Rocket knew we were alive, or even knew of our existence, but there was nothing left for us home, and didn't want to take the risk. So we kept on the move, living inside of caves or thick wooded areas for months. We memorized Kanto from our previous journey, and tried to keep out of Team Rocket's way as we managed to fend for ourselves. But we never forgot what they did to us. How they killed our families, destroyed our homes. So...we began to learn how to fight back", Brian explained.

"You joined resistances?", Michael asked. He knew that Brian hadn't joined the PTA with Staci, otherwise he would have learned of her, so he assumed they were with other groups before hand. Brian however shook his head in response.

"No, no. We didn't really know much about any resistances; it was still too early in the takeover. The PTA hadn't yet formed, and resistance fighting was unorganized. We were very much on our own, and liked it that way. Over time, I learned how to manage and create explosives and electrical devices. My father was an electrician and I remembered some things. Staci, meanwhile, learned how to get in and out of places undetected. She was always stealthy, she used this trick to catch wild Pokémon by surprise. After awhile, we were able to learn how to get back at Team Rocket. I would make explosives, big or small depending on the situation, and Staci would sneak into a small installation or outpost and plant it. We were able to cause some trouble for some time, and since it was only the two of us, Team Rocket had trouble catching us. They assumed we were a part of some rebel group, and not just ordinary people", Brian said.

"So then...what happened?...To Staci I mean", Michael asked, knowing that this build up was leading to an unfortunate end. Brian looked at Michael for a moment, and then looked up to the ceiling once more. Michael could tell that it was difficult for him to talk about it. Maybe this was why he didn't know about Brian's past, because he never opened up. Brian closed his eyes, and Michael thought he could see a lone tear make its way through.

"...It was sometime after the takeover. By this time, Team Rocket had taken over Hoenn and Sinnoh, and Kanto had become a dictatorship. The deaths of our families seemed like...a distant memory. Our homes almost forgotten. We had become...almost obsessed...with the idea of revenge. So much so that we just about forgot _what _we were fighting for...just that we _were_. We found a Rocket outpost, one of the bigger ones we ever decided to attack. It was located along a busy route for trainers, leading to Rock Tunnel actually. I had specifically made some powerful explosives designed to take out the layout of the building, and Staci spent some time checking it out to learn the paths. We decided to strike in the early morning, this was when they had the least amount of guards; the night guards left and it took some time before the day guards showed up", Brian explained.

"I made the explosives, and Staci managed to sneak her way inside without any trouble. It took a few heart-wrenching minutes, but Staci managed to sneak out undetected and we went to a safe location to detonate the bomb. I should have assumed it wasn't right, in retrospect, it was one of the easiest jobs we had done yet. But...when we were hidden...and I pressed the button on the detonator...nothing happened. I had never made a bomb like that one before, and the wiring had to be different. I thought that it was a malfunction in the signal wire, so I wanted to sneak in and repair it. But...Staci wanted to do it herself. She was afraid that I wouldn't be as stealthy and would be caught before I could finish. I...tried reasoning with her, tried to tell her that I could do it...but she would have none of it. She gave me Nessie, her Lapras, just in case...she always made sure to should the worst happen...and she took my replacement wire...and snuck back inside. There wasn't much else I could do...but wait", Brian said.

"So...then...", Michael said. Brian nodded, revealing the difficulty in telling him the story. He tried to fight back sadness as he reflected back to that day.

"I had waited for a few minutes. I kept an eye out for everything. The guards I could see through the windows at the top, the only ones in the building, had never left their posts, never suspecting that someone was placing a bomb inside. I figured it'd be no time before I'd see Staci sneak out...but I never did. Suddenly...the entire outpost blew up. I stood up in shock as...cement and wood went flying everywhere. Pokémon ran away as the plants and trees swayed from the shockwave. There was nothing left of the guards, and fire surrounded the entire base of the building...I...I ran to the building, I knew that there wouldn't be much time before Team Rocket arrived to see what happened. There was a large fire, the place was almost entirely destroyed. I...I knew...that there was no way she could have survived...but I refused to believe it", Brian said. He began rolling up his sleeves as he continued.

"I ran...into the remains of the building, through the fire and all. I looked around, longer perhaps than I should have. I screamed for her, shouting at the top of my lungs. Smoke caused me to gag, my eyes burned, I could barely move through the heat...but I refused to stop yelling, refused to stop looking. At one point, some debris fell on top of me...burning my arms and chest in the process...how I got the nickname "Fire Master"", Brian said, revealing to Michael his arms. There were severe burn marks on them, which caused Michael to grimace. They looked like they happened awhile ago, but were none the less scaring. He rolled his sleeves back down.

"I was fortunate enough to be able to push the debris off after a minute or two. I was injured, and probably half-dead for all I knew...but I kept looking...there was nothing left of her, though, to be honest, I don't know how I would have reacted if I had seen her body...or what was left of it. I don't know if the crying came from the smoke...or the fact that I lost the last bit of family I had left. I left the scene...broken in more ways than one. I thought about it over and over again in my head. I don't know if, when she replaced the wire, if it picked up the signal I sent out initially to detonate...or if she placed the wiring in the wrong place and caused a malfunction...I don't know...but I knew that...it was my fault. My mistake caused her death. And...I promised, from that day on...that I wouldn't let anyone down again...and I broke that promise", Brian said.

Michael looked on, uncertain of what to say. He had no idea that this moment haunted Brian all this time. It was not unheard of for things like this to happen to members of the PTA. Michael knew that Aleksi had a tough life before this, and he had heard rumors about Nick and Evan's past. Many of them joined the cause because of their pasts. But it doesn't change the impact hearing these stories have on a person. Brian looked to the cyanide capsule in his hand.

"I would be lying...if I said that Staci's death didn't set anything in motion for my life to come. I ended up joining the PTA, had a big part in their missions, and made a lot of friends I never thought I'd make...but...whenever I'm using Staci's Nessie...or whenever I just have time to myself to think...I always look back to that day...and wonder how things could have been different", Brian said. He then turned to Michael. "That's why...I don't blame you for feeling the way you do...I've felt the same way for a long time now...so if you feel as though as, I don't know...it's too much...you have a way out". He then held his hand out, allowing Michael to do the same and accept the capsule. "I'll even give you the honors of splitting it".

Michael looked in his hands, looked at the cyanide capsule, and thought to himself. Brian turned back to the ceiling, waiting for a response from the young teen. He didn't know what he would decide, but wanted to leave it up to him. He kept his eyes closed, thinking back to Staci, thinking back to all the moments that led to this...and didn't open them until he heard the sound of a stomp.

He turned to Michael to see him looking down at the ground, or rather, his foot. Brian watched as he lifted up his shoe, revealing a small puddle on the floor. It sizzled there for a moment or two before settling and becoming nothing more than what people would think as a mere water puddle. Brian turned to Michael, who in turn, looked to him.

"What happened to Staci...wasn't your fault. Staci knew of the dangers of the correction...and I think that's why she wanted to do it. She didn't want to lose you...she knew what could happen. And knowing that you have carried this burden on yourself for so long, and remained so positive...it fills me with confidence. I...I know now...that we can win...that I can help...and I refuse to give up when I know I can make even the slightest of differences", Michael explained. Brian looked at Michael for a moment or two, before he inevitably smiled. He nodded.

"You're right...you're absolutely right...and I'm glad you came to that decision", Brian said. Michael, while happy that Brian was agreeing with him, was also confused. It seemed almost too easy to change his mind. He raised an eyebrow.

"Wait...you _wanted_ me to decide that?", Michael asked. Brian smiled some more.

"I'll admit...I didn't know what you were going to do. And while I was hoping for one outcome...I...I would respect your decision regardless. But I wanted you to know that, you're not alone in this, and that if we can bare our mistakes and our regrets, than you can too. I just wanted you to see that for yourself", Brian explained.

"So you told me about Staci to make me realize it", Michael said. Brian nodded. Michael looked to the ground where the cyanide capsule's remains were, thinking for a moment, then turned back to Brian and smiled. "Thank you".

"No problem", Brian said. He then sighed with a chuckle. "Besides, Staci would have killed me if I decided to quit like that, couldn't have that on my conscience". Michael and Brian laughed together at the comment, and continued to laugh for some time.

Michael and Brian tried to reassure themselves that they would be alright, trying to let themselves know that their friends were ok, and that they would be safe and sound by the day's end. This kept their spirits up, and their hopes alive. However, the fact of the matter is, this is war. And no matter which side you're on, the good or the bad, the winning or the losing, there was going to be hardship; there are going to be casualties.

Some knew this more than others.

In an unknown section of the base, deep underground where the light of day could not reach, in a hallway where silence was everywhere, there was a door. A door which slowly creaked open. For a second, it did nothing more, until the barrel of a Spas-12 poked out from behind it. Milo poked his head out soon afterwards, looking around carefully. It was dark in the hallway with the lights out, but he could just make out enough to see that the coast was clear. He turned to people behind the door and nodded, then opened the door fully. The light from behind the door stretched out into the darkness, pushing it back, and allowing them to see.

Milo walked down the hall, his shotgun at the ready. He looked this way and that, not taking any chances despite the seemingly empty area. Behind him was Ryoto, who kept his hand on the hilt of his currently sheathed sword. Then entered Ash, with Pikachu on his shoulder. He stopped for a moment and looked around, then glanced to Pikachu. Its ears twitched for a moment or two, until the little yellow rodent turned to Ash and gave a nod. The area was in fact clear, for now. Ash then turned around. Entering the hall next were Aleksi and Angel. The two looked worn, tired; though Ash knew that none of this was from the fighting.

He was concerned over their lost progress in their mission to find and capture Giovanni, while also looking for the captured prisoners, but Angel and Aleksi's mental states were at their breaking points when Angel found out of Evan's death. It took them what felt like an eternity to stop crying, which Ash felt was only done because their bodies couldn't produce any more tears. He felt for them, he knew what they were feeling, and refused to continue until they could recover at least a little bit. It was a tough position for Ash. He understood the importance of this mission, and knew that his life, and everyone's life on his team, were at stake. But he refused to act cold or indifferent to those emotional over losing someone they cared about.

Ash had lost more friends over the past fifteen years than perhaps most people would lose in a lifetime. People he had met on his journies in his youth, or people he fought alongside with in the wars. Many were killed, some simply went missing, never to be seen or heard from again. He felt the pain of loss more times than he would ever want to admit, and knew more than anyone what Aleksi and Angel were feeling now.

However, despite this, he knew they had to push on. There was too much at stake here to stop because of an unfortunate death. He felt like slime thinking it, but he knew that Evan's death was not enough to stop the mission. And he had a feeling that, deep down, Aleksi and Angel knew this as well. They were by no means over the death, but they were now at least moving. Angel was even talking, though her words were soft-spoken and mixed with emotion. Aleksi was fairing off worse, she had not talked since breaking down to Angel, and remained comatose. It was like she was a puppet, simply moving on command, no control or soul. It scared Ash in ways he couldn't imagine, but it couldn't be helped.

Bringing up the rear behind the girls was Misty, who looked behind her before closing the door, thereby returning the darkness to its former glory. The hall was dark, but not dark enough where they could not manage their way through it. She looked over to Ash, with a look that Ash knew all too well. It was a look that his mother gave him all the time. She was concerned for Aleksi and Angel. She knew there was nothing she could do to remove the heartache they were feeling, and felt guilty. She watched as Aleksi and Angel slowly made their way passed Ash and to the others, who were slowly making their way forward. Misty approached Ash.

"I can't bare to see them like this", Misty whispered to Ash. He sighed heavily.

"It can't be helped. We're in too dangerous of a place to stop for them to recover their thoughts...as much as it pains me to see it too...we have to keep on", Ash explained.

"I know...I know", Misty said. Ash turned to her, seeing her aching demeanor. He put his hand on her shoulder, giving her reassurance. It did little to change her state, but she appreciated it none the less.

Watching this from a distance, Milo sighed.

"It's tough man...seeing them like this", Milo said. He too lost a good friend in Evan, something that he would never forget. However, his family was in danger, and he knew that getting overly emotional could danger them. Ryoto on the other hand, showed much less sympathy towards the situation.

"We came into this fight knowing that people we knew were going to die. Acting out this much over one loss could jeopardize the entire mission", Ryoto said. Milo sighed. He should have known that Ryoto would act like this.

"Are you saying we shouldn't mourn a fallen comrade?", Milo asked.

"Yes, that's exactly what I'm saying", Ryoto replied all to quickly. Milo turned to Ryoto, shock and anger covering his face. He was insulted that Ryoto would say that with no remorse or care in the world.

"Are you fucking kidding me man? We just lost a good friend back there, and you're acting like it doesn't even matter? What the hell!?", Milo asked angrily through a low tone. Ryoto turned to him.

"Evan was a good ally, you're right. But letting one death derail us this much has already lowered our chances for success. Angel's a mess as it is seeing Lyla's murder, now this. She'll be lucky to hold a gun to a Rocket when we run into one. I told her before we started this fight that she had to expect the worst, and she", before Ryoto could finish, Milo cut him off.

"Well excuse her all the hell for not thinking about her friends dying in front of her! She's a twelve-year-old kid man! I bet 'cha that you weren't this fuckin' "cool" at twelve years old either!", Milo said. Ryoto was quiet for a moment, looking away from the mechanic, as if in thought.

"...When I was twelve...I had already killed a dozen people for Team Rocket...I had my emotions pulled from me by age ten", Ryoto stated. While Milo pitied Ryoto for his troubled past, he was not about to let him get away with such thoughts, especially towards Angel.

"Maybe YOU were, but Angel was never a Rocket! She never had that training, she's dealing with death the hard way, and you need to understand that", Milo said. Ryoto turned to Milo, somewhat annoyed.

"Understand what? That she's going against her better judgement and risking our lives because of her emotions over someone dead? There's nothing she could do for them now. Lyla, Evan, they're gone. And as sad as it is to lose a comrade, we need to toughen up and move on. Team Rocket won't give us sympathy over lost ones", Ryoto explained. Milo became agitated, he wanted to punch Ryoto, knock some sense into him. But he knew that, whether he could take him or not, now was not the time for fighting. Instead, he looked to Ryoto, and shook his head.

"You know...you spend a lot of time telling us that you're not a Rocket anymore...but you still act like one. The only difference between you and them...is that they're at least not in denial. You say you're one of us now Ryoto...well prove it", Milo said. Ryoto turned to him, gripping the handle to his blade tightly. He felt the sudden urge to pull it out, to use it...but then suddenly felt something else. While Milo walked away, assuming the conversation was over, Ryoto stood there, unable to comprehend what was happening.

He had felt the urge to strike Milo down right then and there, the anger flowing through him. He couldn't believe what he had almost done. Milo was right. Despite fighting under the PTA banner, despite telling people over and over again that he wasn't a Rocket...nothing had changed. He had not felt this feeling since...

since deciding to leave that family be.

He loosened his grip on the blade, letting go of the handle altogether. He looked at his hands, as if seeing them for the first time. These hands. They had been used to end the lives of countless people, _innocent_ lives. They were stained with the blood of men, women, children, anyone who the Rockets wanted dead. And even now, even working for the PTA, having killed Rocket after Rocket in some hopes of redemption...his hands never seemed any less red.

Had he not done enough? He thought that working for the PTA, defeating the organization that turned him into who he was, would cleanse his body and soul. But it seemed that nothing had changed. He reflected back to his missions for the PTA. Fighting on solo missions, New Island, even today. Killing Rocket after Rocket. He recalled seeing their faces before they died, their looks of terror...

they looked no different than the faces of those he killed wearing the "R".

Changing sides had not changed his personality, his outlook on life. All it merely did was give him new targets. He never understood the true purpose of the PTA. He never agreed with the morals of those he fought alongside with. Despite everything he sought to do, he found himself back at the beginning. How had he not seen this before? Could he really be so foolish? All this time, Ash and the others warned him about his path choice, they knew all along what took Ryoto until now to know. If he wanted retribution, he had to change his ways, not his targets.

Suddenly, Pikachu's ears began to perk. Ash looked to his friend on his shoulder, who directed its ears this way and that.

"What is it Pikachu?", Ash asked concerned. Everyone in the room turned to look to Pikachu. They were silent as the little rodent's ears twitched in different directions. But after a few seconds, they both pointed straight up in a panic.

"PI! PIKACHU!", Pikachu exclaimed. Ash turned to the others in shock.

"PEOPLE ARE COMING! WE NEED TO MOVE, NOW!", Ash ordered. Everyone immediately began running down the hall, no longer concerned about the raucous they were making. Milo and Ryoto led the way, with the girls in the middle, and Ash tailing behind. Within a matter of seconds, the sounds of doors being pushed open could be heard. A light stretched down the entire length of the hall, and the sounds of yelling echoed to them.

"THERE THEY ARE!", someone yelled.

"KILL THEM!", another commanded.

"SHOOT THE OTHERS, BUT LEAVE KETCHUM ALIVE! UNDERSTOOD!?", yet another, more commanding voice demanded. Ash and the others turned as they ran, and could see the figure that had given these orders, Wolfe. Angel's heart sky-rocketed at the mere sight of him. Images of Lyla's mangled corpse flashed through her head, and she began to panic. She ran faster, trying to not only outrun the enemy, but her fears.

The Rockets began firing their weapons down the hall as they ran after the rebels. However, their shots were too cautious, and therefore ineffective. With Ash bringing up the rear, they were afraid of accidentally shooting him, and so they were being conservative with their "open" fire. Ash noticed this.

"They're afraid to kill me, and aren't shooting well because of it. That might buy me just enough time to hold them off", Ash said. As if on cue, he looked to his right to see several large canisters along the wall. They were attached to the wall via pipes that went up and across the ceiling. The canisters had labels on them that read "Flammable". Ash looked to Pikachu. "PIKACHU, THUNDERSHOCK!", Ash commanded, pointing to the canisters. He stopped running to allow Pikachu to jump in the air, its cheeks sparking.

"PIKACHU!", Pikachu yelled, firing its electrical attack. The canisters glowed a bright yellow before eventually exploding. Metal and flames shot out across the hall. The pipes along the wall and ceiling also exploded, raining fire down onto the floor and separating the Rockets from the rebels. Wolfe and the others stopped at the flames. Ash managed to catch Wolfe's glare as Pikachu jumped back onto his shoulder. He smirked, turned around, and ran down the hall. The others, who had noticed Ash stop, waited for him and immediately began running again once Ash had caught up.

"THAT WON'T HOLD THEM FOR LONG, WE NEED TO FIND AN EXIT!", Ash yelled.

"HOW ABOUT THAT ONE!?", Milo answered, pointing ahead of them to a pair of large, metal doors.

"WHERE DOES THAT LEAD TO!?", Misty asked.

"DOES IT REALLY MATTER AT THIS POINT!?", Milo asked.

"FAIR ENOUGH, GO!", Ash yelled. Within seconds, they had reached the doors, but were horrified to see that the door handles were wrapped in large chains and a lock. Milo immediately grabbed the chains and tried to pull them off, but to no avail.

"I CAN'T GET THEM OFF!", Milo said.

"MOVE!", Ryoto yelled. Milo moved aside as Ryoto pulled out his Katana and, with one might swing, chopped at the chains. The chains and lock fell to the ground in pieces, clattering as they hit the floor. Ryoto grabbed the door handles and tried to turn them, but found that he could not. He turned to the others. "IT'S STILL LOCKED!", Ryoto yelled. Ash and the others turned around to see the fire still burning across the hallway. However, a sudden small explosion at the center of the flames caused the fire there to extinguish. They watched as Wolfe, with his Mightyena by his side, glared at them as the Rockets rushed forward. Milo turned back to the door.

"FUCK THIS!", Milo yelled, aiming his Spas-12 at the door handles. He fired the shotgun, blowing the handles clean off, and kicked the doors open. The doors led to a large room filled with crates of varying size. They must have found the base's storage unit. The rebels rushed in quickly, and Ash slammed the doors shut behind them. However, with the locks broken, it would do little to slow the Rockets down. Acting fast, Milo reached for his belt and pulled out one of his Pokéballs. He threw it, and released his Machamp. Seeing what he was doing, Ryoto grabbed a Pokéball of his own and released his Tyranitar. Quickly, the two Pokémon, their trainers, and the girls began pushing crates in front of the door. Before long, four large crates barricaded the doors. The rebels watched as the doors began to shake at first, then bang against the crates. The Rockets were trying to force their way in.

"Those crates won't last for long, what are we gonna do!?", Milo asked.

"There are a lot of crates here, we could hide right in plain sight. There's no way they'd look through all of them", Misty said.

"Normally I'd agree with you, but they're desperate to kill us. They wouldn't bother looking through the crates, they'd just destroy them until they found us", Ash explained.

"So that leaves us with the one way out", Ryoto said, turning to the other side of the room. While the area was filled with crates, there was a pathway intentionally cleared out which led to another set of doors on the other side of the room. The sign above the doors read, "To Upper Level: Shipping".

"Shipping? Do you think...?", Ash thought out loud.

"That might lead to the loading docks for the train they have behind the base. That could be where the prisoners are being held!", Misty exclaimed. Upon hearing this, Angel perked up. However, instead of just feeling excitement towards the possibility of finding her parents after all this time, she also felt fear. She was afraid that perhaps she would be getting their hopes up, and that they weren't there. Or that they were there, but had already been killed. None of this however mattered, if they ended up leading the Rockets straight to them. Milo however ignored the negatives and focused on the chance.

"THEN LET'S GET GOING! WE NEED TO SAVE THEM!", Milo said.

"We can't just rush up there. The Rockets won't take long to decide that we're not hiding in here, and they'll follow us up there. It'll take us time to round-up everyone and get them to safety, and if they catch us helping the others, we'll all be one large target", Ash said.

"Then...what do we do?", Milo asked. Ash tried to think, racking his brain with ideas. He knew that their best option was to exit out the doors and head upstairs, but while it wasn't a guarantee that the prisoners would even be up there, it was still a risky decision. He could not risk the lives of those he was trying to save. As he thought of what to do, Ryoto looked to the group. In particular, he looked to Aleksi and Angel.

Aleksi, despite all that had happened just now, had still not shown much of any emotion. Ryoto could not understand how she could still be acting this way given all that was going on. But then again, he did not understand what it was like to lose someone you loved. Ryoto had no family or loved ones in his life, anyone he knew that had died, he treated merely as an unfortunate circumstance. But Aleksi had loved ones, and she loved Evan. With his death, it was as if Aleksi seemed to lose the spark in her life.

Angel was different. While Aleksi showed no emotion over the situation, Angel's emotions could be read like a book. And it was obvious that the emotion she was feeling most, was fear. Whether this was fear of death on herself, her parents, or her friends around her he did not know, but it did not matter. Ryoto continued to look at the young, scared girl, and begin to feel something inside of him stir. She was young, too young to be fighting in a war like this, and definitely too young to die. Ryoto knew what he had to do.

"I know what you can do", Ryoto said. The group turned to Ryoto.

"You have an idea? What is it?", Ash asked, happy for any suggestions. Ryoto looked at the group for a moment or two, and then turned to face his Pokémon. Tyranitar merely looked at him for a few seconds, but soon sensed something. It was as if it was reading the mind of its master. Ryoto smiled, (something that concerned the others), and gave Tyranitar a pat on the chest.

"You have been a good ally to me over the years, my friend...I wish you a happy and peaceful life", Ryoto stated. Tyranitar appeared to be conflicted over something, but soon enough nodded in response. Ryoto reached down and pulled out a Pokéball, aiming it at the large Pokémon. "Return!". Within seconds, Tyranitar was gone. Ryoto shrunk the ball, placed it on his belt, and then removed the belt altogether. He then turned back to face the others and tossed the belt to Ash, who caught it.

"You all go on ahead, I'll stay here and buy you some time. I'll give them someone to fight", Ryoto said. The others looked to Ryoto in shock.

"What!? No, fuck that, you're coming with us!", Milo said. Ryoto turned to Milo and smirked.

"Oh? And you're going to make me?", Ryoto asked. Milo gripped his shotgun tightly, but did nothing more; he knew that he was right.

"Ryoto, you don't have to do this", Misty said. Misty was one of the most understanding of the rebels, which was a trait that Ryoto respected in her as a leader. And he knew that she would understand why he was doing this.

"Yes...I do", Ryoto said. He looked to Misty, who stared him down for a minute or so before eventually nodding slowly. She turned towards the door, trying to usher Angel with her. Angel however stopped her, looking to Ryoto in concern.

"Ryoto, you need to come with us! You can't take them all on your own!", Angel said. Ryoto looked down to the little girl and smiled.

"Angel, I'm doing what I have been training to do all this time...now it's time for you to do what you trained for...go and find your parents. And, when you do...tell them...tell them, I said hello", Ryoto said. Angel looked to the former Rocket in tears, but eventually turned around and allowed Misty to lead her away. Ryoto then turned to Aleksi. She did not openly refuse the suggestion like the others did, but it was clear that she did not approve of the idea. However, she did not argue with Ryoto's decision. She nodded, to which Ryoto nodded back, and she made her way with the others. This left Ash, Pikachu, and Ryoto alone.

"You know how this is going to end", Ash said. Ryoto turned to his leader and was silent for a second before responding.

"It's just like you said, remember? That if I kept going down this road to retribution, that I won't like what I see? Well, I saw it...and I didn't like it. I finally see what you meant...and this is my chance to get true retribution", Ryoto said. Ash stared at Ryoto for a moment or two. He would be the last person to allow someone to sacrifice themselves like this, but he knew that Ryoto wanted to do this, and it wasn't as if he could stop him anyway. Pikachu gave a salute.

"Pikachu", Pikachu said. Ryoto nodded to the little rodent.

"...Good luck Ryoto...see you on the other side", Ash said. He then ran off ahead with the others. They opened the door on the far end of the room, took one last glance at their friend, and then closed it behind them. This left Ryoto in the room alone. The pounding on the door was getting louder, the Rockets would soon be upon him. Slowly, he pulled his Katana out and looked at it in his hands.

"It looks like this will be the last time I use you...this time...let's use you for the right cause", Ryoto said, as if talking to the weapon. He then quickly hid in the room, and prepared for the enemy.

After a minute or so, the crates finally gave way, and the doors opened. One by one, Rockets flooded into the room, with Wolfe and his Mightyena at the end. The Rockets separated, their weapons drawn, as they looked around the room for any signs of the rebels. With the power still out, the Rockets relied on their flashlights and the light from the fires in the room behind them to light their way.

"Do you think they're hiding in here sir?", a Rocket asked Wolfe. He looked around the room for a second or two, and then looked to the doors ahead of him. Reading the sign, he grew annoyed.

"No, they went on ahead. Those doors lead to the loading docks, we can't let them get out of the base! Ignore this room, move on ahead!", Wolfe said.

"Right! Everyone, get...", before the Rocket could finish giving the command, he was interrupted by the sound of gunfire. Ahead of them, a Rocket grunt was firing at something obscured by large crates. The Rockets watched as suddenly, something lunged at the Rocket, and he fell to the floor, swimming in a pool of his own blood. Another Rocket, seeing him dart across the room, immediately opened fire. However, he just caught the glimpse of something coming towards him from his right before feeling the agony of steel driving through his chest. The Rocket grunts were panicking at this point, and were now firing on anything that moved towards them.

Wolfe and a group of Rockets near the door watched as one by one, Rockets fell down dead to an unknown assailant. Wolfe however seemed to be enjoying the show, eventually chuckling.

"Well, it looks like someone decided to stay behind!", Wolfe said.

"What do we do sir!?", a Rocket asked, nervous over the enemy.

"Get in a large group and have everyone looking out for him. If you stray too far away, he'll kill you", Wolfe said. The Rocket soon gave the command, and the remaining enemies got into two groups. One group positioned themselves in the center of the room, and the other, (with Wolfe), remained by the back doors. With the groups set, Wolfe looked around the room, his smile even wider than before.

"IT'S A SHAME YOU HAD TO GO AND DESERT US RYOTO! WE COULD HAVE ACCOMPLISHED A LOT TOGETHER! BUT I KNOW YOU'RE WEAKNESSES, AND THERE'S NO WAY YOU'RE GOING TO GET OUT OF THIS ALIVE!", Wolfe exclaimed. There was a brief moment of silence, before they heard a response.

"I HAVE NO INTENTION OF GETTING OUT ALIVE!", Ryoto yelled. Suddenly, a figure dove straight into the group of Rockets in the center of the room. Wolfe looked to see Ryoto slicing through two Rockets on the side. Three other Rockets, in a panic, began firing. A couple of bullets managed to strike him, but not enough to stop him. Ryoto rushed ahead and stabbed one Rocket in the chest, then grabbed another one to his side and used him as a shield for the other Rockets shooting at him. Wolfe watched in shock as Ryoto ran forward and decapitated one Rocket, and then threw the now dead shield at another before shooting him with his own pistol that he pulled out from his holster.

With lightning speed, he quickly turned around and fired at two more Rockets, before being shot in the arm and losing his pistol. There were only a couple of Rockets left, he could do this. He jumped in the air, bringing his Katana down on another grunt. The final Rocket aimed his gun at Ryoto and fired. He struck him in the chest, but suddenly ran out of ammo. The gun clicked in his hands and he began to panic. As he reached for his pistol, Ryoto swung his blade, slicing the Rocket's chest, and dropping him.

Wolfe looked on, his eyes wide in shock. Ryoto stood in the center of the room, circled by corpses and pools of blood. He had gun shot injuries in his arms, legs, and chest, and panted heavily from exhaustion. His ponytail was undone, and his long black hair was covered in sweat and blood. He could barely hold his weapon, but refused to quit. The mercenary was at a loss for words.

"...I DON'T GET IT! YOU JUST WENT AGAINST ALL OF YOUR TRAINING, ALL THOSE YEARS OF STEALTHY ASSASSINATIONS, AND YOU BASICALLY KILLED YOURSELF BY LUNGING INTO THEM LIKE THAT, WHY!?", Wolfe asked, truly perplexed. Ryoto panted heavily for a few more seconds before responding.

"BECAUSE...I DON'T NEED...MY ROCKET TRAINING...FOR THIS FINAL MISSION. I HAVE SEEN...THE DEVASTATION I HAVE CAUSED...KILLING INNOCENT PEOPLE...FOR THE SAKE OF TEAM ROCKET. AND...IF THIS IS THE ONLY WAY...TO FINALLY GET RETRIBUTION FOR MY SINS...THEN SO BE IT!", Ryoto stated. The other Rockets looked on in shock, and even awe to an extent. The fact that he would throw his life away so carelessly was something they didn't think possible. Wolfe stared at the former Rocket for a few seconds, before finally smirked and chuckling to himself.

"Alright then...ALRIGHT THEN, FINE! IF YOU THINK THIS IS YOUR WAY TO MAKE UP FOR ALL THOSE PEOPLE YOU KILLED, SO BE IT! I, ON THE OTHER HAND, HAVE A CLEAN CONSCIENCE OVER MY WORK! IF YOU WANT TO DIE, THEN I'LL HAPPILY OBLIGE!", Wolfe stated, pulling out from his holster his revolver. Ryoto, knowing what was about to happen, cleared his mind, and his soul. He could feel it, it was small, and weak, but it was unmistakable. For the first time in his life, he finally felt an inner peace. Gripping his Katana, he charged forward, yelling as he did so. Wolfe could only smirk as he aimed his Anaconda directly at Ryoto.

"...One...Two...", Wolfe counted. By this time, Ryoto was almost to him. With the last of his energy, Ryoto jumped up in the air, his blade ready to strike. Wolfe smiled even more. "...Three", he said, before pulling the trigger.

**And with that, I FINALLY give you all an update to "R"! I felt TERRIBLE over the long wait, (this is the first time I've updated this year! :O), so I decided to go against my normal writing procedures, and made this chapter about 1000 words longer than normal. I've always given you excuses as to why I could not update as soon as I had hoped, but sadly, the only TRUE reason this was delayed for so long was because of simple writer's block. I couldn't think of what to do after Brian's backstory, and it took me a month to finally decide on this. As you can see, given how it ended, I wanted to make sure that it was written well. Sadly, the ending I originally had was deleted last night, and I had to make it again from scratch, so I apologize if it seemed rushed. Please forgive me for such tardiness, and please be sure to F.A.R., (Favorite, Alert, Review). Not much else to say here, so take care, and I'll see you all next time!**

**sincerely,  
evan, a fan of aaml -EVAN AAML**


	99. Chapter 99

**I would like to start off this chapter with an announcement. Some of you have noticed over the years a bit of a...close friendship between myself, and fellow author prettygirl17. I was one of her first reviewers 7 years ago, and since then, we have become good friends, critiquing each other's works and so forth. She has even appeared twice in my stories; once in the ever-popular "Power From Within", and even here in "R". Some people have joked about us, especially since one of my OCs and her OC, (Aleksi), are a couple in this story. Well...after 7 years of hiding it, I finally came out to her, and now...me and prettygirl17 are...well...in love. :) We've been dating now for some time, (mostly in secret), but are ready to admit it to the public. Rest assured, this will NOT affect the updates of either my stories, or hers. We just decided to come clean to you all, our fans. Hehe, I'll admit, it's funny considering how many years I've written romance stories, and yet when I talk about my own romance, I'm just as baffled as Ash. :P Since I am at a loss for words, let's get onto the latest update. **

**-EVAN AAML**

"I'm not getting anywhere doing this".

Caitlin once again found herself walking down yet another silent and empty hallway, continuing the ruse of being a Rocket grunt on patrol. She took pride in her skills as an actress; despite the Rocket takeover, her parents taught her everything in the theater and musical arts. However, regardless of her skills, the urgency she showed was apparent to someone with a skilled eye. Since Ash had tasked her and the rest of Gary's squad with rescuing the rebel POWs, she had done all she could to try and get information. They had yet to run into any other Rockets, which resulted in mixed emotions for the young rebel. While she was glad she didn't have to keep up her front every second, it also meant that there was no one to ask for the information. Most rooms were locked, and she couldn't break with and risk getting noticed by a Rocket, so searching for information that way was out of the question.

And all of this monotony was beginning to make her get lost in thought.

She knew that this was all riding on her, and it was pressure she would rather not have. Gary trusted her to get the information, and while she appreciated the bode of confidence, she was concerned that it was all misplaced. Gary had shown trust in her, and helped her relax when they were on the way to Veridian. Caitlin however still felt scared. Not just in her own life, but now that she was in charge of getting information, she felt that all of the PTA prisoner's lives were hers to bare.

Maybe she should have kept her Pichu earrings after all.

This was nothing like her previous mission. There wasn't nearly as much pressure, no one's life on the line, other than her own. All she had to do before was enter various businesses in a small town to see if they had Rocket influence. An easy undercover job; one she accomplished with flying colors. Now she found herself in a position where she could easily get herself, and everyone around her, killed.

Emily and Gary's boosts of confidence helped, but the only way she'd be able to get over her fear was to save the others and get out of this alive. And every second she failed to find out where her friends were being held, Caitlin lost what little confidence she had.

The lack of confidence must have affected her attention, for when she looked up, she found that she had made it further into the base. Her heart-rate plummeted as she quickly looked around, trying to get a hold of her surroundings. The halls didn't look much different than the one she was in before she spaced out, but it was the lack of rooms that made her nervous. Unlike the other hall, this one only had a couple of doors here and there, and they were heavily secured at that. Caitlin turned around and sighed in relief when she spotted Gary peeking out from around a corner. At least they had followed her. She hoped that they weren't wondering what it was she was thinking spacing out the way she did.

Caitlin quickly gathered herself and turned back around, putting on her Rocket face and moving on. She looked at the doors, analyzing them. The doors were not wooden like the ones she saw before, but rather more like iron or steel. They weren't that thick, but they appeared to be bolted. She could tell just from looking at them that they were locked, and these would be a lot harder to get into than the other doors. However, the fact that they were so fortified made her hopeful. Maybe the rebels were kept in here?

She suddenly was filled with a feeling of ease. This _had_ to be it! They were levels beneath the base, and these doors wouldn't be so fortified for nothing. They had been searching forever, they must have found it by now. All she had to do was get inside and see if the rebels were there. If they were, then she would be safe. She could stop the charade, and she'd be surrounded by people who could protect her. She was in the clear.

All she had to do was get in.

Caitlin debated about using one of her Pokémon, but soon disregarded that thought. Using one would be too loud, and draw attention to the area; not something she wanted to do. Besides, she would run the risk of injuring her allies inside. She looked down to the door handle. It was a typical door handle, with a skeleton keyhole under it. Maybe she could try picking it? Lock-picking wasn't her strong suit, but she knew how to do it. And skeleton keyholes were relatively easy to get through, though she never had to do one this large before.

Caitlin looked to the others down the hall. Gary and a few other rebels continued to watch her, while others looked down the other halls, making sure the coast remained clear. She motioned to the door, to which Gary nodded in response. Caitlin nodded back, and reached into her pocket. She pulled out a metal pick and hook and then looked through the keyhole. She couldn't make out much, the room was relatively dark. She could see what looked like screens, though they were all off. Other than that, nothing. Caitlin then began trying to work on the lock. She twisted the pick around as she tried to grasp the hook onto the latches on the inside of the keyhole, doing her best to keep quiet. But the size of the door threw her off more than she wanted, and she continued to make loud scratching noises again and again. She cursed at herself as she stopped to listen every time she screwed up.

No response.

She sighed and worked on it again. She could feel the latch, it was just a matter of getting the hook onto it. Just a couple more seconds she figured. Her heart raced more and she began to get fidgety. Sitting still was not something she liked doing, especially when it involved so much concentration. Acting was easy, there was concentration, but at least there was movement, action. Here it was just silence.

A silence that soon broke, when the door handle turned.

She gasped as the door swung open, letting out a slight squeal. She tried to hide the pick and hook as she stood up straight, looking straight into the eyes of a Rocket. Her eyes grew wide in shock and fear, there was no way he opened the door coincidentally, he must have heard her. What would he do? She refused to glance to the other rebels, fearing that the Rocket would turn that way as well and notice them. She only hoped that they would intervene soon enough.

Gary watched on nervously. He began to sweat as he thought about their next move. He noticed one of the rebels beside him reach for his sub-machine gun, but he slowly and quietly put his hand over it to push it down. They could easily just charge in for an attack, but if they weren't careful, the Rocket could grab Caitlin as a hostage, and more Rockets would be alerted of their presence. His only hope was to hold on and hope that Caitlin could act her way out of this issue.

The Rocket looked at Caitlin in a mix of curiosity and annoyance. He was a good foot taller than her, and roughly three years older too. He didn't have a large build, but was well-fit, (not shocking considering Team Rocket's strenuous training). He had dark brown eyes that seemed to be almost emotionless, which was something Caitlin never got used to seeing in the Rockets. He wore a light grey attire, which meant he was ranked, making matters worse for her.

"...What were you doing?", the Rocket asked, slowly and casually putting his hand towards his Uzi on his belt. Caitlin knew that if she panicked now, he would surely shoot her. She had to keep her cool. She pushed down her nerves and regained her Rocket-like nature. The Rocket's seemingly laid-back attitude meant she didn't have to act uptight, which helped. She sighed in an annoyed way, throwing her arms up in the air and looking up at the Rocket.

"_Finally_! The damn door was locked, and I was forced to pick the damn thing to get it open!", Caitlin stated. The Rocket raised an eyebrow. _  
_

"And you were picking the lock becaaauuuse...?", the Rocket asked.

"Because I wanted to get in, obviously", Caitlin responded. The Rocket looked skeptical.

"If you wanted to get in, why didn't you just knock?", the Rocket asked, his hand now on the Uzi, but not yet ready to pull it out. It was hard to tell how paranoid Rockets were of people in their own attire, though the fighting going on right now would warrant such a reaction. Caitlin quickly tried to think of a good response. She glanced behind the Rocket to see multiple televisions, all of which were black due to the EMP. That was her excuse.

"Because...I didn't know if you managed to get the security back up and running, didn't want to interrupt you", Caitlin responded. The Rocket nodded as he looked Caitlin up and down, as if taking in her appearance.

"Uh huh...", the Rocket said, clicking his tongue. Caitlin grew more nervous, the Rocket clearly wasn't buying it. But why then was he not alerting the other Rockets? Maybe he knew he couldn't, maybe he was all alone down here. But then why was he not attempting to shoot her? She had to try to instill her innocence.

"Listen, I came down here because Boss Giovanni gave me orders to patrol the halls. The PTA has breached the lower levels, and I'm alerting everyone down here. I wanted to know if the security cameras were back on-line so that we could spot them", Caitlin explained, trying to put in as much urgency and even concern in her voice as possible. There was a moment of silence between the two, the tension was so thick that Caitlin thought she might suffocate in it if the Rocket didn't kill her first. Why hadn't Gary and the others stepped in yet? The Rocket looked on, still not showing signs of true belief. Caitlin knew that if she showed even the slightest sign of nervousness her cover would be blown. She looked for an excuse to get out of there. She sighed and turned around.

"Fine! Don't believe me, see what I care, I'm sure Boss Giovanni will give you some punishment if the PTA doesn't kill us first", Caitlin said. She was about to walk away when she suddenly felt a hand grab her arm. Her eyes widened in shock. She couldn't help but shudder at the touch, a move that might just have cost her her life. She couldn't bare to turn around and reveal her fear, and just stood there, expecting to hear the sound of a gun clicking soon enough. Instead however, she felt herself being turned around by force. She looked up to see the Rocket, staring her down.

"You're saying these instructions...came from the Boss?", the Rocket said. Caitlin could only nod in response. There was that silence again. That very silence that Caitlin detested. Her heart felt like it would explode any second now. She tried her best to hold back her urge to gulp, tried her best to not sweat. The Rocket merely stared at her for a moment or two before finally nodding.

"Alright, the radios are still broken, but I'll see if I can find a way to let the other Rockets know about the PTA, maybe a Pokémon messenger or something", the Rocket said, relaxing and moving his hand away from the Uzi. Caitlin felt a heavy height lifted from her shoulders. It had worked. Down the hall, (and now hiding more), Gary sighed in relief as well. Though he could only just make out their conversation, he could tell that the Rocket had bought it. Hopefully he would enter the room and close the door behind him. Then they could decide from there whether they should try to take him down, or let him be and slip by. Caitlin nodded to the Rocket.

"Sounds good, you should get on that", Caitlin said. The Rocket stepped forward.

"Yeah, I will...after, that is...when you tell me who you _really _are", the Rocket said, putting his hand once again on his gun. Caitlin's eyes widened in shock and her heart rate skyrocketed. She felt the air in her lungs leave her, and she was short on breath.

"You know, I'll admit, you had me going there for a second...using Boss Giovanni as a way to get me to believe you, that was clever. Would have worked too...for any other Rocket. I'm sure you used it effectively on some of the other Rockets down here. But you see, the thing about _me_ is, I'm in charge of the files for Rockets stationed at this base. I recognize every single face, even the new ones sent here recently for the fighting...and I _definitely _don't recognize yours", the Rocket explained. Caitlin could only stare at the Rocket in shock, words failing her. She was too scared to even reply. "So then...are you one of the PTA?".

Hearing this, Gary panicked. Caitlin's cover had been blown. He had to hurry up and get her out of there before it was too late. They couldn't risk a Pokémon attack with Caitlin so close to the Rocket. Maybe if they attacked quickly, the Rocket would be surprised enough to give Caitlin time to run away. It was their only shot. Gary turned to the others.

"Caitlin's in trouble! Emily, you and half the rebels stay back here and come in if things get hairy, the rest of you come with me! Go! Go! Go!", Gary yelled before bolting out from cover and down the hall. Several of the rebels followed suit while Emily and the others stayed back apprehensively. The Rocket and Caitlin turned to see the oncoming group.

"Guess that answers my question!", the Rocket said. Without hesitation, he quickly grabbed Caitlin around the neck by his arm and pulled off his Uzi, aiming it at her head. "COME ANY CLOSER AND I SHOOT!", the Rocket yelled forcefully. Gary and the other rebels skidded across the floor, halting as quickly as they could. Caitlin tried to pull herself free, but the Rocket's grip was tight, and her fear made her feel weak. The gun was pressed hard against her skull, the only "comfort" coming from her hat between her head and the barrel. The Rocket looked only slightly nervous, realizing he had the upper hand. He wasn't a grunt, he knew how to control himself better.

"If you were smart, _Rocket_, you'd let her go", Gary said, keeping his cool. The Rocket smirked and chuckled lightly.

"So what? You can go ahead and shoot me when she's away? No, no. I won't let her go until I am certain that I can get out", the Rocket said.

"So that you can alert the other Rockets?", Gary said. The Rocket gave a half-smile.

"Well no plan's perfect", the Rocket replied.

"You know we can't let you warn the other Rockets", Gary said.

"Well sorry if I'm not compliant, I don't exactly feel like dying today", the Rocket said. Gary tried to take a step forward, but the Rocket pressed his gun harder against Caitlin's skull. From the end of the hall, Emily watched in concern. She couldn't get a good view of the Rocket because everyone was standing in the way. She tried to maneuver around so that she could get a better look without giving away her position. Eventually, she managed to find a suitable spot and looked at the Rocket. However, something about him seemed...familiar.

Caitlin struggled to get air into her lungs. The Rocket was clearly strong, just barely giving her enough comfort to breath and nothing more. If she let go of his arms, there was a chance she could black out. She had to act fast. Gary and the others wouldn't try to shoot until she was out of the way, and the Rocket had no intention of letting go of her anytime soon. She tried to reach for her gun on her belt, but she didn't have enough leverage to slide the holster strap off of it in her position. She was beginning to feel light-headed, she had to concentrate. She then used her other arm and tried to reach for her Pokéballs. She could just touch them! As quietly as she could, she pressed one.

The Rocket glanced in shock when a white light suddenly appeared from Caitlin's belt, (hurting his eyes for just a moment or two), and flew just behind him. Knowing that if he turned around to see it, he'd be a target for the rebels behind him, all he could do was manage to turn his head to see the white light taking form. Eventually, a Ninetales appeared. It saw it's master being choked, and growled. It opened its mouth, flames appearing. Gary smirked.

"Well Rocket, looks like you're surrounded. What are you going to do now?", Gary asked. The Rocket glanced at the Ninetales, and then to the rebels. If he turned around to shoot the Ninetales, then he'd be shot in the back, and if he didn't, he'd be burned alive. He didn't know what to do. He held onto Caitlin tightly, knowing that she was his one ticket out of this mess.

Emily meanwhile continued to stare at the Rocket. The constant block of her view made it hard to get a definitive look at him. Eventually, she decided to pick up Shinx, (who had been by her feet thus far), and hold it up high to get a better view. Shinx looked at the assailant, and seemed to identify him. It looked down to Emily.

"SHINX! SHINX!", Shinx said. Emily looked back to the Rocket. Shinx wouldn't get so excited unless it recognized the person. His uniform and the distance made it hard to tell, but that voice...it sounded like...!

"I guess then...I'll just have to GO DOWN SWINGING!", the Rocket yelled, aiming his Uzi at Gary. Before either the Rocket or rebels could open fire, Emily rushed out, her hands waving in the air.

"NO! STOP! DON'T SHOOT!", Emily yelled. She pushed her way through the rebels and to the front, holding Gary's weapon down. The Rocket and the rebels looked on in shock, both of which too dumbfounded by this sudden action to do anything.

"Emily! What are you doing!?", Gary asked. Emily held her grip on the weapon.

"Wait!", Emily said. She looked at Gary for a couple more seconds, making sure he understood. She then slowly turned half-way to face the Rocket. "...It's been awhile...hasn't it?". The Rocket, once finally getting a good look at the woman in front of him, gasped.

"...Emily?", the Rocket asked. Emily nodded. There was a moment of silence between the two of them. None of the rebels understood how Emily knew who this Rocket was, nor why she would risk Caitlin's life. Gary watched on, curious, but also weary. He was prepared to step in at the slightest sign of danger. Eventually, the Rocket spoke next. "I suspected that you might have joined the PTA...after what happened", the Rocket said, less afraid of his situation, but none the less holding onto Caitlin and his gun tightly.

"I wanted to do some good...they were my best chance at doing that", Emily said. Another brief moment of silence.

"...That was pretty brave of you...running out in-between us like that. The old you wouldn't have made such a move", the Rocket said. Emily turned fully around, now facing the Rocket directly. She couldn't help but give a small smile at those words.

"I've changed a bit since you last saw me...I'm not so self-conscious now", Emily said. She then motioned to Caitlin. "Do you mind...letting go of my friend?". The Rocket looked to the other rebels suspiciously.

"How do I know your friends won't just shoot me when I do?", the Rocket asked. Emily looked reassuringly to him.

"You have my word...I won't let them...please", Emily said. With the rebels all watching in anticipation, the Rocket looked to Caitlin, then to Emily, and slowly against his better judgement let her go. Caitlin dropped to her knees, gasping for breath as she reached for her neck. Her Ninetales approached her and nudged her with its nose, wondering if she was alright. The Rocket then took a couple steps forward, which caused the rebels to raise their weapons in defense. Emily turned around and faced them.

"No, it's ok...", Emily said. Gary looked at Emily. He could see that she was serious over this. This Rocket meant something to her, though what he did not know. But he had trust in Emily, so he turned to the others and had them lower their weapons; (which they did apprehensively). The Rocket looked relieved.

"Emily...who is this?", Gary asked. Emily turned to look at the Rocket. He couldn't help but smile.

"This...this is Adam. He...was my boyfriend, before I joined the PTA", Emily explained. The group of rebels looked at Emily in shock. Most of them did not know her all that well, only knowing her position in the PTA at the base. Only some knew her at a more personal level, or so they thought. Caitlin, who was still holding her neck but by this time had caught up to her breathing, was stunned at the revelation. Gary raised an eyebrow, but did not react as openly as the others did. Perhaps it was his character that prevented him from showing such extremes in emotion, but it made Emily nervous regardless. Gary was a region leader, one of the people Emily was most hesitant about opening up about her past to. On top of that, his scientific mindset would analyze the pros and cons of this sudden revelation. But the situation called for it, and now all she could do was wait and see what judgement would be passed onto her.

The hall was silent for quite some time, only a few murmured whispers among the rebels could be heard. Emily could barely stand the tension, but stood her ground. There was no escaping this now. She had hidden from it for a long time, and managed to keep it under wraps until she admitted the truth to Angel and Dawn the other day. But now it was out in the open. Finally, Gary spoke up.

"So then...all this time...", Gary said. Emily nodded, knowing what he was going to say.

"Y-yes. I grew up as a Rocket baby. I fled from them and then joined the PTA", Emily said. Gary nodded, putting the information together like a scientist would. Some of the rebels looked annoyed, angered even, for her keeping such a secret from them. Caitlin was more stunned than anything. However, Gary, (who seemed to be lost in deep thought), was the one Emily was most worried about. One snap of his fingers and she could end up dead with Adam. But, for whatever reason, Gary decided to merely nod.

"...Alright then. You know as well as I do what we might have done if we had known, so I can see why you'd keep this a secret. It might make the others nervous. However, you have more than proved yourself over the years, and if you _were _in fact a spy, I think we would have found out by now", Gary said. Adam sighed at the news. Emily couldn't begin to describe the amount of relief and joy she felt with that burden off of her shoulders. The truth was out, and Gary still trusted her. She wasn't sure how the others would feel about her, but as long as she had their commanding officer on her side, it didn't matter. She would just have to win over their trust by helping win this war.

By this time, Caitlin had stood up, recovering from her near chock-out. Adam turned to the young woman.

"Sorry about that...but I think you understand why I did that...", Adam said. It was obvious that he wasn't used to apologizing, but to be fair, how would one apologize for almost killing you? Caitlin looked annoyed, but she was alive and safe, so she just nodded, petting Ninetales and thanking it for its help.

"So then, what do we do about you?", Gary asked. Emily looked nervous, stepping over a foot or so to get in-between Gary and Adam.

"He can help us!", Emily blurted out. Gary, the rebels, and even Adam himself, looked at Emily with confusion.

"Emily! You KNOW I can't just do that!", Adam said in a loud whisper.

"How so?", Gary asked, ignoring his comment.

"Adam worked communications with me when I was in training, he has all the skills I have, except he actually KNOWS this base", Emily said. She then turned to Adam with pleading eyes. "Adam...please. We need your help bringing down Team Rocket", Emily said. Adam looked conflicted. He put his hand behind his head, getting frustrated over having to make a decision.

"Emily, you're killing me! You KNOW what'll happen if they find out I helped you!", Adam said.

"I know Adam, but if we stop them, then you'll be safe. This war will be over!", Emily explained.

"It's not that simple Emily. You and your people have NO IDEA what you're getting yourselves into by fighting us here. I wouldn't be surprised if your teams were already dead", Adam said. He then looked over to the now scared and angry rebels. "...Sorry".

"They're not dead, and we have a shot at this Adam. But we need your help! Your teammates have captured a lot of our friends, and we need to find out where they are. Please Adam...", Emily said, not stepping closer to him. He looked into her eyes. He could easily see the pleading, but there was more than that. He remembered way back when, when those blue-green eyes were too often filled with fear, worry, and regret. He had done all he could to cheer her up back then, though it was a lost cause. But now, there were no signs of those emotions. Instead, it was replaced by something else...confidence. And it was something he couldn't ignore. He growled in frustration, but nodded.

"Alright! Alright!", Adam said. Emily smiled, something even Gary had to admit was a rare sight. Adam made his way back into the room he came out from, with the others following close behind. The room was small, most of the rebels stayed outside so that it wouldn't be crowded. The front wall was covered in several television screens, all of which were dead. There were lit oil lamps scattered on tables and hanging up throughout the room, and a flashlight was on, resting on the controls for the cameras. Adam picked up the flashlight and walked over to a set of lockers against the left wall.

"I'll be honest Emily...I didn't know if I'd ever see you again", Adam said as he opened the locker and began rummaging through it. It appeared to be tons of rolled up papers, possibly maps or blueprints.

"Well I didn't think I'd ever be attacking Team Rocket. Sometimes I surprise even myself", Emily said. Adam couldn't help but chuckle.

"Still haven't lost that sarcasm I see", Adam said. He turned to Gary with a smirk. "Be honest, how much of a pain in the ass has she been?". A kick to the back of his leg ended the topic. Eventually, he brought out a couple rolled up papers.

"I wonder how your parents would have reacted to seeing you in the PTA Emily. They always knew you were rebellious, but I don't think they'd expect you to go THIS far", Adam said as he placed the papers on the controls.

"Adam...I have to ask...my parents, are they...?", Emily asked, her voice hinting at anxiety and nervousness. Adam smiled, calming her down.

"No, they're not dead. You knocking out your Rocket squad and fleeing definitely raised some suspicions, but your parents were loyal, and there was no solid proof of their involvement in you going AWOL. So after the investigation, your parents were transferred to the Johto base in Azalea Town. I last heard from them...hmm, what, two weeks ago?" Adam explained. Emily sighed in relief, at least her parents were safe. Hopefully after the fighting, the Rockets in Johto would surrender, and she could go visit them.

Adam unrolled one of the papers onto the control panel and looked over it with his flashlight. He pointed at different spots of what appeared to be a map of the building, trying to figure out something. He shook his head to himself and looked at another part of the prints. Gary approached him, looking at the paper as well.

"What are you looking for?", Gary asked.

"Trying to figure out which part of the base your friends are likely being held", Adam said. He sighed and threw the paper down, letting it partially roll back up as it fell to the ground. He then grabbed another paper and unrolled it. The ends of the paper wouldn't stay down, but Shinx jumped off of Emily's shoulder and hopped onto the panel, holding down one side with its body. Adam smiled and gave Shinx a pat on the head, which Shinx appreciated. He then looked over the paper. Eventually, he spotted something.

"Well...if your friends aren't already dead, there are a couple spots where they might be", Adam explained. Gary and Emily approached the paper, which was another map of the base, though an older one. "Here is a typical holding room, one of our newer ones. It's near the back-side of the base, but lower down".

"Brian and the others came through the base at the back-end to detonate the EMP, that might be where they're being held", Emily explained. Adam turned to her.

"So they were the ones that shut down the power. Well, it's close to where that bomb went off, so if they were anywheres, I'd imagine it's there, though I won't lie to you, the odds of us keeping them alive after that are less than likely", Adam explained.

"We can't assume that, we need to find out", Emily said. Adam shrugged, knowing that there was no changing her mind. He then pointed to another spot on the map.

"This here is another holding area. It was actually a dungeon we discovered buried when we expanded the base lower into the Earth. This is where we...", Adam said, before stopping.

"What?", Emily asked. Adam hesitated.

"I...don't know if I should tell you", Adam said. This of course led Emily and Gary to make up their own idea as to what Adam was referring to. Emily grew nervous and Gary leaned over to get a better look at the map.

"How do we get there from here?", Gary asked. Adam pointed to a path.

"You need to take this hall and go all the way down here, then take a right and continue on through. There shouldn't be much security in the way in terms of soldiers, but there are a lot of doors to go through, some possibly bolted up tight. It'll take you about, ten minutes or so to get there from here", Adam explained.

"We don't have a choice. This is where we'll go first. This is the most likely spot where Dawn and the others would be. We'll get to them, and then head over to the holding cell where Brian and the others might be", Gary explained. Emily nodded. But before they got moving, Gary kept looking at the map. Adam turned to him.

"Something else you're looking for?", Adam asked. There was a moment of silence before Gary finally spoke up.

"Adam...where are the prisoners being held? The ones you had before we arrived? And...further more...where's Giovanni?", Gary asked. Emily, having nearly forgotten about looking for that, turned to Adam, hopeful that he would answer them. He however looked nervous.

"Prisoners...I...don't know what you mean. And Giovanni is on the third floor, in his office", Adam said. Gary stared Adam down, as if reading him.

"Adam, please. We know the Rockets are holding people here, and we know some of them people being held.", Emily said.

"And we already found your little Giovanni stand-in. We mean the REAL Giovanni", Gary threw in. Adam continued to look nervous.

"I honestly don't know what you're talking about. We don't have any prisoners, and Giovanni is upstairs!", Adam replied. Gary began to grow annoyed. He reached for a Pokéball.

"You're driving my patience Adam! Where are they being held!? Where's your boss!?", Gary asked. Emily, seeing that this could escalate too quickly, stepped in. She grabbed Adam gently and looked into his eyes.

"Adam...please...where are they?", Emily asked. Adam looked nervous. It was bad enough that he was betraying his people, but to give away that valuable information...he could only WISH for death if the others found out. However, he was in a tight position, and had no other way out. Adam sighed.

"Alright...the prisoners WERE being held here, in the third holding cell. They were going to be...euthanized, before we caught wind of your attack. The others moved them to the basement...but I don't know where down there, or if they're still alive", Adam explained.

"That's good enough, we'll tell Ash to head down there", Emily stated.

"As for Boss Giovanni...he's...", Adam began, before stopping. It was clear that he was nervous. The mere image of his leader in his head made him shudder. Gary never got over how much of an influence in fear Giovanni had on his own people, let alone the civilian populace. Eventually, Adam caved in. "He's in his hidden office...it's a secure room that ONLY accessible by this path. You'll actually have to go through the basement to get to him anyway", he explained, pointing out the path. Gary nodded, then turned to Emily.

"Ok, contact Ash, tell him what we found out, and direct him to the prisoners and Giovanni. Then we'll head off to find Dawn and the others", Gary said. Emily nodded. Gary handed her the map and Shinx jumped up onto her shoulder. But before she left, she looked to Adam, leaned down, and kissed him on the cheek.

"Thank you", Emily whispered, before turning on a heel and leaving the room. Gary ignored the kiss and turned to Adam.

"I suppose I should thank you too..Adam", Gary said, showing a slight sign of resentment, but none the less grateful. Adam nodded.

"So then...what happens now?", Adam asked, clearly suspicious and afraid. Gary could tell that he was ready to reach for his gun if it came down to it. So instead, he gave him an alternative.

"Well...you've already betrayed your boss and your comrades...might as well come with us and go the full mile", Gary said. Adam scoffed, finding it to be a joke, though he knew better. There was a moment of pause before he shrugged.

"Well...I'm gonna die anyway...might as well die with Emily", Adam said.

**And that will do it for now! Thank you all for being patient! I managed to finish this update some time ago, but had to make some changes and edits, and unfortunately classes slowed my progress down considerably. I hope however that you found this chapter enjoyable! Next chapter will see us return to Pallet, to see how the others are fairing off against Natalie and the Team Rocket army. I would like to end this chapter with a shout-out to the American Winter Olympic team, who came home with the second most medals! Congrats to you all! I would also like to give a shout-out to AAML SQUAD. This group of young writers are working together on their own story, and have come so far in such a short time! Please be sure to check out their newest story, you won't be disappointed! ;) And finally, I would like to give one final shout-out to prettygirl17. I LOVE YOU PRETTY! X3 I will be on Spring Break starting St. Patrick's Day, (the 17th), and going on till the 23rd, so hopefully that will give me time to write some more! Until next time everyone!**

**sincerely,  
evan, a fan of aaml -EVAN AAML**


	100. Chapter 100

**All things considered, I suppose I shouldn't be surprised if you all have given up on me. If you are still out there, patiently waiting for my updates, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. For those of you who do not follow my Twitter updates, I have been ill for the past 2-3 months. I won't go into heavy details, but so that you all are aware of it, I had a staph infection which plagued several parts of my body. For those of you who know what that is, I apologize for the visuals. For those of you who do not, please don't look it up, save yourself the mental scaring. It is because of this, coupled with the final month or so of college classes for the semester, (and job hunting *sigh*), that has caused my postponed updates. While I am currently on Summer vacation and, (as of now), in remission from the infection, this does NOT mean that more things won't come up. But rest assured, while my writing has slowed down considerably, I AM still working on "R". I apologize once again for the delays. Now then, I hope you all enjoy Chapter 100 of "R"!**

**-EVAN AAML**

"I hope this Hell is almost over".

Drew carefully walked down the stairs, keeping his hand on his Pokéballs should they encounter enemy resistance. But with the dark and silent atmosphere, his mind could not help but drift off. Typically, when he actually _had _time to drift off, he would think of new strategies for the war, sometimes ideas for Pokémon contests, (should they ever make a return), and once in a while of _her_. He was thinking of her at this moment in fact, but not to the degree he'd want.

Now he was concerned for her very sanity.

Given the situation, Drew supposed that he couldn't blame May for wanting to exact revenge on the Rocket. Brenna's sacrifice was something that would leave a lasting impression on him for the rest of his life, and it certainly would for May as well. While he would probably argue over it, the idea of killing the wounded man came to him as well, if only for a moment. But Drew had that weakness about him. Everyone has some kind of weakness, war brings it out of them. Drew's was a considerable lack of emotion towards things or people. It wasn't something he trained himself to do, it just sort of...happened. It could be argued that this was a strength, not having the concern for emotions on the battlefield. But if this was a strength, it was a double-edged sword at best.

May however, wasn't supposed to be this weak.

May was stronger than he was. He knew it. And deep down, he felt that most of the rebels knew it. May should have been the sole region leader of Hoenn. He didn't understand why he was made co-region leader. But with the years of fighting and death surrounding them, he was now beginning to see the reason. It was to balance one another out. While Drew's weakness of a lack of emotion, May's was having too much. She connected with all of the rebels she worked with, even ones she only just met. It was natural for her to make friends quickly, she always had. But when you're in a war, making friends with everyone can have its downside. May had to bury more than one of her friends over the years. She's seen them shot, burned, tortured, and left broken in more ways than one. And through all the years of seeing this over and over again, it began to change her.

Her actions upstairs were the results of this. The old May would never have given revenge a thought. She never would have held a gun to the man's head, never would have wanted to punish him in such a way. But with the memories of all her friends dying at the hands of Team Rocket, slowly but surely she was beginning to lose that innocence about her. This was what scared Drew the most, and it probably scared May too.

Before he realized it, they had reached the bottom of the stairs. All there was at the bottom was a closed-door. He looked behind him briefly. Nick was right behind him, his gun at the ready. Sawyer stood nervously behind him, and May, who seemed distracted, was at the rear. Drew turned back to the door and gripped one of his Pokéballs tight. He reached for the door handle, but soon found himself pulling it back in pain. He winced as he immediately held his hand.

"What's wrong?", Nick asked.

"The door handle's hot, burned my hand", Drew stated. Sawyer sniffed the air.

"I do smell a faint odor, smoke", Sawyer said.

"Well, the Rocket did say that they had scorchers who burn parts of enemy bases, and this leads to a supply closet", Nick explained. Drew grew concerned. While losing any form of supplies was a heavy loss, it was nothing compared to the chances of sections of the base burning down. He faced the door and took a stance.

"Alright, brace yourselves", Drew said. Without any hesitation, he lifted his leg up and kicked the door. The damage from the fire made the door weaker, and it was forced open. Nick and Sawyer immediately aimed their weapons into the room as Drew backed up, weary of possible enemies inside. However, there were none.

The room was charred to a crisp. Crates of supplies were smoldering, piles of ash were all that were left of many of them. Here and there, a few embers remained, but for the most part, the room was empty and dark. Drew stepped into the room once seeing that no one was there. He could see that the door on the other end of the hall was closed. This fire was suffocated, that's why it didn't spread. It literally took out all the oxygen on itself. One more reason why he was thankful that the base was made mostly out of concrete and steel.

He approached one of the charred crates and kicked it, which broke easily under the force. The contents inside looked to be paper material, which began to burn once more due to the coals being stirred. Drew sighed. A lot of these supplies were hard copy back-up files that Brenna had on the base and the PTA. Unfortunately, with the library and Brenna gone, these were the only ones left. It could take years to replace the papers on Team Rocket, and close to impossible to replace files on deceased members of the PTA.

The others entered the room. Knowing that they had to keep moving, Nick ushered towards the door that lead to the hall.

"There's nothing we can do about these now...out we go", Nick said. Drew sighed once again and nodded. He was right.

"Be careful up ahead, we don't know what to expect", Drew said, warning his comrades.

"Roger", Nick replied. Holding his machine gun out, he slowly reached for the door handle and tapped it lightly with his hand. This one wasn't as hot as the other door. He grasped it, took a breath in, and opened the door. Sawyer was standing to the side of the door, her weapon out as well, making sure to cover Nick's blind-side down the hall. Nick stepped out into the hall and looked around. He was silent for a moment or two before lowering his weapon.

"Drew, you're gonna want to see this", Nick said. Drew stepped out into the hall with Nick and looked around. The hall was a battleground. Scattered bodies from both sides littered the ground. Some out in the open, some against the wall. A couple of bodies of Pokémon could also be seen, bullet holes in various parts of their bodies. Blood and burn marks covered the parts of the hall that the bodies didn't. Drew sighed heavily.

"Drew...?", a voice called out. Drew turned around to see May coming out to the hall. Drew grew nervous, uncertain of how she would react to the carnage. It had only been a couple minutes since she had almost murdered the Rocket upstairs. While she had calmed down slightly from her emotions, she was still on the edge, and Drew didn't want to risk her mental well-being. But it would be impossible for them to get around this carnage without seeing it. Drew, holding his breath, watched as she stepped out into the hall and looked around.

She tried her best to keep collective of the situation, but this was more difficult than she could have imagined. Brenna's death set her over the edge, and now seeing any dead allies seemed to trigger something in her that she thought she was able to repress for years as Region Leader. Despite the years of seeing dead friends and allies, it seemed like now it was catching up to her; and it was the worst time for it.

Sawyer followed her out soon afterwards, and her reactions were similar. She covered her mouth, knowing that she shouldn't let her emotions get the better of her, but finding it difficult to control. The men looked on, letting it all soak in for them, and hoping that their mental states would handle it.

"They must have been from part of Hunter's group. They probably saw these Rockets trying to burn the supplies and fought them...", Nick said. Drew nodded.

"I'd say so, look at the Rockets. Some of them have small flame-throwers on their backs. They were probably ambushed, but had the advantage in firepower", Drew added, noting the weapon differences between the groups. May looked down on the ground beside them as the others conversed. A male rebel's body was sprawled out on the floor, a gunshot wound to the chest revealing the cause of death. His arm was extended out, probably happening naturally from the fall to the floor. However, a mere foot or two away, was the body of a Teddiursa. It's paw was extended out towards the arm of the human, as if it was reaching out to him.

The Pokémon was trying to reach its trainer before it died.

Drew and the others looked on as May slowly approached the bodies. She stood over them, merely looking for a minute or so. Eventually, she slowly bent down, reaching for the small bear Pokémon's paw. With care, she pulled the small Pokémon over until its paw was over the trainer's hand. May then placed the paw in the trainer's hand. She looked at the scene before her for another second or two before slowly standing up. Not a word was spoken of the action. She looked at the two fallen allies, seeing that, at least in death, the can be together once more. She nodded and turned to Drew.

"...Are you ok?", Drew asked. Nick and Sawyer looked on, wondering what her response would be. She stared at him, a look in her eyes that showed a mix of sadness, and determination.

"I'm fine...Let's go find Eli", May stated. She tried to fight back tears, being successful for the most part, but she at least was keeping in control. Drew could see the difficulty she was having in doing so, but had to trust her. He nodded, not wanting to press the matter further.

As Drew and the others tried to find their way towards Eli, Hunter, Catie, and Trent were one step ahead of them. It had been quiet for them since they managed to get into the basement, and they were finally able to get their energy back. Hunter was beginning to walk with his walking stick now, to give his leg as much support as they could during this brief moment of peace. The group walked down the hall, and as they did, Catie stopped to look at a sign that was on the wall.

"This is the empty storage area, we're getting close", Catie said, noting the directional signs.

"Let's hurry then. The faster we get Eli, the faster we can get to the others upstairs", Trent stated.

"Agreed, let's move", Hunter said. They began to move a bit faster now as they walked down the hall. It wasn't long before soon, they could hear noises. Hunter was the first to stop.

"Did you hear that?", Hunter asked. Catie and Trent both stopped to listen.

"I don't hear anything", Trent said, trying to listen carefully. Another noise echoed, this one Catie noticed as well.

"Wait, I hear it too", Catie said. Trent still could not hear it, but assumed they were telling the truth.

"What do you think it is?", Trent asked. Another noise. Hunter listened carefully. It was a variation of noises, some of it sounding like banging; which could have been coming from upstairs. But the other noises seemed to be closer. It changed in pitch from time to time, but seemed to be like...

screaming.

"We need to move...", Hunter said, showing more urgency in his voice. Catie and Trent looked at him in concern and confusion. "...NOW!", Hunter yelled. The three then began to run down the hall as quickly as they could. With their weapons out, they soon could clearly make out the yelling.

"I hear it now!", Trent said.

"It could be coming from Eli's room!", Hunter stated. As if on cue, a shriek echoed down the hall, followed by an explosion. The group stopped in freight as one of the doors to their right blew off from the hinges. A body flew out with the door and crashed against the wall opposite where the door once faced. Seeing the body no longer moving once it landed on the ground, the others quickly made their way over. They panicked, thinking it could be Eli. But they soon breathed a small sigh of relief when they noticed that it was a Rocket's body, not Eli's. The scene was a grotesque one; the body was nearly in half, the Rocket's surprised face frozen in time. Trent looked sickened to the sight, covering his mouth but not being able to look away. Hunter and Catie meanwhile turned to the now open room. They stepped over the wooden shards and entered the room.

The floor was scattered with Rocket bodies, all of which bloody in their own way. Sitting on a crate next to his desk, polishing a rather large Double-Barrel Shotgun was Eli. Smoke was slowly leaving the barrel, and he seemed to have little emotion towards what he had just down. His Pokémon, Aggron and Magcargo, stood by his side, ready to protect their trainer from more attackers. Catie looked on with a mix of fear and shock. Hunter, while also surprised, was also impressed.

"...E-Eli?", Catie asked. Eli looked up to the two young trainers before him, before looking back down to his shotgun, which he continued to wipe with his white rag.

"I was wondering when someone would show up", Eli said.

"We had some interference", Hunter explained, looking at the bodies around them.

"I imagined as much. These _Rockets _here came in, trying to steal the supplies and burn the rest. Felt they could overtake an "Old Geezer", like me...They used words like "Faggot"...I do _not _approve of such vulgar", Eli said, showing signs of controlled anger. Catie gulped, never knowing this side of Eli existed. Hunter couldn't help but smirk.

"Guess you taught them a lesson then huh?", Hunter said. Eli looked up to him.

"...Indeed", Eli said. He then stood up, lowering his weapon and approaching the others. "So then, you came to get the supplies to the others outside?".

"Actually, we came to save you...though it looks like we didn't need to", Hunter said.

"We also came to make sure that the Rockets didn't get their hands on the supplies down here", Catie threw in.

"Rest assured, I had no intention on just letting them take what they want. But I agree. As much as I want to save these supplies for the rebels, there's just too much risk with all these Rockets here in Pallet", Eli replied.

"So then, we torch what we can't carry?", Hunter asked. Eli shook his head.

"No, then we're doing what Team Rocket wants anyway. And creating a fire in this room with this much wood could make it spread all across the basement. I have a way to seal the room, making it impossible for the Rockets to get in", Eli said. The two rebels looked curious at the words. Eli and his Pokémon began to walk passed the young rebels and out of the room. Seeing this, Hunter and Catie quickly followed. They joined Trent outside, who was now beginning to recover from the gruesome sight of the dead Rocket. When everyone was in the hall, Eli faced the entrance to the room. He then turned to Aggron. "Alright, same as the other side of the room".

Aggron nodded and stepped forward. The rebels watched as Aggron suddenly stomped on the ground. The impact of the stomp created a small earthquake, which raised the floor and covered the entrance to the room with jagged rocks and concrete. When the rumbling stopped and the dust settled, the rebels looked at the heavily secured wall.

"We did this to the other end of the supply room too. It would take them longer than they have time for to get through here, even with Pokémon. And we'll add another layer of defense here...just in case", Eli said. He then began to walk down the hall, which caused the rebels to once again quickly follow. When they were some distance away, he turned to his Magcargo. "Let's give the Rockets a little lava path shall we?".

Magcargo nodded and slithered forward. It opened its mouth and unleashed a torrent of lava, which spilled over the floor of the hall near the now barricaded entrance. Magcargo stopped and Eli nodded.

"The lava will last for a while. It won't stop the Rockets, but it'll slow them down even more", Eli said. He then pulled out two Pokéballs and returned his Pokémon. "Alright then, you youngin's lead the way. I'm not as fast as I used to be, so forgive me".

"It's fine, I'm not as fast as I used to be either", Hunter said. He then turned to Catie and Trent. "Let's hurry up and get back to Luke and Logan. The squads will need us if the Rockets come back".

"What about May and the others? They might need our help checking on Brenna", Trent noted. Hunter sighed.

"Unfortunately, we need to focus on the priorities. Seeing the Rockets get this far down into the base means they could be anywhere by now. We took a big risk separating ourselves as long as we did, we can't afford to do it any longer. May and the others will be fine. They'll get Brenna, and meet us back at the entrance. For now, we need to get moving", Hunter explained. Trent didn't like the idea of leaving May and the others on their own, but he could not argue with Hunter's logic. He nodded in agreement.

"Then let's get moving", Catie said. The four of them then quickly made their way back down the hall. Their urgency in their step allowed them to make up for lost time, and they were able to quickly reach the stairs that led to the main level. Knowing that they had narrowly avoided Rockets when they came down here, they readied their weapons and became more alert. Hunter, who was at the front, slowly opened up the door, his machine gun barrel aimed out to the area. As he looked around, suddenly, a beeping came from Trent's Pokénav. Hunter and the others looked to him as he quickly pulled it out and answered the call.

They were welcomed to the sound of gunfire from the other end of the line.

"TRENT! YOU GUYS THERE!?", Luke yelled. Trent gasped.

"Luke! What's going on!?", Trent asked.

"TEAM ROCKET CAME BACK! THEY CIRCLED AROUND OUR BACKS! THEY MUST HAVE FOLLOWED SOME OF OUR SQUADS BACK TO US! WE'RE HOLDING THEM OFF AS BEST WE CAN, BUT WE'RE SURROUNDED!", Luke explained. The Pokénav then turned as Luke focused on the Rockets in front of him. Though neither his face, nor the faces of the Rockets across from him could be seen, they could see Luke pulling out his Colt Revolvers and firing them at the enemy. In the background, firing at Rockets with his Winchester Repeater, was Logan. He fired a couple shots, ducked down, and saw the Pokénav.

"WE CAN'T SEEM TO GET A HOLD OF BRENNA OR MAY'S SQUAD EITHER! I DON'T KNOW IF THEY'RE IN TROUBLE, BUT EVERYTHING'S GOING DOWN THE SHITTER HERE!", Logan yelled. "SO MOVE ALONG AND GET HERE ASAP!".

"We hear you loud and clear, we're on the way!", Hunter said. Trent then turned off the Pokénav.

"He said they couldn't get a hold of the others, are they in trouble?", Catie asked, concerned.

"I won't lie, they could be. But right now, we need to focus on the others. May and Drew would kill us anyways if we chose to help them over the rebels", Hunter explained. "Let's hurry. The coast is clear here, we need to book it".

With that, Hunter opened the door fully, and the rebels rushed out into the hall and towards the entrance. Passing by corners, they kept their weapons and Pokémon at the ready, but found there to be no Rockets; save the ones who were killed and left on the ground. The others were either at the entrance or elsewhere in the base. Despite Hunter's injury and Eli's age, they were able to keep up the pace and move quickly through the corridors. They expected to hear the sounds of their comrades fighting any moment now. However, the only noise they could hear was the pounding of their feet on the floor.

And a group quickly coming their way.

Hunter and the others stopped in their tracks, nearly toppling over each other in the process. The sounds of feet running towards them made their hearts skip a beat.

"Team Rocket!?", Trent asked.

"Most likely", Hunter said, aiming his weapon down the hall ahead of them.

"Let them come, they'll soon see that the PTA is not to be trifled with!", Eli stated with power to his voice, aiming his shotgun down the hall as well. The sounds of the running grew louder and louder. It appeared that it was a small group of people, maybe four to five people. This was good, it meant that catching them by surprise could let them take them out before they pose a threat. But regardless, Hunter was nervous. They were in the open, and every second they weren't heading towards the others were seconds where they could be dying. With sweat beading down his face, he placed his finger on the trigger, ready to fire at the first person who came around the corner.

The first being a person with recognizable green hair.

Hunter gasped and immediately lowered his weapon upon seeing Drew skidding to a halt, seeing weapons drawn on him. Nick and Sawyer, their weapons drawn as well, also panicked and lowered their firearms. Tensions were high, but they were relieved to avoid accidental team killing.

"Drew! May! You guys are alright!", Hunter exclaimed.

"Hunter!? What are you guys doing here!?", Drew asked, both relieved and concerned at the same time.

"We realized that several rebels were on their own, so we split off into small squads to do search and rescues, we got Eli from the basement", Hunter explained.

"We were just on our way to help him, we're glad you're alright Eli", Sawyer exclaimed.

"Likewise my dear", Eli replied. Looking at the four rebels before them, Trent grew concerned.

"Wait, you went to go help Brenna didn't you? Where is she?", Trent asked. The words brought a thickness to the air that could not be described. Sawyer and Nick both looked at each other mournfully. Drew merely looked at the ground. May, who struggled with the loss the most, was the one to explain.

"She...she didn't make it. She sacrificed herself to save us, and prevent the Rockets from getting the data", May explained. The four rebels gasped in shock. Catie covered her mouth, tears already forming in her eyes. Eli found himself trying to hold back tears as well, knowing that someone so young was killed so early. Trent growled in anger and slammed the side of his fist into the wall next to him.

"THOSE BASTARDS!", Trent yelled, referring to Team Rocket. Trent felt guilty, knowing that he was the one that let Brenna go on her own. She seemed confident that she could handle herself, and Trent wanted to help the others. It seemed like wherever he went, he was failing his friends. New Island was similar. He almost got Ryoto killed fighting the Rockets, and he couldn't help Wallace work on the wounded. Now someone had died because of his lack of skills. He was angry at the Rockets for what they had done, but mostly, he was mad at himself, for letting it happen.

While Hunter was visibly upset over the ordeal, he knew that they could not delay themselves any longer. As much as he hated himself for not wanting to mourn for their fallen ally, he couldn't afford to; and neither could they.

"We don't have time to mourn for Brenna. We'll remember her, and the rest of our fallen allies, properly when we've won. Right now, we need to get back to the others on the double!", Hunter explained. May and Drew grew concerned.

"The others? Are they in trouble!?", May asked.

"We just got communications from them, they're being attacked by", before Hunter could finish, a sudden explosion blasted a wall in the middle of the two small groups. They all dove for cover as rocks and concrete flew everywhere. The unexpected turn of events caught them by surprise. When the dust was clear enough to see, the rebels noticed a PTA male before them, laying on the rubble. He coughed heavily and looked severely injured. His white PTA uniform was coated in blood and dust. In trying to gain his surroundings, he happened to turn his head towards his left to see May and Drew some feet away; staring at him in shock. Seeing them, he panicked.

"MAY!? DREW!? QUICK, YOU NEED TO RUN, NOW! BEFORE SHE", as he yelled out this warning, a figure walked out from the broken wall and stood right in front of the unaware rebel. The figure, with both hands holding MP5s, raised one of her weapons to the rebel, and fired. The small machine gun shot several rounds into the rebel, dropping him instantly. May and Hunter's squads, completely taken aback from the sudden turn of events, raised their weapons at the figure.

The figure, a slender female, looked away from the now dead rebel before her and turned to her left, and then her right. While her being surrounded would normally scare anyone, she seemed to find it as nothing less than a slight surprise. She smirked.

"Well, well, well...look what we have here", the female said. As she said this, several heads and gun barrels stuck out from the hole in the wall, looking and aiming at the rebels. More Rockets. They however did not fire, for fear of getting their leader killed. Hunter looked at the female, and recognized those devilish green eyes, and that sinister smile.

"You...YOU'RE THE BITCH WHO ATTACKED US AT THE BALL!", Hunter yelled. Nick and Sawyer, who were also present when Ash's home was destroyed, recognized her as well.

"YOU TRIED TO KILL ASH'S MOM!", Sawyer yelled.

"NATALIE!", Nick stated. Natalie chuckled.

"Oh, so you _did _remember my name. Good", Natalie stated. Hunter aimed his weapon at her head, ready to take her out. Natalie, seeing this, raised her finger and waved it.

"Uh, uh, uh. Does that seem like the safest thing to do? Shoot me while I'm in front of your friends? You better be damn sure you can hit only me with a machine gun from that range", Natalie said. Hunter growled, but she was right. He had confidence in his aiming abilities, but they did not overcome his fears of hitting his allies.

"You're still surrounded Natalie, and you're going to pay for your crimes here today", Drew stated. Natalie scoffed.

"Crimes? Please, all's fair in love and war", Natalie said.

"The things you've done to our allies, our _friends, _are unspeakable. We're going to stop you!", May exclaimed. Natalie looked to her.

"Stop me? Hahaha, trying to stop me is flirting with death", Natalie said, liking her bottom lip seductively. This action and her words put May in unease. How could she feel so glad over her actions?

"What do you think you're going to do? You're in no position to be making threats!", Trent said. Natalie turned to him.

"What am I going to do? Hmm...HOW BOUT THIS!?", Natalie yelled. Suddenly, she bent backwards, her guns aimed out at both squads, and opened fire. Hunter pushed Catie out of the path of the bullets and dove for cover against the wall while Trent and Eli fell to the floor for cover. Drew, May, Sawyer, and Nick jumped back around the corner. In the few seconds she had, Natalie laughed wickedly as she jumped backwards into the safety of the hole in the wall.

"SICK 'EM BOYS!", Natalie commanded. The Rockets all began to chuckle as they stepped out into the hall, their weapons drawn. Seeing the few seconds they had, Trent acted. He quickly grabbed one of his Pokéballs and threw it. Within a second, a large Graveler appeared.

"GRAVELER! COVER US!", Trent yelled. Graveler spaced two of its arms out across the hall, while using the other two arms to cover its face as Team Rocket began to open fire on the rebels. The bullets were bouncing off of the rock-type's body, but they were taking its toll. Trent knew he didn't have much time. He turned to the others. "WE NEED TO GET MOVING, NOW!".

"ROGER! DREW! WE'LL MEET BACK TO THE OTHERS! MOVE IT!", Hunter yelled as Eli and Catie made their way down the hall where they came. Drew, who was sticking his head out from the corner, nodded.

"SEE YOU THERE!", Drew responded. He then quickly ran down the hall, following the others as Rockets began the chase.

"WHAT ABOUT HUNTER AND THE OTHERS!?", May asked.

"THEY'RE GONNA MEET US AT THE ENTRANCE, GO!", Drew yelled. Natalie, who had heard the exchange, rushed out of the hall. Hunter and his squad were already on the move, with Graveler rolling behind them to cover their backs. She turned to Ryker, who stood beside her.

"RYKER, TAKE HALF THE MEN AND FOLLOW THEM, I'LL TAKE THE REST WITH ME. THEY'LL LEAD US RIGHT TO THEIR FRIENDS!", Natalie commanded. Ryker smiled wickedly.

"WE'LL BUTCHER THE LOT OF THEM! LET'S GO!", Ryker yelled, his machine gun at the ready. He rushed down the hall, taking with him half of the Rockets. Natalie wasted no time getting her troops organized. She immediately grabbed a Pokéball from her belt and threw it. Within seconds, a rather large and menacing Seviper appeared. It hissed as it appeared. Natalie jumped on the Seviper's back, grabbing hold around its neck in the process.

"GET THOSE REBELS SEVIPER!", Natalie yelled. Seviper immediately began slithering down the hall, turning at the corner and moving with shocking speed. The Rockets followed right behind her. Running down the halls, May turned to see that Natalie was hot on their trail. The look in her eyes sent a shiver down May's spine that she felt would never go away. Her heart rate skyrocketed, and she felt her adrenaline kicking in now more than ever.

"SHE'S RIGHT BEHIND US!", May yelled. Nick, seeing this, aimed his gun down the hall and fired. Seviper dodged by sliding across the walls and bending its body.

"SEVIPER, FLAMETHROWER!", Natalie commanded. Seviper opened its mouth and unleashed a large beam of fire towards the rebels. The rebels ran faster, but in the change of pace, Sawyer tripped. She fell to the ground with a thud. Nick, seeing this, quickly rushed to her side. Knowing that they wouldn't have time to catch up to May and Drew, he grabbed Sawyer by the waist and dove out into an adjacent hall, avoiding the Flamethrower attack.

"KEEP GOING YOU GUYS! WE'LL MEET YOU AROUND THE END!", Nick yelled, knowing that May and Drew would stop to catch them. Hoping that they heard him, he grabbed Sawyer and brought her back to her feet. "Come on, let's move!". Sawyer nodded and the two bolted down the hall. Natalie, seeing that the group separated once again, and not wanting to lose the region leaders, (who had heard Nick and were now running down the hall), turned to her men.

"HALF OF YOU FOLLOW THOSE TWO BRATS, THE REST OF YOU KEEP FOLLOWING ME, WE'RE GONNA GET THOSE REGION LEADERS!", Natalie commanded. A few Rockets immediately broke off down the hall to chase Nick and Sawyer while Natalie and the rest continued to follow May and Drew. Nick and Sawyer turned around a corner and continued to run, knowing that Rockets were right on their tail.

"DO YOU KNOW HOW TO GET TO THE OTHERS FROM HERE!?", Sawyer asked.

"YEAH! BUT WHO KNOWS IF TEAM ROCKET HASN'T ALREADY BLOCKED THEM OFF!", Nick said.

"NO MATTER, WE NEED TO RISK IT!", Sawyer said. Suddenly, bullets zoomed past her. She ducked and Nick returned fire as Team Rocket grew closer. One of the Rockets threw a Pokéball out, unleashing a Sneasel, which began running alongside its trainer.

"SNEASEL, SHADOW BALL!", the Rocket commanded. Sneasel opened its mouth and fired a massive black sphere towards Nick and Sawyer. The ball struck the wall to their right, which exploded and threw the rebels down a hall to their left. The blast took them by surprise, their ears ringing and their body's struck with shrapnel. Nick, concerned for Sawyer's heart condition, quickly rushed to her side. He managed to pull her back from the hall a few feet before realizing that the hall was a dead-end.

"SHIT!", Nick yelled. Before he could pull Sawyer back, the Rockets were already walking down the hall towards them. They, (along with the Sneasel), laughed as they approached the now trapped couple. Sawyer, who was just now beginning to get a bearing of her surroundings, looked to see the Rockets in front of her. Nick rushed in front of Sawyer to cover her as the Rockets aimed their guns towards them.

"Wait!", someone called out. Nick and Sawyer looked at the Rockets in confusion. Even the Rockets seemed somewhat bewildered and they turned around. One of the Rockets in the group stepped forward, walking slowly to the front of the pack. "I'll handle things from here, if you don't mind". He seemed calm, given the circumstances. His arms were crossed behind him, and he looked down to the ground slightly. His uniform was grey, signifying higher rank. The Rockets stepped out of his way, but not just to let him through. Some looked terrified of him. He stopped when he reached the front of the group.

"Who the hell are you!?", Nick asked, getting into a fighting stance. His gun had fallen when they were blasted, and it was out of reach behind the Rockets. Still, he was ready to fight with his Pokémon or even his fists if he had to. The Rocket however ignored Nick, and instead seemed to focus on Sawyer.

"...It's been awhile...hasn't it?...Sawyer", the Rocket said. Nick raised an eyebrow and then turned his head briefly at Sawyer, not wanting to take his eyes off the Rockets.

"You know this guy Sawyer?", Nick asked. Sawyer looked at the Rocket. At first, she had no idea who he was. He was big, but not nearly as big as the Rockets around him. He was about her age, but who could he...

...No...

Her heart rate dropped. She felt the pacemaker in her chest working overtime, it began to hurt. She felt a cold sweat across her body, and her breathing became shallow. Nick, noticing this, grew concerned.

"Sawyer!?", Nick asked, wondering if she was alright. Sawyer did nothing, but stare at the monster before her. The monster who raised his head, and revealed his eyes...her eyes.

"...Christopher!", Sawyer whispered.

**And with that, I think I'll end it here. I'm sorry for the delay everyone! I always seem to get sick or have unfortunate distractions when I really want to write. With it being Summer now, I hope to work more on "R", maybe even get it finished, (however unlikely). But only time will tell. "It appears to be a family reunion! Will Sawyer be able to handle the sudden return of her brother? Will May, Drew, Hunter, and the others reach the rebels before Natalie does? And what about the rest of the PTA? Find out next time, on EVAN AAML's, "R"!". As a final note, I wish to give a big congratulatory shout-out to fellow writers and OC creators lulu halulu, (Emily) and KrazyKat101, (Natalie) on officially graduating from high school! You both, (along with my younger brother), are going to have a blast at College/University!...or you'll realize quickly, like we did, that it sucks, ;P CONGRATS GIRLS! And I'll see you all next time! Take care!**

**sincerely,  
evan, a fan of aaml -EVAN AAML**


	101. Chapter 101

**Hmph, well, sadly recent computer crashes have slowed down my work. A few times now my writings have been deleted due to this issue, and it's been a thorn in my side. I have an ASUS, which I find to be a VERY reliable laptop for what I use it for, but this one is quite a few years old for a laptop, and it may be time to upgrade. Oh well. Less talking, more reading, right?**

**-EVAN AAML**

It's not the easiest thing in the world; weaving through bullets while helping someone in need reach a safe place. But Ashley made do with it. At least most of the people she helped were able to give cover fire for her. Most of course being the keyword here, as some weren't physically able to hold a gun.

And some simply didn't have a gun.

Noah had suffered exhaustion from his Wave Guidance, and the poison gas that got in his lungs didn't help matters. It made him too weak to walk well on his own, and with his refusal to use a gun, Ashley was stuck constantly taking cover whenever a Rocket saw her to avoid getting shot. Thankfully the make-shift hospital in the Poké-Mart was within spitting distance from them.

"So then what happened?", Ashley asked Noah.

"Well, Riolu and I were able to make out the Poison Pokémon from the smoke, and we attacked them without the other Pokémon being able to see us! It was awesome!", Noah explained. He suddenly began coughing, something he had been doing for some time now.

"Well, because of you, the PTA was saved from the gas, you're a hero! See? Jake was wrong all along", Ashley said, giving Noah moral support. This served as a double meaning, as it could take Noah's mind off his failing health. It was tough for Noah to talk, but with the medical help he'd soon receive, he'd be fine.

"Y-Yeah...I guess so!", Noah said, smiling to himself.

It was a short walk, but it felt longer with the constant stops for cover. Eventually however, Ashley had managed to reach the Poké-Mart. The side door normally used for customers was propped open for easy access for the wounded. The bell that would ring to signal the door being opened rested on the floor, having been shot off its string by a one-in-a-million shot. The isles of shelves that once stood around the store were now propped against the windows and fire exits. All over the floor were blankets and pads which wounded rebels laid on to rest. Some only had minor injuries, particularly poison effects like Noah. Others had gunshot wounds or burns that were far more serious.

Going back and forth to tend the wounded were a few medical rebels, along with a few Pallet Town locals, who sought shelter from the attacking Rockets in the Mart. They made themselves useful to the cause by giving the wounded fresh water and bandages. Ashley walked Noah over to an empty mat on the ground and lowered him onto it. Noah positioned himself comfortably onto it.

"Thanks again", Noah said. Ashley smiled.

"No problem", Ashley responded. She turned to the front of the store, behind the counter. The Poké-Mart shop keep was grabbing supplies from storage to help the wounded. He made sure to keep low to the ground, should more stray bullets go through the front of the store, (as has happened already on several occasions).

"We have another person suffering from the Poison Gas attack", Ashley explained. The shop keep sighed.

"More huh? We're beginning to run low on Antidotes. We only carry so much in the Pallet Town Mart, it's not meant for mass consumption for humans", the shop keep explained.

"We don't have many Pokémon with healing capabilities here, and it's risky going back to the base to get some with Team Rocket everywhere", Ashley said.

"Hopefully you guys can end the fight before people start really suffering the side-effects", the shop keep stated. He put down the supplies he was carrying, grabbed a spray bottle that was sitting on the counter, and walked over to Noah. He unscrewed the cap to the bottle and handed it to Noah. "Here, it's meant to be used as a spray, but it works faster if you drink it".

Noah took the bottle apprehensively. He of course knew what an Antidote was, and was aware that, in emergencies, it could be used on humans, but he didn't know the after effects of using a Pokémon-based product on a human. His throat clenched up, due in part to the poison and his nerves. But he brought the bottle to his lips and took a swig anyway. Noah immediately reeled and pulled the bottle away from his mouth.

"Oh God, I can see why it's a spray, not a drink", Noah said, cringing. Ashley couldn't help but laugh.

"Humans have more sensitive taste-buds I guess", Ashley said.

"Just suck it up and drink it. You'll need at least half of it to get better, depending on how badly you're poisoned", the shop keep explained. Noah sighed, bringing the bottle back to his mouth.

"Bottoms up then I guess", Noah said, taking another sip. As he did, someone approached the small group. Ashley turned to see a young female holding an Oddish stop before them. This was the owner of the flower shop in town. The flower shop was some distance away from the majority of the fighting, and could have been a good place to hide. But the shop owner wished to help the rebels anyway she could, and went to the Mart to give what little medical aid she could muster.

"We're beginning to run low on clean bandages", the flower shop girl said.

"Yeah, we know. It's getting hard to care for all the wounded. The medics are limited in supplies and the fighting around them makes it tense", Ashley said. The woman nodded, looking down at the Oddish wrapped in her arms against her chest.

"I've been using small amounts of Stun Spore as a numbing agent for burns and minor surgeries, and using a light Sleep Powder to give the wounded rest. It's working, but we simply can't make do with what little we have", the flower shop girl explained.

"And with most of the medical rebels either in the field or in the base, we're stuck like this for a while. The best we can do now is to treat what we can, protect them from the Rockets, and hope this all ends before it becomes too big a problem", Ashley said. Suddenly, a young male rebel rushed to the entrance of the Mart. He looked inside for able fighters.

"HEY! WE NEED HELP OUT HERE!" the rebel yelled. Ashley turned to the rebel.

"What's wrong!?", Ashley asked. The rebel turned to face Ashley.

"ROCKETS ARE FORCING THEIR WAY THROUGH OUR DEFENSES. IF WE DON'T GET MORE PEOPLE OUT HERE, THEY'LL OVERRUN THE HOSPITAL!", the rebel explained. Ashley gasped and turned to the others.

"Ok, you stay here and do what you can, I'm going to go out to defend the Hospital!", Ashley explained. Noah, seeing the situation, began to stand up.

"Wait, I'm coming too!", Noah explained. Ashley however shook her head.

"No, you stay. You're still suffering from the poison and need to rest. Stay here and defend the Mart if it comes down to it. You've already done your share kid, it's time for us to fight", Ashley said. Noah was frustrated, wanting to help out the rebels, but his body was still weak, and he found it hard to argue back. Ashley grabbed her machine gun, then followed the distressed rebel outside to the battle.

Immediately upon getting outside, her and the rebel were met with heavy gunfire from oncoming Rockets. They both ducked and rushed to reach the closest cover they could find, which was nothing more than a wooden fence blocking a small downhill creek. The rebel and Ashley dove over the fence and tumbled down the small hill until they stopped in the water. Ashley ignored the bruises from landing on the rocks in the creek, picked up her weapon that she dropped, and immediately assessed the situation.

A few other rebels were positioned on the hillside with them, firing back at the Rockets and keeping them away from the Mart. The Mart however was now in-between the Rockets and rebels, and could easily be overtaken if a counter-attack was not successful. Ashley was thankful that the Rockets didn't immediately blow up the building, for whatever reason.

She opened fire on the approaching Rockets, helping to keep them at bay. She managed to strike one Rocket, and cause several others to duck. Ashley lowered herself down the hill and closer to the creek to reload safely and glanced up to get a view of the battlefield. The Rockets cover was weak, but it was enough to make getting to them difficult. From Ashley's left, she could see that the Rockets had another front, facing off against another group of rebels, one of which she could make out was Jake. Jake's forces were larger than hers, but they had less cover to work with.

They did however allow for a good distraction. And with Ashley's small group finding it difficult to fire back, it was something she appreciated. Ashley then looked to the right side of the Rockets and could see that it was open for attack. This was where the make-shift hospital was though, and she could not risk getting it involved. She would have to rely on Pokémon attacks to make use of this weak spot. She reached for a Pokéball.

"Empoleon, go!", Ashley commanded. Her large penguin Pokémon popped out of the ball and landed in the creek a couple of feet down. "Alright Empoleon, we're in a tough situation, think you can help out?". Empoleon ruffled its feathers, ready to fight. Ashley nodded. "Good. Now listen, the hospital is under attack, and we need to protect it. We have to hit the Rockets from the right, but at our distance, your speed won't be enough to hit them before they hit you. So let's start with a Rain Dance!".

Empoleon nodded and chirped loudly, raising its flippers in the air. Soon, clouds formed over the small battlefield. The rebels on the hill held their ground to not slip down the hill as the rain began to pour. Ashley looked over to the Rockets. As she suspected, the dirt on the ground got wet, making things muddy and slippery. The Rockets held their ground, but clearly struggled in the new situation. The rain also proved to make for good cover, as the rebels to the left were taking advantage and falling back.

"Ok, good. Now for phase two. Do you think you can use Aqua Jet to attack the Rockets from the side? The rain should make you move a lot faster. But be careful not to hit the hospital!", Ashley explained. Empoleon nodded and within seconds, covered itself in a veil of water. It blasted itself over the fence and slid across the grass towards the Rockets' side. The Rockets saw the quick moving Pokémon and fired back, but couldn't hit the fast target. Seeing what was about to happen, they tried to run away, but in their panic, only managed to slip in the mud and rain. Empoleon came up on their right side and blasted the Rockets, hitting them back and away from the hospital.

Ashley, now soaked, threw her fist in the air in excitement. Her plan worked. The Rockets flew backwards and landed in a heap, now closer to the rebels on the left. Jake, seeing the situation, wasted no time. Seeing that the Rockets were trying to pick themselves up, he rushed forward, throwing a Pokéball towards the enemy.

"GARDEVOIR, CHARGE BEAM!", Jake commanded. The ball opened and the Psychic type Pokémon immediately appeared, jumping in the air and holding its arms out. A ball of electricity formed in its hands, and within seconds, Gardevoir fired the beam of lightning. The Rockets, soaked in muddy water, were struck by the electrifying blast and screamed in agony. Ashley and Empoleon rushed over to Jake as the Rockets collapsed. "I don't want to hear it!", Jake stated. Ashley looked to him. "They were still a threat, and I'm not taking any chances disarming an entire group of Rockets in the middle of a battlefield!".

"I wasn't going to argue...the hospital needs protecting, and we have to do what we can to help the wounded", Ashley explained. Though the Rockets may or may not have actually been a threat, they couldn't afford the risk now. Jake could see the conflict Ashley was feeling.

"Well...at least you've gotten your priorities straight. My squad's still holding strong, so I think now you can...oh SHIT!", Jake yelled. Ashley, seeing his panic, turned around. Quickly rushing towards the hospital were a small group of Rockets. Ashley's heart jumped in her throat.

"NO! WE HAVE TO STOP THEM!", Ashley yelled. She and Empoleon ran towards the hospital as quickly as they could. Jake, while running with her, turned to face his squad. "GIVE US COVER AND MAKE SURE NO ROCKETS GET INTO THAT BUILDING!". The rebels nodded and ran off to defend the Poké-Mart while Ashley and Jake rushed to the building.

Three Rockets were heading inside the building. Ashley could already hear the screams of panic. One Rocket, who stood by the door, turned to see her and Jake running towards their allies. He panicked and aimed his rifle at them.

"EMPOLEON, WATER GUN!", Ashley commanded. Empoleon opened its mouth and unleashed a torrent of water, which struck the Rocket and sent him flying inside of the Mart. Ashley and Jake ran inside to see that the Rocket had flown across the counter and into a wall stacked with supplies. One Rocket was directly ahead of them, having just turned around to see his ally crash. He had a machine gun drawn, and before him stood wounded rebels whom were about to be his first victims. The other was to the right, looking directly at Ashley and Jake.

Jake charged inside, immediately heading to the Rocket who's back was turned. As he charged, the Rocket turned around and was just able to see him as he tackled him to the ground. Ashley meanwhile brought her attention to the Rocket towards the right. It was a female Rocket with short red hair that stuck out of her Rocket hat. Unlike the Rocket Jake tackled however, this Rocket was more prepared. She already had her weapon drawn, and aimed at Ashley. Ashley however was quicker on the draw, having her machine gun aimed as well, and pulled the trigger. To her horror however, the trigger didn't go all the way. The gun was jammed! Likely from Empoleon's Rain Dance and the mud. She quickly threw the gun at the Rocket, hoping it'd stop her from firing, but the Rocket merely ducked to avoid the throw and aimed.

However, with her back turned from the rebels behind her, she left herself wide open. The Poké-Mart clerk, who was trying to protect the wounded from the intruding Rockets, grabbed a broom and swung it as hard as he could into the back of the female Rocket. It was enough to cause her to lose her focus and fall forward a couple of feet. This gave Ashley enough time to rush forward and take the Rocket head-on. She immediately kicked the Rocket's hand, sending her weapon flying.

This wasn't enough to deter the Rocket however, as she immediately spun around and swung a kick of her own, directly into Ashley's gut. She bent over in pain as the female Rocket tried for another kick; this time for her head. Ashley however managed to step back and avoid the kick. Ashley then threw a punch at the female Rocket, hitting her straight in the jaw. Another punch to her cheek made her fall to the ground.

The Rocket was resilient however, as she swung her leg at Ashley's, tripping her. Ashley fell to the ground with a thud. The female Rocket immediately leapt on top of Ashley and began choking her, banging her head against the floor as she did so. Ashley struggled to release the Rocket's grip, but it was tight. She attempted to reach for her hand-gun on her belt, when the Rocket was suddenly struck with a barrage of leaves. As Ashley sat up, gasping for breath, she turned to her left to see the Flower Shop owner standing just behind her Oddish, which had unleashed a Razor Leaf on the female Rocket.

The attack was weak, but enough to knock the Rocket off Ashley. The grunt, now scrapped up, quickly turned to the two women. She stood up and pulled out a Pokéball, ready to throw it. But before she could, a blue and white beam suddenly struck her. Ashley braced herself as the blast struck. When everything settled, Ashley looked to see the Rocket completely frozen in a chunk of ice, her hand still holding her Pokéball, and her face frozen in shock.

Empoleon, who was waiting for a chance to strike without hitting Ashley, used Ice Beam to freeze the Rocket. Ashley sighed heavily, relieved.

"Thanks Empoleon...and you too Oddish", Ashley said. The Flower Shop girl and Oddish both smiled. Ashley stood up and brought her attention to Jake, who was still wrestling with the Rocket he had tackled moments before. The two were exchanging fists as they rolled on the floor, trying to get the upper hand on the other. Ashley immediately went forward to pull the Rocket off of Jake, but was beaten to the punch by Noah, who dove on top of the Rocket with his fists entwined and hit him in the back. It was a weak hit, and the Rocket, more annoyed, swung his arm at Noah and hit him in the face. Noah however proved to be the distraction Jake needed, as he managed to flip the Rocket over him.

The Rocket landed on the ground and Jake quickly stood up. He turned to Noah, who was also getting up from getting hit. Jake couldn't help but smirk.

"Nice hit kid", Jake said. Noah looked to him and blushed slightly. The Rocket, recovering from the flip and seeing that Noah was distracted, quickly pulled out a large knife and charged towards him. Jake reacted quickly, pulling out his pistol, (a Walther P99 Q). He fired off several shots into the chest of the Rocket, sending him backwards a few feet before finally collapsing on the ground. The rebels looked on as Jake kept his weapon aimed at the Rocket's body, just in case. Seeing that he was dead, he sighed and put his weapon away.

"...Th-Thanks", Noah said. Jake merely nodded in response. He looked to Ashley, who was just now approaching him. He saw the female Rocket frozen.

"See you took care of your target", Jake stated. Ashley nodded.

"Same as you", Ashley replied. She and Jake turned to see a couple members of Jake's squad entering the room, seeing if they were alright after hearing gunfire. "There's a Rocket behind the counter, if he's alive, tie him up and remove his gear". The rebels nodded and immediately went towards the Rocket. Ashley then turned to the wounded rebels in the building. "Is everyone else alright?". There were several yeses and nods from the group. Ashley sighed in relief. They were just in the nick of time.

"We got lucky", Jake said. Ashley nodded.

"We can't rely on luck the entire fight. We need to fortify the defenses around the town", Ashley explained.

"Most of the defenses are at the lab, and we're so separated right now, I don't think maneuvering that many people is going to flow smoothly", Jake explained.

Ashley looked down to the ground. She was trying to think of a new plan, but could come up with nothing. There was no way to send a massive message through Pokénavs to the rebels, especially considering that not all rebels had one. And the fighting had spread out throughout the town, so organization was null.

"We'll just have to move who we can and hope for the best then", Ashley said with a sigh. She then turned towards the rebels. "If you have any healthy Pokémon who can help guard the Mart, get them out now. We'll set up a perimeter around the building. Those who are healthy enough to walk, try to go to the homes. There are still people hold up in there, and we need to protect them". Several rebels immediately began releasing their Pokémon. Noah released an Arbok and Typhlosion, Jake an Espeon. Ashley's Empoleon was still out and ready to fight.

"I'll go out with my squad and defend what I can. Noah, you should stay here and defend the Mart", Jake said. Noah nodded in agreement.

"I'll go find Brock and Tracy and determine what we can do from there. Keep in touch", Ashley remarked. Jake simply gave a wave of his hand in response as him and his group left the building, weapons drawn. Ashley turned to Noah. "Think you can handle this?", Ashley asked.

"I've got my Pokémon here to protect everyone, and there are others ready to fight too, I think we're set", Noah explained.

"Should it come down to it, I'll defend this place too", the flower shop owner said.

"Me too, we won't let Team Rocket harm anyone here", the mart owner exclaimed. Ashley smiled and nodded.

"Thanks, we could use all the help we can get...stay strong, protect each other, and I'll be back shortly", Ashley said. She turned around and, grabbing a machine gun by the door, left the building.

Not letting anyone inside see her smile turn into a frown.

As Ashley made her way through the fighting, elsewhere, it was surprisingly calm. Having been left at the top of the observation tower by Drew, Prof. Oak, Delia, the lab assistants, and a few rebels tried their best to stay as hidden as they could. They sat on the ground, keeping low from the line of sight of Rockets outside. Save the few stray bullets that caught their attention, it had been surprisingly calm, though none the less stressful. Delia did her best to try to avoid looking out the windows, but could not help herself, and regretted it every time she caved in. Her Mr. Mime did what it could to console her, but was also stressed out from the fighting. The lab assistants huddled around the group, mostly covering their heads and hoping they wouldn't be spotted. Two rebels remained on the stairs should Rockets investigate from below, while a third was near the lab assistants.

Prof. Oak sat in the middle of the group, his arms crossed and his eyes closed. In his mouth was a pipe, which slowly shot smoke out from the opening. The rebels who were there to protect them could not help but be in awe at his calm demeanor. His lab was being destroyed, the people of his town were being attacked, and yet he kept his calm. Was it years of experience in a war-torn world? Or was he simply in denial? It was hard to read the professor, and given the stressful environment, no one bothered to waste their time trying to do so.

Mrs. Ketchum on the other hand could be read like a book. Her motherly care for the rebels helped when it was given during down time, but in times of fighting, it was a weakness, and one that was taking its toll on the mother. She felt unable to do anything to help the rebels, the people who Ash and his friends considered family, _her _family. She knew that she could never use a weapon, and her battling skills were not on the same level as the rebels or Rockets, but she felt that she had to do something to help, anything.

She put her hands to her face, her eyes almost dried out from crying. Her cheeks were red and almost raw from the tears. She looked much older, the stress causing her to look pale and sickly. With every bullet she could hear being fired, with every shriek of terror as someone's life ended, she felt herself losing more and more hope. The fact that she did not know the condition of her son, or her "adopted children" made matters worse; she was on the verge of breaking.

"...I know this isn't easy Delia", someone said. Delia pulled her hands from her face to look towards the voice, to see Prof. Oak, his eyes still closed. "And what I'm about to tell you is probably easier said than done...but you have to be strong".

"H...How can I be strong? When everyone out there is suffering so? These are kids Samuel, sons and daughters out there, dying. While I'm stuck here, not being able to help in any way", Delia explained. Being a parent herself, she understood the trauma the parents of the rebels must be feeling, or rather, would be feeling if they knew. Prof. Oak however kept his resolve.

"I understand your pain Delia. I have family in this fight too, same as you. And I have seen first hand the atrocities that Team Rocket has inflicted on them", Prof. Oak said before being interrupted.

"If you understand my pain, then you should understand why what you're asking for is impossible!", Delia said, beginning to raise her voice, (something she rarely did). The rebels and assistants looked on, nervous to intervene. Prof. Oak gently grabbed his pipe, blowing a final puff of smoke in the air, before pulling the pipe out of his mouth and clunking it on the ground to empty it.

"If we didn't go for the impossible, we wouldn't be fighting today", Prof. Oak stated. The group looked at the professor. "You know as well as I do how one-sided this battle as a whole really is. If Team Rocket wasn't so Hell-bent on making a statement, they could have just blown Pallet Town clean off the map without so much as a warning. And yet here they are, fighting their hearts out. Because the PTA doesn't believe in the impossible, they believe in the achievable. And all of them, especially your son, believe that they can achieve victory here today". Delia looked on in wonder, but the professor continued.

"Your son is quite literally the epitome of strength. Even before Team Rocket took over, he was strong-willed. It's a trait that he got from you. And right now, more than ever, you need to show it. Being weak here won't help anyone. You may not be able to do much in terms of fighting, but being strong and believing in this cause is enough to inspire those around you", Prof. Oak finished. The group looked at the professor with amazement, but this moment of appreciation was cut short by the sounds of a shriek.

The group all turned to look out the windows before them. Flying in the air were two large Pokémon, a Tropius and a Fearow. Each one carried on their back a Rocket grunt, which overlooked the battlefield.

"Rocket air squadrons", one rebel stated.

"Must be using them to attack from above, probably drop bombs on squads below", Prof. Oak assumed grimly. Suddenly, the Rocket riding the Tropius glanced towards the tower. The group immediately ducked in a panic.

"Do you think he spotted us?", one of the rebels asked. The rebel he was talking to opened his eyes and slowly glanced around the battlefield. The two flying Pokémon had looped around the side of the lab, and were not quickly approaching the building!

"Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit!", the rebel yelled. Everyone inside looked to see the Tropius heading straight for the lab, with the Fearow directly behind it. On the Tropius, the Rocket grunt chuckled.

"LIKE SITTIN' PSYDUCKS! TROPIUS, AERIAL ACE!", the Rocket yelled. Tropius roared as its wings lit up.

HIT THE DECK!", the rebel yelled. Everyone immediately ducked as Tropius crashed through the tower. Glass, wood, and other sorts of debris flew across the bodies of the rebels and civilians. The sounds of the roof falling off the side of the tower could be heard. When the Tropius had made its way through, everyone looked around to see the damage. One of the rebels and one of the lab assistants had gone missing, presumed to have been blown off the tower. Everyone else was covered in cuts from the flying glass, but otherwise alright.

Prof. Oak tried to push a piece of the roof off of him but found it difficult in his age. He was lucky that he avoided serious injury from it. As he worked on the debris, he turned and looked out towards the Tropius. It was making its way back, but had to take a wide turn to do so.

"It's coming around for another strike!", Prof. Oak said.

"THE FEAROW!", one of the lab assistants yelled. Everyone turned to see the second Rocket fast approaching, ready to pick off the stragglers.

"OPEN FIRE!", one of the remaining rebels yelled. The two rebels on the stairs fired their machine guns at the fast approaching Bird Pokémon. The Rocket ducked from the oncoming barrage.

"ALRIGHT FEAROW, RAZOR WIND!", the Rocket commanded. The Fearow screeched as it flapped its wings towards the lab, releasing its slashing attack. The building was struck repetitively, the tower nearly collapsing from the blows. The two rebels were hit by the attacks. One was leaning against the wall, clutching his arm in agony. The other was a few steps below him, not responsive, and assumed dead. Seeing the onslaught before her, Mrs. Ketchum began to feel that heart-wrench yet again. However, she remembered Prof. Oak's words, swallowed her fears, and nodded. She stood up, prompting Mr. Mime to do the same. Prof. Oak, still unable to remove the debris, looked on in shock.

"DELIA! WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING!?", Prof. Oak yelled, concerned for her making herself more of a target. Delia held a hand to her chest and turned to look to the professor.

"I'm doing exactly what you told me to do Samuel...being strong. I won't stand by when there's something I can do here", Delia exclaimed. She then turned to Mr. Mime. "Are you ready Mimey?". Mr. Mime looked nervous, but nodded. Delia turned to see the Fearow readying another Razor Wind. "ALRIGHT MIMEY, BARRIER, NOW!". Mr. Mime held its hands up towards the flying Pokémon and created several invisible walls between them. The Fearow unleashed the attack, but the strikes struck the invisible Barriers and phased out. The Rocket looked on in frustration.

"NOW MIMEY, PSYCHIC!", Delia commanded. Mr. Mime's eyes glowed a bright purple and it waved its hands around, unleashing a torrent of psychic waves. The Rocket and his Fearow were immediately struck and engulfed by the Psychic attack. Unable to control itself or counter, the Fearow flew straight down towards the ground. Delia watched as the Fearow landed on the ground with a thud, and the Rocket rolled off of the large Pokémon; out of the fight, but alive.

With the first enemy down and a moment of calm, Delia turned to Prof. Oak. She had Mr. Mime lift the debris up with its psychic abilities, freeing the professor.

"Are you alright Samuel?", Delia asked. Prof. Oak brushed off the dirt from his lab coat as he stood.

"Yes, I'm alright. I was always told that my lab would be the death of me, but I didn't think they meant quite literally", Prof. Oak responded. Seeing that he was alright, Delia immediately brought her attention to the injured rebels. She first reached the injured one.

"How's your arm?", Delia asked. The rebel cringed.

"It's cut up bad", the rebel said through gritted teeth. Delia immediately began to get to work on it, but found herself unable to continue when one of the assistants yelled.

"TROPIUS IS MAKING ITS WAY BACK!", the assistant yelled. Delia looked up to see the Tropius coming from the opposite side, over the lab. As much as she wanted to tend to the wounded rebel, she knew that she had to defend the others from the attack. The rebel understood this.

"Go!", the rebel said. Delia nodded and rushed back up to position.

"Alright Mimey, another Barrier, go!", Delia said. Mr. Mime immediately began putting invisible walls around the rebels. The Rocket on the Tropius smirked.

"Heh, think that trick will work twice? Think again, TROPIUS, TOXIC!", the Rocket yelled. Tropius opened its mouth and launched a spray of toxic liquid at the rebels. The poison splashed over the barrier, but managed to seep through around the sides to spray Mr. Mime.

"NO, MIMEY!", Delia yelled.

"MR. MIME ARE WEAK TO POISON TYPES!", Prof. Oak yelled. The Toxic not only covered Mr. Mime, but it made its way around the entire floor. Delia quickly took action and rushed down the stairs to move the injured rebel. The lab assistants and Prof. Oak made sure to not touch the poisonous substance. Delia had just managed to bring the injured rebel up the few remaining stairs when the Rocket and his Tropius reached them. It hovered in front of them, with the Rocket on its back gleaming.

"I got you right where I want you", the Rocket said, jumping off the back of Tropius and landing on the ground in front of them. Mr. Mime tried its best to fight back, but was badly poisoned. The rebel reached for his side-arm, but the Rocket saw this, and fired right beside him and Delia, who was still holding him up. "Uh, uh, uh!" he said with a smirk.

"You and your people have some nerve attacking a defenseless town like this", Prof. Oak said through an intense glare. The Rocket turned to him, the gun now pointed directly at him.

"Shut up, old man! This lil' town of yours sure as shit ain't defenseless with the PTA here!", the Rocket exclaimed.

"We are merely trying to stop the senseless slaughter you and your people bring on to", Prof. Oak explained before being interrupted.

"Oh shut the FUCK UP! Do you know how often we hear these stupid little speeches? We honestly don't care what you think! You're all weak! And the weak are ruled by the strong, that's basic science, something your old ass ought to understand! Now, why don't you just sit there like the defenseless old geezer that you are, and take your death like a man. Tropius, Leaf Tornado!", the Rocket commanded. Tropius roared and prepared to fire its attack. With Mr. Mime down, there would be no way they could defend themselves.

But suddenly, bullets flew by the flying Pokémon. The Rocket looked down from the tower to see a rebel firing upon them with a machine gun. A lab assistant was by his side. They were the ones blown off the tower from the initial attack. They looked injured, but otherwise alright. Tropius managed to avoid the oncoming fire, but it was enough to stop its focus. The Rocket grew angry and aimed down towards the rebel.

"WHY YOU PIECE OF", before the Rocket could finish, he heard the distinguished sound of a Pokéball opening. He turned around just in time to hear the sound of an attack being unleashed. He grew wide-eyed as a massive white beam flew towards him. It struck the Rocket and kept going, striking Tropius. Both the Rocket and the Grass/Flying type were sent flying into the air before the beam exploded. The shockwave from the attack caused everyone to duck for cover. When the dust dissipated, Delia and the others looked at what happened. Standing before them now, its foot kicking at the ground and snorting heavily, was a Tauros. It was clearly an older Pokémon with years of experience. Standing beside it, his hands in his pockets, was Prof. Oak.

Delia, the lab assistants, and the rebel were all speechless at the sight before them. Prof. Oak slowly walked over to the ledge of the tower, looking down at the surviving revel and lab assistant.

"ARE YOU ALRIGHT DOWN THERE!?", Prof. Oak asked. The two survivors, uncertain of what just happened themselves, looked confused, but replied.

"UH, YEAH! WE'RE ALRIGHT!", the lab assistant replied.

"DO YOU NEED ASSISTANCE GETTING BACK UP HERE?", Prof. Oak asked.

"NO, WE CAN MAKE IT UP, GIVE US A FEW SECONDS!", the rebel stated, reaching towards his belt for what Prof. Oak assumed was a Pokéball. Seeing that they didn't need his help, he turned around to face the others, who were still amazed at what happened moments ago. Prof. Oak sighed heavily, walking over and petting Tauros on the head.

"For years, I berated Ash, Gary, and the others for their somewhat violent means of fighting Team Rocket. I scolded them, telling them that fighting a war was not the answer...and yet here I stand...a hypocrite of my own preachings. I see now why they had such trouble following my instructions. It seems that...this is the only way to stop this madness", Prof. Oak explained. By this time, the rebel and lab assistant had managed to make their way up to the tower with help from the rebel's Ivysaur. They rushed over to check on the injured. The rebel helped Delia place the injured ally down and worked on him while Delia rushed over to Mr. Mime.

"Are you alright Mimey?", Delia asked. By this time, the poison had disappeared, though Mr. Mime was still feeling the poisonous effects. Prof. Oak walked over and handed Delia a small bottle.

"Here, this Antidote will fix it up", Prof. Oak said. Delia received the bottle immediately applied it. It was clear that it stung, but Mr. Mime would recover soon enough. After applying the spray, Delia sighed in relief and looked to the professor.

"...What now?", Delia asked. Prof. Oak turned to look at Tauros, who snorted in response. Prof. Oak nodded.

"...It's too dangerous up here now...we need to move into the base...and help the others fight back", Prof. Oak replied.

**There! Finally! Done! This has been yet another excruciating wait for you all, but it's finally out. I had a relapse of an illness for the past month, which prevented much work on my writing. That, mixed with the computer issues mentioned above, made for a slow, slow, slow update. Rest assured, I have not suddenly decided to stop writing, (as many people have thought in their reviews), I'm just extremely busy. Since the last update, I've started school again, turned 23, been sick with this disease and a flu, and have had the curse of writer's block. That being said, I am already planning on the next chapter, (though more time is needed for the finer details). Before I end this, I'd like to send a quick thank you to prettygirl17, who designed the new cover for "R"! If you can, check it out and give her some props! I hope you're all out there still reading this! If you're looking for some reads in-between updates, new authors AAML SQUAD, aamlpokeshipping, and ashmistyforever could use the reviews! Please be sure to F.A.R., and until next time!**

**sincerely,  
evan, a fan of aaml -EVAN AAML**


	102. Chapter 102

**Before I begin, I have a brief request for you all. I have been asked by a relatively new author named James Dean y2k to ask readers to contact him, for he is working on a new story and requires OC. Send an email to him if you're interested or have any questions. Now then, as it turns out, this week, (November 1st-7th), along with being my 8th anniversary writing, (November 5th), is also PokeShipping week! :O Now technically there is supposed to be a specific theme for each day that writers/artists are supposed to cover, but I don't have the time to make a one-shot each day of the week sadly, so you'll have to make due with this update. But go out and enjoy the works of others participating! I know Miya Toriaka is doing some artwork! **

**-EVAN AAML**

"THEY'RE GAINING ON US!", Catie exclaimed.

"NO SHIT!", Hunter yelled angrily. Apparently, Rockets with guns chasing them didn't deter Hunter from his usual sarcasm towards Catie. Since separating from May and Drew's group, they had managed to make their way through a large part of the base in trying to escape from Ryker and his squad. Trent's Graveler was able to deflect the majority of bullets fired upon them, but it would only be a matter of time before they'd all be taken out.

"WE NEED TO GET TO THE OTHERS QUICK!", Trent yelled.

"WE CAN'T RISK IT, WE'D BRING ROCKETS STRAIGHT TO THEM, WE NEED TO LOSE THESE GUYS FIRST!", Hunter explained.

"ANYONE GOT ANY IDEAS!?", Catie yelled. In the heat of the moment, thinking was difficult for the group. The sound of bullets buzzing right past their ears and the feeling of their lungs going into overtime from running gave them reason. But after a few seconds, Trent finally came up with something.

"WAIT, I GOT IT! GRAVELER, STEALTH ROCK!", Trent commanded, looking back to his rolling rock Pokémon. Graveler, while rolling, unleashed a large pile of spiked rocks behind it. The Rockets, who were following close behind, only had a split second to see the spikes and stop. The rocks scattered all across the hall before them, pointed edges sticking up and ready to pierce whatever stepped on it. Ryker growled in frustration and immediately began jumping over patches of the rocks, the grunts following close behind. This did not stop the Rockets, but it did give Hunter and the group the first bit of safe distance they've had.

"That won't hold them off for long!", Trent said, looking back to see that a few grunts had already managed to hop through the trap and were on pursuit once more.

"Round the corner! I've got another idea!", Hunter stated. Ahead of them was an intersecting hallway. They ran to the right side and stopped. As the group panted heavily, trying to catch their breath, Hunter reached for a Pokéball. Immediately, he opened it, releasing a smiling Electrode.

"Oh no", Catie said, reflecting back to New Island and immediately knowing what Hunter had planned.

"Alright buddy, we're gonna give these Rockets a little surprise!". Electrode seemed just as excited as Hunter was at the idea, shaking with excitement as Hunter wrapped his arms around the large round Pokémon. Trent looked on with skepticism.

"Are you kidding me Hunter? You can't lift an Electrode, they're like a hundred and fifty pounds of-", before Trent could finish his statement, Hunter managed to pick up the large Pokémon and prepared for the Rockets. Eli, though shocked himself, turned to Trent.

"You were saying?", Eli asked. Trent just looked on in shock. Hearing the sounds of the Rockets quickly approaching, the group pressed themselves against the wall and waited for the moment to strike. Within seconds, two Rockets turned the corner and were immediately met with an Electrode above their heads.

"SURPRISE!", Hunter yelled, slamming Electrode down onto the head of the closest Rocket. The grunt immediately fell to the floor with a thud. The grunt behind him pulled for his machine gun, but was struck in the chest by the ball-shaped Pokémon. Now free for a moment, Hunter turned to look down the hall to see Ryker and the other Rockets quickly approaching. Hunter raised Electrode high in the air.

"SUCK ON THIS, ROCKETS!", Hunter yelled, throwing Electrode down the hall as hard as he could. Electrode bounced on the ground and immediately began rolling towards the Rockets. Ryker, seeing the destructive Pokémon approaching, quickly stopped. "ELECTRODE, EXPLOSION!".

Electrode suddenly turned white and exploded, sending several rockets flying backwards. The ceiling collapsed, crushing a few Rockets unfortunate enough to escape the blast. Ryker and the others were now separated from the rebels by debris. They coughed as dust from the ceiling and walls filled their lungs. Ryker, seeing the now large wall of debris, growled in frustration.

"DAMN! They're smarter than they look! Alright, whoever's not dead, work on getting through this mess! You over there, follow me, we're finding another way around!", Ryker commanded, pointing to a small group of Rockets. "When you get through, kill the lot if you find them! Then make your way back upstairs! But save that cripple for me, I'm gonna enjoy taking my time with him!".

The Rockets nodded and immediately began getting to work pulling debris out-of-the-way. Ryker and the select grunts turned around and began searching for another way around. Meanwhile, on the other side of the barricade, Hunter and the rebels tried to catch their breath.

"Jesus, that was something to behold", Trent said. He then turned to Graveler. "Graveler, help get Electrode out of there will you?". Graveler stomped over and immediately began pulling metal beams and drywall off the pile to look for the electric Pokémon.

"Think that will keep them off our backs?", Catie asked. Eli shook his head.

"Not likely. If they're not already trying to push their way through that mess, then they're looking for another way around. They won't stop until we're all dead", Eli explained.

"Agreed. We'll hurry up and make it back to the twins, help them, and then hopefully with May and Drew, set up a better defense around the base", Hunter explained, now leaning on his walking stick as he took a breather. As he finished this statement, Graveler walked over, carrying in its arms Electrode. It was unconscious and covered in suit, but its smile was wide across its face. Hunter couldn't help but smirk as he aimed his Pokéball at it. Trent did the same to Graveler, and the two Pokémon were returned.

"Alright, let's move out and", Hunter said, before suddenly being tackled into the wall. The others gasped as one of the two Rockets Hunter had hit with Electrode was now fighting him, taking advantage of their tired state. The other Rocket soon jumped in as well, and Hunter soon found himself being hit by two opponents. Eli aimed his shot-gun at the group, but they were all on top of each other, and he couldn't risk shooting Hunter in the cross-fire. Catie rushed over and tried to pull one of the Rockets off of Hunter, but found herself being pushed backwards into the wall.

"Hey!", Trent yelled, running forward and now prying one of the grunts off of Hunter himself. The grunt released Hunter and turned to catch a sucker punch from Trent in the cheek. Hunter, (who was on the ground on his back), now with only one Rocket to contend with, raised his good leg and kicked the Rocket backwards. He stood up and immediately turned around to the Rocket who was fighting Trent.

"ALRIGHT, COME HERE YOU!", Hunter yelled, grabbing the Rocket by the shoulders and turning him around to face him. Hunter punched him in the face and then kneed him in the stomach. He glanced behind him to see that the Rocket he had kicked was getting up. He grabbed the grunt before him by his arm and swung him as hard as he could.

"I WILL BEAT A MOTHER FUCKER _WITH _A MOTHER FUCKER!", Hunter yelled, swinging the grunt into the other one. The two Rockets crashed into each other and fell to the ground. Hunter then grabbed his walking stick and approached the two. "I'VE. HAD. ENOUGH. OF. YOU. GOD. DAMN. ROCKETS. IN. OUR. GOD. DAMN. BASE!", Hunter yelled, striking the Rockets with his cane. Trent, Eli, and Catie just watched on as Hunter laid the smack down on these poor grunts. After a few seconds, Hunter brushed the dust off of him as the two bloodied and beaten Rockets lied unconscious on the floor.

"Now then...can we go?", Hunter said. Eli couldn't help but chuckle at the sight before him. Trent and Catie meanwhile sweatdropped, both afraid and confused at the same time.

"I...you...wait, what?", Trent asked, unable to comprehend the event before him. His moment of bewilderment was interrupted however when voices echoing from the other side of the debris reached them.

"We're almost through!", a voice called out.

"No time for confusion, we've wasted enough time as it is!", Hunter said. The group immediately ran down the right hall, hoping that the barricade could last a bit longer.

"How far are we from the main entrance!?", Hunter asked.

"Not much farther, a few minutes maybe", Eli explained.

"Then let's kick it into gear!", Trent said, pushing it and getting ahead of the others. They had wasted so much time already, they hoped that Luke, Logan, and the other rebels could hold on just a bit longer. They ran faster and faster, feeling their hearts once again ache in their chests. The ground beneath them felt like it was shaking from them running so hard.

The shaking feeling however soon increased tremendously.

The group suddenly felt like they were loosing their balance, the walls shook and the ceiling creaked. Hunter tripped in the sudden chaos, causing Catie and Eli to stop. Trent, only noticing this moments later, stopped running when he was ahead of the others. As Catie helped Hunter up to his feet, the ceiling above them began to give way. Eli quickly pulled the two away as it collapsed down onto the ground. Trent backed up to avoid the debris. Seeing what had just happened, Hunter quickly got up and approached the now blocked path.

"TRENT, YOU ALRIGHT!?", Hunter asked. He stepped on top of a few bits of fallen concrete to get a better view. Looking above the pile, he was just able to make out the other side, and saw Trent standing there. Trent sighed.

"Yeah, I'm fine. But now the path's blocked", Trent said. He smacked his pants, getting the dust off of them. "Think it was from the fighting outside?"

"Probably, they're shaking the entire Earth out there. Don't worry, we'll make out way through this and get back to you, hold tight", Hunter explained. Trent shook his head.

"No, don't worry about it. We've wasted enough time as it is, and this will take too long to get through, even with Pokémon. Just make your way to the others, I'll loop around is all. I'll meet you there", Trent decided.

"Are you sure?", Hunter asked, concerned for his teammate. With Rockets scattered throughout the base, it was dangerous to go on alone.

"Yeah, I'm good. We're not that far off from the entrance anyway. Worst case scenario, send someone out to get me if I'm not back in time. I'll see you there!", Trent said. He then turned around and immediately began running down the hall.

"ALRIGHT, WATCH YOUR BACK!", Hunter called out to him. Trent waved his hand in response as he ran. Hunter hopped down the pile and approached Catie and Eli. "He'll meet us there, come on, let's not keep the others waiting". With that, the trio turned around and looked for another way to the rebels.

Trent kept up the pace and rushed down the empty halls of the base. The base still shook, but he was able to keep his balance. So long as the base didn't collapse around him, he should make it to the others soon. As he neared a corner, he heard a sound, and immediately stopped. His heart jumped in his chest as he heard voices from around the corner. He approached it, trying to catch his breath while not making a lot of noise. He slowly glanced out from the hall and looked to see the source of the noise.

Team Rocket.

"Shit", Trent thought to himself. Just his luck that he would run into a group on his own. He was lucky that the Earth shaking muffled the noise he made running down the hall. It was a single squad, consisting of five Rockets. He didn't see Natalie or the crazy mohawked Rocket with them; they were either a branch from their squad, or a different group altogether. Trent pulled himself back around the corner and sunk to the floor, sighing heavily. What would he do?

He swung his machine gun off his shoulder and checked the magazine. He had run out of ammo for it awhile ago, and Hunter had the extra magazines. He looked to his belt. His pistol had some shots left, but he wasn't sure how much use that would be. He looked to the other side of the belt. His katana that Ryoto had gifted him could help, but only in close range. He needed to have a weapon before he'd rush in. He felt a small object next to his blade. One grenade left.

Better than nothing.

Trent was about to pull the grenade out when he began to second guess his plans. These Rockets weren't a threat to him. There were no other rebels here to protect other than himself, and he could probably loop around to the others by taking a different, longer path if he had to. Did he _have_ to fight these Rockets?

He recalled back on New Island how him and Ryoto fought off Rockets together. He remembered how Ryoto slaughtered every Rocket he came across, and he figured that it would be no different if he were here. But he wasn't Ryoto, he couldn't muster killing Rockets for no apparent reason. He knew that if these Rockets saw him, they would shoot him. But they didn't see him, so there was no need, right?

But as he remembered New Island, he also remembered the mistakes he made. The people who got hurt, or could have, because of his lack of preparation. While some of these mistakes were out of his control, many others weren't. He knew that, while Ryoto's actions seemed inhumane, they at least prevented Rockets from potentially hurting their allies. He thought to the rebels fighting the Rockets right now, the ones that _needed_ help.

No, he couldn't have these conflictions, not during war. His friends needed him, and he had to get through these Rockets to get to them quickly. For the greater good, he would have to kill. With his conscience clear, he took action.

He pulled the grenade off of the belt and pulled the pin from it, but did not release the trigger just yet. He took heavy breaths to calm his nerves, and glanced down the hall once again. There were five Rockets in total, just standing there. Why were they just standing there? He thought that they were probably readying for an ambush, attacking any rebels who strayed from the main fight going on by the entrance. If he could turn the surprise around, hopefully the grenade would be enough to take care of them. But he had to act fast.

He took a final second to himself, before letting the trigger fly off the grenade. It was now live, and dangerous. Knowing that the grenade would take a few seconds before exploding, he waited for a moment, letting the grenade cook before throwing it for optimal surprise. When the time was right, he chucked it down the hall as hard and as quickly as he could.

The grenade bounced off the ground and then began to roll towards the Rockets. Hearing something coming towards them, the Rockets turned to see the grenade right before them. They panicked.

"GRENADE!", one Rocket yelled. Before they had enough time to cover themselves, the grenade went off. The Rockets screamed as shrapnel struck them. Trent knew that he had to act quickly to take care of any survivors. He rushed down the hall towards the Rockets. He saw two Rockets on the ground, not moving at all. Two other Rockets had ducked into a room on the side for cover, and were now just poking their heads out to see what had happened. The last remaining Rocket was on the ground several feet from the explosion, grabbing his leg and screaming in pain.

One of the two Rockets, a small-statured grunt, stepped out from the room and immediately saw Trent running towards him. He began to pull out his machine gun. Trent quickly acted, grabbing his empty machine gun and throwing it as hard as he could at the Rocket. It hit his arm, lowering his weapon, and giving Trent just the amount of time he needed. He rushed the grunt, jumping in the air and kicking him in the chest. His gun went flying towards the injured Rocket, and the small grunt fell on his back. Trent then turned to face the other Rocket in the room.

This Rocket was much larger than the others. He hulked over Trent, growling menacingly. He had a gruff beard and mustache and bulging muscles. He wore a grey uniform, indicating his higher rank in the Team Rocket army. Trent knew that he had a fight to behold. The Rocket ran towards him, grabbing something from his belt. Trent, seeing immediately what he was doing, grabbed his katana from his side. As the Rocket pulled out his gun, Trent swung his blade down. The sword struck the machine gun, cutting off the barrel and part of the chamber.

Trent himself was shocked, the blade was sharper than he realized. The Rocket looked at his weapon, but shook it off quickly, dropping the now useless item and running at Trent. The rebel quickly swung his blade at the Rocket, but he side-stepped, missing the deadly swing by inches. It gave him just the amount of time he needed to get in close to Trent. He tackled him into the wall, the weight of the impact knocking the breath out of the smaller rebel. The Rocket then grabbed Trent's wrist, making sure that he could not use the katana on him.

Trent immediately reached for his pistol on his side, pulling it out of his holster, and aimed it at the Rocket's head. Seeing this, the Rocket quickly batted Trent's arm away just as he pulled the trigger. Two shots fired and struck the wall behind them. Trent swung his arm with his pistol at the Rocket's head, hitting him right on the side of his skull. It was enough to release his grip on his wrist, which he took advantage of. Trent swung the blade at the Rocket again, slicing across the Rocket's arm. He winced in pain and stepped back, blood going down his arm and onto the floor.

Trent did not have enough time to finish the attack on this Rocket however, as soon the smaller Rocket joined the fray. Trent immediately fired a shot at the Rocket, but he ducked to avoid the shot. He jumped at Trent, kicking his wrist and sending the pistol straight up into the air. Trent swung his katana at the Rocket, but he managed to skillfully duck under the blade. When Trent brought the blade down onto him, the grunt caught his hands with his own, twisted Trent's wrists, and then kicked him in the chest. This Rocket was clearly skilled at martial arts.

Trent was sent flying backwards, landing on the ground with a thud. The Rocket had managed to get a hold of Trent's katana, and swung it in his hand with precision. Trent prepared himself as the Rocket spun in the air, swinging the katana at him. Trent managed to just dodge the attack. He then quickly bum-rushed the Rocket. He swung the blade across, but by this time, Trent had shortened the distance, and caught the Rocket's arm against his chest. He head-butted the grunt, spun around, and pried the sword out of his hand.

While his weapon was back in his possession, it did not mean he would win the fight easily. He had to end this as quickly as possible. He turned and swung the blade, but the small grunt had ducked, swinging his leg at Trent's. Trent fell to the floor, and immediately felt his wrist get stomped by the Rocket. He released the sword from the pressure, and saw that the Rocket was now trying to stomp on his chest with his other leg. Trent caught the Rocket's foot with his hand, pulled his wrist out from under the grunt's other foot, and used it to twist his leg and bring the Rocket to the floor.

As quickly as he could, Trent crawled on top of the Rocket and began punching him. The grunt could do nothing but cover the punches as they came. Suddenly, Trent was grabbed from behind and lifted up by his arms. The larger Rocket had grabbed him. Trent tried to pry himself free, but could not get out of the Rocket's grasp. The smaller Rocket immediately got up and began swinging well controlled kicks into Trent's ribs.

He felt his ribs nearly crack with each blow, and thought for certain that it would only be a matter of time before he began coughing up blood. His internal organs were in danger, and he had to act fast before he would begin to internally bleed. When the smaller Rocket brought his leg up to kick him square in the chest, Trent used as much momentum as he could and lifted himself up, using the Rocket's grip on his arms as support. The smaller Rocket kicked the larger one in the chest, causing him to release Trent and fall backwards.

Now free, Trent immediately began fighting the smaller Rocket once more. He managed to clip him in the chin, which gave him enough time to land a more solid punch in his chest. The smaller Rocket swung a chop towards Trent's neck, but he managed to duck and use the opening to land an uppercut to the grunt's chin.

The grunt recovered quickly, jumping in the air and landing a spinning kick to Trent's head. He lost his footing for a bit, managing to use the wall right beside the entrance to the empty storage room to catch himself. He turned to see both the smaller Rocket and the injured large Rocket approach him. He blocked punches and kicks coming from both enemies, barely able to keep up with their strikes.

One punch managed to slip through his blocks and hit him in the gut. This gave the two Rockets the opening they wanted, and they began to beat on Trent with all of their power. Trent fell to the ground, getting pummeled by the Rockets. His head began to throb from the blows, and he could feel himself slipping out of consciousness. He knew that if he did not act fast, he would be dead. He looked up to see the foot of the larger Rocket coming down on him. Acting fast, he grabbed the Rocket's leg, stopping the blow.

Trent stood up, lifting the leg higher as he did, and threw the Rocket backwards. The loss of balance caused him to fall to the ground. He turned around just in time to receive a kick to the chest from the smaller Rocket. Trent recovered quickly enough, charging at the smaller Rocket and engaging in another fight with him. The sound of a gun click stopped the fight, as Trent and the Rocket turned to the source of the noise.

Standing a few feet away from them, limping and bloody, was the third Rocket; the one injured from the grenade. He had in his hands the machine gun of the smaller Rocket that Trent had knocked out of his hands earlier. He growled at Trent.

"I'm gonna KILL you, you son of a bitch!", the grunt said, raising the gun. Trent reacted fast, grabbing the smaller Rocket and throwing him towards the armed one. They collided, distracting them long enough for Trent to rush in. The smaller Rocket turned around and tried to throw a punch, but Trent used his momentum to spin passed him. The injured Rocket drew his weapon once more, but Trent held his arms up, catching the grunt's arm and preventing it from lowering to his level.

He then quickly spun around, grabbing onto the Rocket's hand and using the gun himself. He pulled the trigger, firing several shots into the unsuspecting smaller Rocket. He took several hits to the chest and dropped immediately. Trent then clicked the button on the side of the gun that removed the cartridge, emptying the weapon and then twisting the arm of the Rocket to remove it from his hand.

Not giving the injured Rocket a moment's chance to attempt to strike back, Trent immediately kicked into the Rocket's knee, causing it to buckle and him to fall onto his knees. He then immediately aimed the gun at the head of the Rocket and pulled the trigger, sending the last remaining bullet in the chamber into the grunt's skull. The grunt fell to the floor dead, and Trent dropped the empty machine gun. Seeing the large Rocket now getting up and charging at him, Trent panicked and dove for his weapons; which remained on the ground a few feet away.

He managed to grab a hold of his katana, but as he reached for his pistol, he was grabbed and immediately lifted up by the strong Rocket. The Rocket spun and sent Trent flying into the empty storage room. Trent flew into the wall, smashing into a hanging mirror that was hung on it and landed on the ground in pain, glass falling down with him. The Rocket meanwhile picked up Trent's pistol and walked into the room, clearly angry over the loss of his team, but also smirking knowing that he had the upper hand.

"I'll admit kid, you surprised me with your little surprise attack there, managed to cut my arm up good, and even killed my team. But now it all ends", the Rocket said in a deep, gruff voice. Trent coughed, then chuckled lightly.

"I'm ready to die...fighting for what I believe in...what about you?", Trent asked. The Rocket scoffed.

"Me? I'm ready to put a bullet into that thick skull of yours! Fighting for what you believe in? Pft, in what? Freedom? Because the big, bad Rockets are being mean to me? You guys don't know how GOOD you've GOT IT! I was in Team Rocket even before the take over, I was there when the plans for the takeovers of the regions were being made. We could have been SO MUCH WORSE to you all. But Boss Giovanni wanted to keep things tame. Wanted to send a message that he was willing to let you people live your lives with only a few changes", the Rocket explained. Trent didn't know the entire history of the Rocket takeover, and was admittedly curious.

"After Johto, we made plans to just blow the shit out of the other regions to make certain that no one would oppose us. But Boss Giovanni didn't want to rule a bunch of wastelands. And he felt that, with a little _supervision_, you all could be fine on your own. But you guys got GREEDY! You felt that we weren't being FAIR to you, and LOOK WHERE THAT GOT YOU! A BROKEN BODY AND WASTED LIFE!", the Rocket yelled. Trent picked himself up from the floor and glass just in time for the Rocket to aim the pistol at his head. "THIS IS WHAT YOU GET FOR BEING GREEDY!".

Trent closed his eyes and cringed, expecting the worst, but only heard a click. He opened one eye to see the Rocket pull the trigger again, only for it to click once more. Trent sighed, he had run out of ammo. The Rocket sighed and threw the pistol to the side.

"Figures. Doesn't matter, I have my own pistol anyway", the Rocket said. He reached for his belt and pulled out a black pistol. Trent ran to the Rocket, his blade at the ready. Trent swung the blade, but the Rocket in a panic backed up and dodged it. The Rocket prepared to fire.

"_Desperate times call for desperate measures_!", Trent thought to himself. He pulled back his arm and threw the blade as hard as he could at the Rocket. The katana flipped end-over-end until it hit the Rocket in the arm, cutting into his already injured, (and now armed) arm. He yelled in pain, dropping his gun and clutching his cut. Trent ran forward and punched the Rocket in the cheek, then kicked him on the right side of his ribs.

The Rocket growled angrily and swung at Trent, but he easily ducked the slow attack. He then punched the open gashes on the Rocket's arm, causing them to bleed even more. He yelled in pain, and then swung his good arm at Trent, hitting him with a solid uppercut. Trent flew back and landed hard on the ground.

He didn't stay down for long however, as he quickly got up and ran at the Rocket again. This time, he jumped in the air, used the Rocket's shoulders as a support, and spun his body around the top of the Rocket. Using the momentum, he wrapped one of his arms around the Rocket's neck and pulled him down, slamming his head into the ground. The Rocket yelled in pain, his forehead bleeding. Trent took advantage and ran for his katana once more.

He picked it up and walked over to the Rocket. he gripped the blade tightly in his hand, knowing that, in order to survive, he would have to kill the Rocket. He wondered if Ryoto felt like this when he killed, but shook the thought from his head soon enough. He wasn't doing this for fun, he _had _to. Now standing above the Rocket, he raised the blade up high, and brought it down as hard as he could.

The Rocket however caught his arm. He slowly turned his head towards the now worried Trent, his eyes filled with rage. He stood up, towering over the rebel. Trent swung his free fist at the Rocket, but he caught it with his other hand. The Rocket then pulled back and head-butted Trent. He felt not only his forehead bleed, but the blood of the Rocket smear across his face as well. It got into his eyes, blinding him.

The Rocket then grabbed Trent by the throat, spun around, charged, and slammed him into the wall behind them. Trent yelled in pain as he dropped the katana to the ground, the metal clattering on the concrete. The Rocket looked down to the blade and smirked, lowering himself while retaining his grip on Trent's throat, and picking up the weapon. He looked at it with a smile.

"Nice blade you got here kid", the Rocket said. Trent couldn't reply because the grip on his throat was too tight, which the Rocket intended. "You know what, I'm gonna keep this thing, and I'm gonna use it to gut your friends out there. Yeah, I'm gonna slice them all up to teeny fuckin' bits! And when this fight is over, and Team Rocket wins, I'm gonna hang this up in my office as a trophy!".

Knowing that there was nothing more he could do, Trent tried his hardest to speak. His words only came across as forced noises with the Rocket's grip on his throat. The Rocket smirked.

"I'm sorry, what was that?", the Rocket asked. He loosened his grip just enough to let Trent repeat what he said. Trent's eyes closed, the blood from his forehead covering them and making them hurt.

"You...will not win", Trent said. The Rocket raised an eyebrow.

"Oh really? And what makes you think that?", the Rocket asked. This time, Trent couldn't help but smirk. He opened one of his eyes, fighting through the pain, and looked at the Rocket.

"...Because we will not lose", Trent stated. The Rocket was annoyed at the rebel's constant optimism, but despite this, couldn't help but chuckle.

"You think so huh?...You know what kid, I changed my mind. I was _going _to slit that throat of yours and watch you cough on your own blood...but I decided that I want to see you squirm a little bit more. So instead of having you bleed to death quickly...I'm gonna do it _reeaaal_ slow", the Rocket explained.

The Rocket quickly released Trent's throat and instead grabbed onto his right arm. As quickly as he could, he raised the blade as high as he could, and brought it down.

A blood-curdling scream echoed all down the halls.

Trent didn't feel himself hit the floor, the broken glass digging into his legs. He didn't feel the pain from his head anymore, or the cracked ribs. In fact, he didn't feel much at all, except the warm blood that was now all over the floor.

It almost seemed like an out of world experience to see his right arm on the floor beside him, no longer attached to the shoulder. He looked to see blood spill out from where it was once connected. He would throw up from the sight if he wasn't so tired from the blood loss. The Rocket laughed out loud, the katana dripping with Trent's blood.

"As they always say, war is so expensive, it often costs you an arm and a leg!", the Rocket said, chuckling to himself at his own twisted joke. Trent tried to reach for his arm, but found himself only falling over, his hand landing on the broken glass and pool of blood. He could feel his life slipping away. He felt so tired, all he wanted to do was sleep. The Rocket kneeled down and lifted Trent off the ground from his hair. Trent was so tired that he couldn't even feel the tug.

"Now don't die in me yet, I still want to have some fun with you. I'm thinking next, I'll chop off a leg of yours, what do you think?", the Rocket asked. Although he was slipping in and out of consciousness, Trent was able to muster up a feint smile.

"I think...the last bit of good...I'll do for my comrades...is killing you", Trent exclaimed. The Rocket didn't even have time to laugh at the idea before Trent suddenly thrust a broken shard of the mirror into his throat. The Rocket immediately dropped the katana and Trent and fell backwards, choking on his own blood. Trent watched as the Rocket squirmed for a few seconds before suddenly remaining motionless on the floor, now in a pool of blood of his own.

Then all was quiet.

Trent smirked and slid to the floor, the energy leaving him fast. He didn't think it'd do him any good, but he figured that he should do what he could to stay alive even just a little bit longer. With what little energy he had left, he began to drag himself across the broken glass and blood to the body of the Rocket. When he managed to get himself on top of him, he used his only hand to slip off the belt from the Rocket's pants.

He found it difficult trying to put a tourniquet on himself with only one arm, but managed as well as he could. When it was on as well as he could get it, he grabbed his katana and dragged himself over to the door. But when he reached it, all he could muster was to prop himself against the wall right beside it. He sighed, looking up to the ceiling and thinking to his allies, his friends.

He hoped that they could manage without him.

**Oh man! WHAT A CLIFFHANGER! It seems like I always pick some random rebel to receive a VERY painful injury don't I? Wonder how many of those rebels I injured will survive? Only time will tell! I hope you all enjoyed the chapter! I worked hard the past few days to get this out in time for PokeShipping Week! This Wednesday will be my 8th Anniversary writing as EVAN AAML, so I MIGHT update another chapter if I have the time for it, but I wanted to at least get one out there for you all. Please check out other PokeShipping stories out there, maybe they're following the themes of each day. "Will Trent survive this gruesome torture? Will Hunter and the others make it to the rebels in time? Find out next time on EVAN AAML's "R"!"...I say that, but next time we'll be jumping back to Veridian, to see what the others are dealing with. Expect more answers and even more action coming soon! Please be sure to F.A.R., and Happy PokeShipping Week!**

**sincerely,  
evan, a fan of aaml -EVAN AAML**


	103. Chapter 103

**Welcome back everyone! I'm a little disappointed that the last chapter didn't get as many views as I had hoped. I'm beginning to think that my unfortunate delays are affecting people's opinions of me. I am honestly trying, believe you me. But unfortunately a lot of things need my immediate attention, and writing gets pushed to the back burner too often. I have been working a lot more lately in the writing though, which has been thrilling. Before we begin however, a word of warning. This chapter, like others before it, is going to push into "taboo" boundaries. So be prepared for that.**

**-EVAN AAML**

Monsters.

They were all monsters.

That's the only explanation. That's the only reason why they would be able to do such horrendous acts and not feel even the slightest bit of remorse or uneasiness. It seemed scientifically impossible for someone to be able to do this, not feeling anything in the least but pleasure. No man, no _human_, could possibly manage it.

Max's stomach was churning at this point. In the past few minutes, he had thrown up twice, and would have had a third one out if his stomach had anything left in it. The smell nauseated him, but not nearly as much as what he was forced to witness before him.

He wished he had closed his eyes the entire time, like he tried when Dawn was in trouble. But the screams, the shrieks of agony, forced his attention. Mathinza's screams tuned out the yells from their teammates in the other cells, along with Dawn's, (who was, like Max, forced to watch and not be able to do anything to stop it).

Mathinza had finally managed to stop screaming at this point, though how Max did not know. Maybe the pain was so unbearable, that it came full circle, and now he couldn't feel anything. The Rocket jail warden looked over his handiwork with a smile, like a craftsman appreciating their project. Max wanted nothing more than to break from these chains and do to the Rocket what he had so mercilessly done to Mathinza.

Mathinza's hat laid on the floor beside him, blood splattered all over and around it. Inside the hat, Max knew, were two round objects. The Rocket placed the knife in the hat as well, and stood up. Mathinza's head hung now, his body unable to move. He was breathing, but other than that, he was completely motionless. Max tried his best to not look, tried his best to ignore what he _knew _would haunt him if he saw it, but found that, like before, he couldn't resist to see.

Two trails of blood trickled down Mathinza's face, coming from two holes where his eyes once were.

Dawn saw this for the first time as well, and she also felt her stomach churn. She did her best to control herself, but found it difficult. Her eyes felt strained, like they would pop out of her skull in fear of being ripped out themselves. She squirmed in her forced position, trying to get over the horror in front of her.

She was angry at herself. Angry that she couldn't do anything to stop it. She once again let her teammates down. But she was also angry at Mathinza. Why did he have to intervene? If he had kept quiet, and not thrown that knife, then he would be fine.

He would have been...but she wouldn't.

The thought of what the Rocket was planning to do to her gave her goosebumps again. She felt even colder now, like she would pass out at any moment. That was why Mathinza intervened. He couldn't let _that _happen to her. Dawn did her best to think of how to help Mathinza now, despite the worst being done. Losing his eyes wouldn't kill him. There wasn't as much blood loss as one would think, and the Rocket was disturbingly precise in his work. He would be blind forever, but he'd live.

If they ever got out of this dungeon that is.

"Hey, squirt, come in here", the Rocket warden said as he bent down to pick up Mathinza's hat. Immediately, the jail cell door opened, and the young Rocket grunt rushed inside. The warden handed him the hat, which the grunt took, and immediately cringed upon seeing what was inside of it. "Keep that on the table, I'm gonna make a trophy out of that later on". The grunt looked to Mathinza, then to Dawn. For the brief moment, their eyes made contact. And in that split moment, Dawn caught something. Something that was clearly not in the eyes of the warden, or most other Rockets.

Pity.

The grunt quickly left the cell, leaving the four of them there once more. Dawn looked over to Max. She could see the anger in his eyes. He pried at the chains as hard as he could, but could do nothing to loosen their grip. He looked like he wanted to murder the Rocket. And seeing this, Dawn felt a sharp pain in her chest. He shouldn't have those emotions. He was still a young teenager, innocent and pure. Had this Rocket stripped Max's youth from him, just like he stripped Mathinza of his sight?

"I guess what they say is wrong...the eyes _aren't _the window to the soul...yours are gone, and I can still see your soul is crushed!", the Rocket said with a chuckle. Max tugged on his chains as hard as he could.

"YOU MONSTER!", Max yelled. The Rocket turned his head to look at Max.

"MONSTERS ARE NOTHING MORE THAN MEN, ADAPTED TO SURVIVE!", the Rocket yelled. Max looked at him, anger in his eyes. The Rocket could see this, and turned to face him entirely. "Just you wait and see, kid. You're young, you don't know what the war is like for those who fought in it for years. A man cannot survive a war. It takes a monster to make it through Hell".

Max growled at the Rocket. He tried to come off like he was the victim. Like he was the one done wrong. There was a moment of silence in the jail. The halls echoed only by the sounds of water dripping from cracks in the ceiling and Mathinza's occasional moan.

"...Now then", the Rocket suddenly said. Dawn turned to look at the Rocket, her breath stuck in her lungs for reasons she did not understand. The Rocket very slowly turned his body towards Dawn, looked down to her...and smirked. "...where were we?".

Max immediately saw what was happening, and pulled hard against the chains. He tugged and tugged, but the harder he tugged, the more pain that went through his body as the chains held strong. Mathinza could no longer act, as far as anyone could tell, he couldn't even hear what was going on. Dawn's heart skyrocketed, she panicked, trying once again to pull herself away. She pushed herself closer to the wall, as if trying to phase through it to escape the Rocket's gaze. She looked out to the hall to see the young Rocket looking in. She looked at him, as if pleading, but the Rocket could do nothing but stare, as if knowing that it was a lost cause.

"So then...do you plan on talking now?...", the Rocket asked as he lowered himself to get closer to her level. He looked her in the eyes...no, not in the eyes..._through _her eyes. Like he wasn't seeing her body, he was seeing her soul. Dawn wanted to immediately blurt out everything. She wanted to spill all the answers, their plans, their locations, everything. She wanted to avoid the unspeakable horror as best she could...but she couldn't.

Despite her fear, despite her knowing what will become of her, she could not give out anything. Even with Mathinza suffering before her, even with Max now haunted, she could do nothing but stare at the Rocket in a fixed state. The Rocket sensed this, and for a brief moment seemed annoyed...and then just as quickly he was pleased.

"I see...well then...I guess there's only one thing left to do", the Rocket said. Dawn's breath escaped her. She felt herself suffocating in the jail cell. As quickly as she could, she turned to Max.

"MAX! CLOSE YOUR EYES! NO MATTER WHAT, YOU DO NOT LOOK, DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME!?", Dawn yelled. Max looked to Dawn in horror. She didn't have time to let it sink in, she had to force it. "DO NOT LOOK! NO MATTER WHAT YOU HEAR, IGNORE IT!".

"Ohh trust me...there won't be any ignoring this", the Rocket said. Dawn turned to see that the Rocket was now at level with her. He hovered over her body, his breath practically going down her neck. She kicked to kick him away, but the chains held just inches away from him. It appeared that he had done this before. Dawn turned once again to the Rocket outside, more out of wanting to avoid the warden's eyes then anything. The Rocket looked like he was about to throw up. Clearly he was not able to handle the situation either.

Dawn suddenly felt her head being forced into position. The Rocket grabbed her cheeks and forced them to look at him. He wanted her to watch. He gleamed, looking at her soft, delicate skin. He saw the light hair stand on end, which only seemed to make him more excited. Dawn tried to pry her head free, but the Rocket held firm. His fingers were just out-of-the-way of her mouth, she couldn't bite him. The Rocket slowly moved his free hand and placed it on Dawn's right bare calf.

Immediately Dawn's body jumped. Her heart was racing so fast, Dawn hoped that it would give out, and she'd die before having to feel what was about to happen. The Rocket's breathing got heavier and he just about salivated as his hand slowly started to slide up Dawn's calf, and to her bare thigh. As soon as it touched, he shuddered. Dawn felt sick, she was sweating, and never experienced fear like this in her life. The Rocket, looking into her eyes, leaned forward.

"Don't worry...I'll make sure you enjoy this", the Rocket whispered. Dawn shrieked as his hand slide even higher, getting closer and closer to her. Max's eyes were closed tight. He cringed at hearing Dawn shriek in terror, and felt tears forcing their way through, but did as Dawn had asked. He kept his eyes closed, and hoped for this to all be over soon. Dawn felt the Rocket get closer and closer, she closed her eyes, knowing that in a second, her worst nightmare would be realized.

Suddenly, there was a loud bang coming from the hall. The Rocket immediately turned to the jail cell door. Dawn's eyes opened, also staring out to the hall. What was that?

"SIR! SOMEONE'S TRYING TO COME IN FROM THE OTHER ENTRANCE!", the Rocket grunt yelled. The warden shot up from the ground, releasing Dawn as he immediately ran to the cell door. Dawn gasped for breath, like she had just been pulled from the ocean from drowning. Max looked at Dawn and thanked Arceus that she was alright.

"WHAT!? WHERE!?", the warden yelled. He opened the door and rushed down the hall to the left, going out of sight from Dawn and the other rebels. Despite her heart racing, she tried her best to calm down and figure out the situation. Were the rebels trying to break in and free them? She could only hope. There was a loud crash, followed by a thud. Dawn tried her best to look down the hall, but the shackles kept her from getting far. For what felt like an eternity, all was silent.

Dawn could hear murmurs coming from the other rebels, but could not make out what they were saying. She heard footsteps, and what sounded like keys jingling. She gasped when she suddenly saw the Rocket grunt standing at the entrance to the jail cell, keys in his hand.

They stared at each other, none of them making a noise. He looked at her, as if trying to see if she understood what he had done, and what he was about to do. Dawn seemed confused. Why? What would make him do something like this? The Rocket slowly entered the jail cell. He looked at Mathinza, cringing once more, then turned to look at Dawn.

"...A-Are you alright?", the Rocket asked. Dawn's emotions were conflicted. She felt so relieved, so thrilled to have her self in tact, that she felt like laughing of all things. But she was also concerned. Was this Rocket going to actually save them? Or was he just delaying the inevitable?

"Y-...Yes", Dawn replied. The Rocket nodded.

"G-Good...I just...couldn't-", the Rocket said before being interrupted.

"No...it's ok...I understand", Dawn said. The Rocket looked at her, and could see it in her eyes...she did understand. He walked over to Dawn and bent down. Dawn, for a split second, felt her heart jump again; seeing a Rocket get close to her while shackled. But she calmed herself as the grunt used the keys to remove the chains. Dawn rubber her wrists as the Rocket worked on her foot bindings. Soon, she was free.

The grunt soon got up and walked over to Max. He hesitated at first, seeing that Max still had anger in his eyes. He was just a kid compared to him, but he still didn't want to risk anything. Dawn stood up and approached them. She looked at Max, seeing the same anger that the grunt saw, and understood his hesitation.

"Max...", Dawn said. Max turned to Dawn, seeing her relaxing eyes. They reminded him of May, when she would try to comfort him when he was stressed out or scared. Caring eyes, like a mother's. "...It's ok".

Max, trusting those eyes, nodded. The grunt then bent down and removed the shackles from the young teenager. When he was free, the grunt slid one of the keys off of the chain and held it in front of him.

"The jail cell doors aren't locked, use this to remove the chains on the others", the grunt said. Max looked at the key for a second, before nodding and taking it. He rushed out of the jail cell to get the others while both the grunt and Dawn rushed over to Mathinza. In her moment of living a nightmare, she had almost forgotten about him and his present state. She got down to her knees and put a hand on his shoulder. He looked scared at first, not knowing who was touching him. She didn't know if he had passed out from his pain or if he had just tuned out everything that had happened since his torture.

"Mathinza! It's me, it's Dawn!", Dawn said. Mathinza could only moan in response. The Rocket unlocked his shackles.

"He's in so much pain that his body is basically shutting down responses. I've seen this before. He'll live, but if he doesn't get help soon, the pain will come back with vengeance", the grunt said. Dawn nodded. Once his shackles were removed, Mathinza just about collapsed. Dawn and the grunt managed to catch him before he hit the ground. Together, they picked him up by the arms and helped him walk out of the jail cell.

Dawn looked down the hall to the left to see the warden lying unconscious on the ground. Scattered all about him were pieces of a chair. The grunt must have hit him from behind. Max had quickly managed to free the other rebels. Two immediately rushed over to Mathinza's aid, taking him gently from the grunt and Dawn and placing him on a chair next to the table the grunt was sitting at when they arrived. The others grabbed their weapons and bags, and prepared to head out.

The Rocket grunt stepped aside as the rebels moved about, not wanting to get in their way. Max rushed back over to Dawn and wrapped his arms around her. Dawn put her hands around him as well, feeling that he was shaking. Dawn sighed, calming the boy as best she could. She understood his fear, and was more than happy to lend a helping hand in relaxing him. Two rebels dragged the unconscious Rocket into one of the jail cells. The grunt watched as they walked back out, and one of them had a rifle aimed into the cell. He panicked and held his hand out.

"WAIT!", the grunt yelled. The rebels in the dungeon all stopped, having nearly forgotten about the grunt. Dawn looked at the rebels, and then at the Rocket. "...He deserves to be punished for his crimes...I know...but let his punishment come by the law...not by you".

There was a moment of thick silence in the room. The grunt grew nervous. They could just as easily shoot him dead and end the whole discussion. But Dawn stepped forward, looking at the rebels who were about to execute the warden.

"It's alright...chain him to the wall, when we're finished here, we'll arrest him", Dawn explained. The rebels looked skeptical, but knew Dawn knew what she was doing. They nodded, and walked back into the jail cell to do as she said. One rebel brought a medical pack to the two aiding Mathinza, and they immediately began wrapping bandages around his eye sockets. One of the three rebels helped placed Mathinza's belt around his waist, and the injured rebels brushed his hands across his Pokéballs, as if trying to reassure himself that his Pokémon were safe.

"Are you alright?", one of the rebels asked Dawn, who was still holding Max. She nodded.

"Yes...I'm safe...thanks to you", Dawn said, turning her attention to the grunt. He blushed slightly, but nodded. "What's your name?".

"...Xavier", the grunt replied. Dawn smiled.

"Well Xavier, I'm in your debt", Dawn said. Xavier shook his head though upon hearing this.

"Oh no, please, you don't owe me anything...t-to be honest...I'm repaying a debt of my own", Xavier stated. Dawn raised an eyebrow in response. "You see...I...I shouldn't be standing here before you now. I was...originally stationed at New Island...I was there when you attacked it. My squad attacked a squad of yours, in the island's communications room. I was the only one who survived", Xavier explained.

"That was Misty and Brock's group", Dawn said.

"One of the rebels was gonna kill me...but the leaders stopped him. This Misty and Brock...they let me live. They locked me up in a closet with some scientists and left. After the array was taken down and you left the island, Team Rocket found us in there. I was debriefed, and then transferred here to the main base while reconstruction went underway at New Island. They put me down here...which was more of a punishment than anything...but when you all came here, I tried looking for those who spared me...and I don't know, I felt like...I needed to repay them, by helping you. I just...what he was trying to do...I couldn't let that happen", Xavier explained. One of the rebels approached him angrily, aiming a pistol at his head.

"Well you didn't seem to mind when your sicko boss cut Mathinza's eyes out from his skull!", the rebel said. Xavier looked terrified at what the rebel might do, but Dawn raised her hand to him.

"STOP!", Dawn yelled. The rebel looked at Dawn in shock and then immediately obeyed, lowering his weapon.

"He saved us when he didn't have to...thank you, Xavier", Dawn said. Xavier nodded, but deep inside he felt a weight off his shoulders...and a clear conscience.

"So then...what do we do with him?", another rebel asked.

"Xavier...you're more than welcome to come with us if you want to", Dawn said. Xavier shook his head.

"No...I don't think it'll be safe for me. And...to be honest...I think I should be paying for my own crimes as well...chain me up here too. When this is all over...you can arrest me", Xavier explained. Dawn didn't seem to like the plan, but she could see the look on his face, and he was clearly determined to follow his plans through. Dawn nodded.

"Alright...we'll come get when you this is all over...I promise", Dawn said. Xavier nodded. The rebels began to walk him over to the jail cell right behind him. Dawn grabbed her supplies, and all the rebels prepared to move out. "We'll continue our mission, and look for the captives. Mathinza...how are you doing?".

Mathinza was held up by two rebels supporting him, one of them holding his sniper rifle across his back. His eyes were now entirely bandaged, and the blood was washed from his face. He was still weak, and wouldn't be able to do anything for the rest of the fight. But he managed to lift his head up and give a weak thumb's up. Dawn smiled, happy to see that he still had that fighting spirit.

"Good", Dawn said. She turned to see Two rebels gently place Xavier in the shackles. When he was strapped, they left the cell, leaving the keys on the table. Dawn and Xavier made eye contact, and Dawn nodded. "Alright, let's move", Dawn said. Max took the lead down the hall to the entrance, with several rebels close behind. Dawn, Mathinza, and the rebels aiding him were the last to begin moving.

"We're not all monsters you know".

Dawn and the few rebels beside her stopped moving. The region leader turned to see Xavier looking at her. "I...I know that Team Rocket is an evil group... and I'm aware that there are plenty of us in it that have lost their humanity...or never had it to begin with", Xavier said, seemingly referring to the warden in the other cell. "But...there are others in Team Rocket. People who didn't have a choice...people who only joined to make the best of what they had. It may not seem it...but there are Rockets who support you, and like you, just want all of this to end...please keep that in mind when you end this war".

There was a moment of silence in the room. Dawn and the couple of rebels looked at Xavier, (Mathinza had also turned his head towards Xavier's voice). Dawn and Xavier kept this eye contact for some time, before Dawn smiled.

"...We will...thank you", Dawn said. Xavier nodded in response. With that said, Dawn and the rebels turned and made their way out of the dungeon. They went through the large metal door and, when the last of them had exited, closed it behind them. Dawn gave one last look to Xavier before the door shut, promising to herself that they'd get him out of there when all was said and done.

As Dawn and her squad finally made their way back to fulfilling their mission, back on the battlefield, the PTA were finding themselves pushed against a wall. The numbers they had lost were not as high as one would think, (especially so considering the number of deaths the Rocket side had in comparison), but with sheer numbers on their side, the PTA were forced to back up more and more. In the far end of the battlefield, (which stretched out passed the lawn of the Rocket base, across a street, and over to an open field on the other side), the general of the field, Darrel, found himself just awakening in a make-shift bed made from a couple of backpacks.

He slowly rose up, and immediately felt a pain in his head. He put his hand there for support as he tried to gather his surroundings. He must have passed out while being carted away. While the fighting was as loud as ever, it was relatively calm where he was. The Rockets had not yet managed to reach this far into the battlefield, and the Pokémon defensive wall was holding for now. He looked around him to see several other rebels who were carted off of the field. Most injuries were the results of gunfire, but there were a number of rebels who suffered from poison and fire attacks by Rocket Pokémon. Darrel looked over the bodies of the injured to see several other rebels, their PTA jackets placed over their motionless bodies.

Seeing the deceased, Darrel suddenly remembered what had happened right before passing out. He looked to the injured rebels, trying to make out Wallace, but could not see him anywhere.

"You're awake!", someone said. Darrel turned around to see the two rebels who had pulled him from the battlefield. The female rebel was kneeling beside him, showing concern for their leader. The male rebel had just walked over, holding in his hands a rifle.

"Where's Wallace!?", Darrel immediately asked, ignoring the female rebel's concerns for him. The two rebels looked at each other, and then looked down solemnly.

"He...didn't make it. That female Rocket, the one with the Spiritomb, she shot him. We didn't have time to bring his body over here, we had to get you here first", the female rebel explained.

"You were pretty banged up, you were lucky to make it out alive", the male rebel finished. Darrel looked away from the two rebels, lost in thought. He lost a good man in Wallace, both as a medic and as a friend. But he had a heavy responsibility, and couldn't afford to be sad.

"...What about my Camerupt?", Darrel asked, referring to his Pokémon. He last saw it when he was being dragged off the battlefield. It was injured, but still alive. The male rebel reached into his pocket and pulled out a Pokéball, tossing it to Darrel, who was barely able to catch it due to his still ineffective senses.

"We were just able to return it before leaving. It'll be alright, just needs a rest", the male rebel stated.

"Good...one less ally to worry about", Darrel said, though mostly to himself. Just then, a small group of rebels ran appeared. They looked nervous, and were relieved to have found Darrel.

"Sir, we've got problems. The lines aren't holding out well. The Rockets have the high ground on the east side of the base, on top of the cliffs, and their air assaults are doing a number on us!", the rebel explained. Darrel knew that he had to get back into the fight. He stood up, but suddenly lost his balance. Both the female rebel, and the rebel who alerted him to the news, caught him before he hit the ground.

"Sir, you're in no condition to fight!", the female rebel said.

"She's right, just tell us what needs to be done, and we'll do it", the male rebel who saved Camerupt explained. Darrel shook them off, managing to stand on his own now, though he still seemed to not have complete balance back yet.

"I can't do that. We've got too much riding on this for me to just sit back. Not when we're losing so many allies", Darrel explained. He walked over to a boulder a couple of feet from them and pulled out from his pocket a map. It was one of the maps of the base used in planning out the attack back in Pallet Town. He opened it up and laid it out on the rock for the other rebels to see.

"Alright, how are our defenses on the west side? The opposite side of the base where Dawn's squad entered from?", Darrel asked.

"It's holding. The base gives us some cover, but we still can't manage to break through to get to the railroad behind it", one of the rebels stated.

"What about underground? We can use ground-types to penetrate through", Darrel explained.

"We're working on that, but the base is larger underground than it is above. There isn't a lot of dirt, mostly steel and concrete, the ground-types can only do so much", another rebel explained. Darrel sighed.

"Alright, then go with a ground-and-steel-type combination. When they hit concrete, have the steel-types break through. If they can attack Rockets in the base as they make their way through to the other side, then that's a bonus", Darrel explained.

"What about the frontal assault? We're getting hammered there, and if the Rockets manage to break through the line-", the rebel stated before being interrupted.

"WE WON'T LET THEM BREAK THROUGH! We have sacrificed TOO MUCH getting to this point, we are NOT going to lose when we are so close! Fortify the west side with a heavier Pokémon assault, so that the east can have more man-power to overtake the high ground!", Darrel explained. One of the rebels gave a PTA salute.

"Yes, sir!", the rebel exclaimed before rushing off. Darrel turned to the rebel who first told him of the news.

"What about Calamity Jane? Is she still leading the assault?", Darrel asked. He had a vendetta against her for what she did to Wallace, and he intended to finish it.

"We got reports that she went back to the Rocket base sir. She left in a hurry, and she was pretty angry too from what I was told", the rebel said. Darrel grew concerned.

"The Rockets must be trying to get reinforcements inside, which will mean trouble for our boys down there. We have to make sure that we don't let any more get into the base, understood!? We need to-", Darrel explained, before a loud noise suddenly interrupted them. The rebels directed their attention towards the fields, coming from Veridian City. In the sky, they could make out several Pokémon, quickly approaching the battle. Darrel's heart rate dropped. Coming from Veridian City, they could have easily been more Rockets. The EMP would have prevented Team Rocket from calling in support from distant towns and cities, but Veridian was close enough to the action to know what was going on.

The rebels immediately aimed their weapons at the oncoming Pokémon, preparing to fire if they were Rockets going for their injured. But as they got closer, Darrel noticed that their target didn't seem to be them. The angle wasn't right, they were still too high up if they were planning on attacking them. Within a few seconds, the Pokémon were within attack distance. Darrel could make out humans riding on top of this Pokémon air force.

The PTA watched as these Pokémon and their human riders flew past the rebels and straight to the base, where they suddenly unleashed a massive barrage of Pokémon attacks onto the Rocket forces. Darrel gasped as explosions rocked the entire battlefield. The Pokémon air attackers immediately looped around, now fighting off Rocket air support.

"Who the hell are they!?", one of the rebels asked, both amazed and shocked, yet also pleased. Darrel turned to the left, down the road that eventually led to Veridian, to see a massive convoy of vehicles and large land Pokémon make their way to the base.

"Scope, quick!", Darrel said, holding his hand out to the rebels. One of them quickly pulled the scope off of his rifle and handed it to him. Darrel looked through the scope to make out the vehicles that were coming. The vehicles varied greatly; while most were large jeeps or trucks, others looked to be merely town cars. Did Team Rocket simply steal any car they could get to get here? Darrel looked closer at the approaching army. It was difficult to make out a detailed description of the people, but from what he could see, they didn't appear to be Rockets.

"Who...are they?", one of the rebels asked. A small portion of the convoy broke off and immediately made its way across the fields and towards Darrel and the others. Darrel lowered the scope.

"Looks like we're about to find out", Darrel said, handing the rebel back his scope. The rebels immediately aimed their weapons at the approaching vehicles as Darrel reached down and pulled out a Pokéball from his belt. A couple jeeps, accompanied by a few Pokémon riders, (which consisted of a Rhyhorn, Hippowdon, and Mamoswine), rode alongside the rebels until they made their way to the back. The jeep in the front looped around to avoid the injured and drove straight to the rebels. When weapons were drawn, the jeep skipped to a halt, tuning so that the driver side was facing the rebels. A man in the passenger seat immediately stood up, waiving his hands in the air.

"Woah, woah there now, hold your fire!", the man exclaimed. The other vehicle and Pokémon positioned themselves right behind this jeep, but seemed to be ready to attack if necessary. Darrel looked to the man who was standing. He was an adult, probably in his early forties. He was clean-shaven and looked battleworn. He wore what looked to be an old military uniform, the dark green attired patched up in a couple spots from wear.

"Who are you!?", Darrel asked, his Pokémon at the ready. The man in the jeep stepped over the driver and hopped out of the vehicle, his hands still in the air so as to show he wasn't going to shoot.

"Name's Silas, but that's not important. You're the PTA, correct?", the man named Silas asked. Darrel nodded. Silas smiled. "Good, then our intel was right".

"What do you mean?", Darrel asked.

"I'm part of a Rocket resistance group, just like you guys. One of our own was sent to your base the other night to pass on and receive information about your attack. Unfortunately, we found out too late about the Rockets who infiltrated your little ball, and only had a short amount of time to prepare", Silas explained.

"One of your own...wait, Aleksi's dad? He's part of your group?", Darrel asked. Silas nodded.

"Bingo. When we got word that the PTA were going to initiate an attack on Team Rocket HQ, we knew that it was our best opportunity as well. My rebels managed to get into contact with the other, smaller rebel groups in the area, and we all converged here. We were planning to meet up with you guys in Pallet and work out a better strategy, but apparently time wasn't on your side, so we improvised", Silas explained. Darrel sighed heavily, lowering his Pokéball. The rebels sighed in response as well.

"Finally some good news. Well Silas, I won't lie to you, we could use all the help we can get right now", Darrel explained.

"Looks like it. Where's your commander? Ash Ketchum right? Heard a lot about the kid, good things", Silas explained.

"He's inside the base, leading the inner assault. I'm the field commander for the PTA troops out here, name's Darrel", Darrel explained. Silas approached Darrel and shook his hand, removing his helmet with his free hand.

"Well it's good to meet you then Darrel. What's the situation?", Silas asked. Darrel walked over to the jeep, once again opening up the map of the base. Silas, along with a few of his soldiers, surrounded the jeep to get an understanding.

"We're struggling to keep the defenses holding. They have the high ground here, and we can't break through to the back. Their air attacks are doing a number to the front as well", Darrel explained.

"Then I was right in sending in the air assault first. There isn't a lot, but they're good", Silas explained.

"Ash, along with several of our region leaders, and many other good troops, are inside the lower levels of the base. We set off an EMP, which took out their electronics, and left them in the dark. But they were prepared for us, and we're struggling to keep our hold. Giovanni himself is in the base, but we had limited numbers, and the base is massive underground. We also have confirmation that there is a large group of prisoners in the base as well, including family members of our own, which we are in the process of trying to extract", Darrel explained.

"Looks like you got a lot of trouble here. The shit timing means that you're not going to get the massive assault group we were originally hoping for, but all things considered, there's a lot of us here", Silas explained.

"And we appreciate it", Darrel stated.

"Well, me and the other rebel group leaders sat down, and we all decided that since you kids lead this assault, we'll follow your lead. Tell us what you want to do Darrel", Silas said. Darrel pointed to the map.

"If your air assault can keep the main group of Rockets here distracted, my troops can swing around and try to retake the high ground. If you can give some support to the front lines and to the westward side, we should be able to retake the forces out here. What I'm most worried about are our guys inside. We're worried about the prisoners, and contact with our forces is virtually impossible. We'll need your biggest, baddest mother fuckers to go down there and help out Ash and the others. If all goes to plan, we can end this today", Darrel explained. Silas smiled.

"That's what I've been waiting for for years kid. I've got the perfect group to get into the base. Large squad, makes up about a third of my forces. We'll have the rest set up as planned", Silas explained. He then turned to one of his own. "Get in contact with my boys, tell them they're heading underground! Everyone else, mount up, we're heading to the field!".

"HOORAH!", the rebels yelled. Silas then turned to Darrel with a smile.

"Well then Darrel...let's end this war, shall we?"

**Wow! Two chapters out within the week!? I haven't done that for "R" in over a year!...LITERALLY! I hope that the two quick updates will get people back into reading! I hope to work on the next chapter soon, but need to plan out the next moments properly. "With Dawn's group having escaped the Rocket dungeon, and the Kanto Rocket resistances now fighting alongside the rebels, will Team Rocket finally fall? Is this the end of the war? Tune in next time, on EVAN AAML's "R"!". Please be sure to F.A.R., (Favorite, Alert, Review), and I'll see you next time!**

**sincerely,  
evan, a fan of aaml -EVAN AAML**


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